Circle U. Climate Day at the University of Vienna, 5 June 2025
“Participatory Climate Justice – Vienna as the Capital of Democracy in the Year of 2025”
On Thursday, June 5, 2025, the University of Vienna invites you to the first-ever Circle U. Climate Day, taking place from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM in the ceremonial halls of the main building!
Visitors join children and young people from the co-creative
climate education project DOCK for Change (children’s office) on a journey into the good future and explore research, projects and initiatives that deal with the topics of climate change, climate justice and participation at the marketplace of initiatives. Flashtalks and climate walks around the main building provide further exciting insights. Interactive activities such as the climate puzzle will get you involved. Different perspectives on the topic of climate justice will be discussed as part of an expert panel.
The Circle U. Climate Day is an initiative of the Circle U. Knowledge Hub on Climate, which is being held for the first time and will take place simultaneously at all nine partner universities of the Circle U. Alliance partner universities. The event is organized in cooperation with the Urban Sustainability Living Lab (USLL), the Environment and Climate Research Hub (ECH) and the Children’s Office of the University of Vienna and is open to students, researchers, and anyone interested – of all ages. Admission is free.
When: 05.06.2025, 10.00 – 17.00
Where: Main Building University of Vienna, 1st floor, Large & Small Ballroom, Senate Hall
The Circle U. Climate Day is open to visitors from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. To attend the event, no prior registration is necessary. We kindly ask you to register for selected program items.
Admission
09.30 / University of Vienna Main Building, 1st floor, Großer & Kleiner Festsaal, Senatssaal
Welcome
10.00 – 10.30 / Small Ceremonial Hall
- Kerstin Krellenberg, Circle U. Climate Chair, University of Vienna
- Manuela Baccarini, Vice Rector Research and International Affairs, University of Vienna
- Barbara Good, Head of International Office, University of Vienna
- Sabine Pahl, Director of the Environment and Climate Research Hub (ECH), University of Vienna
- Karoline Iber, Managing Director of the Children’s Office, University of Vienna
The good future – kick-off with DOCK for Change
10.30 – 11.30 / Small Ceremonial Hall
Young people from two Viennese climate clubs and the Children’s Office
of the University of Vienna are opening the Circle U. Climate Day with a
journey into the bright future! At the kick-off with the co-creative
climate education project DOCK for Change, you can expect insights into
three years of co-creation with over 3,000 children and 500 experts, an
inspiring vision of the future, exciting questions and courageous
answers: What could an ecologically sustainable, socially just,
peaceful, urban coexistence in 2045 look like in concrete terms? What
role does science play in getting there? And how can we take competent,
rebellious action together?
Marketplace of initiatives
11.30 – 16.00 / Main Ceremonial Hall
The Marketplace of Initiatives will take place as the centerpiece of the event in the Great Hall of the University of Vienna. Research, projects and initiatives will shed light on climate change and climate justice from different perspectives and share their knowledge at market stalls in order to develop future perspectives for the city of Vienna together with you. The marketplace of initiatives is open to visitors from 11:30 – 16:00 without prior registration, we kindly ask you to register for the guided tours.
Guided tour through the Marketplace of Initiatives I
11.30 – 12.00 / Main Ceremonial Hall – please register
Climate Walk: Our path to socio-ecological democracy
12.00 – 13.30 / Meeting point: Stairs in front of the entrance to the main building – please register
Climate change affects us all – but not everyone is equally exposed to it. Some population groups feel its effects more strongly, while others have more opportunities to protect themselves. But how are social inequalities, political decisions and climate change connected? And how can we shape a just, socio-ecological future together?
These questions will be addressed at this Climate Walk, which is being organized by the Environment and Climate Research Hub in cooperation with the Verein Climate Walk. Together with experts from administration, science and practice, we will discuss how participation and democracy can contribute to a fairer – and greener – society – and how each and every one of us can become active.
Take the first step towards change with us!
Flash talks from research
11.45 – 13.45 / Small Ceremonial Hall
| 12.00-12.30 | Students of the course “Urban Climate Change Adaptation”, University of Vienna: “Videos on the Vienna Climate Teams, Grätzloasen, 100 projects out of gas and climate oases”
| 12:35-12:45 | Silvio Heinze, Luftdaten.at
| 12:50-13:00 | Mirijam Salfinger, Department of Theological Ethics, Institute for Systematic Theology and Ethics, Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Vienna: “Justice in the face of the climate crisis: Intersectional and ecofeminist approaches”
| 13:05-13:15 | Job Zomerplaag, Maastricht University and United Nations University – MERIT, Incoming Fellow Research Platform The Challenge of Urban Futures, University of Vienna : “What’s Flowing Beneath Our Feet? Why cities need to make energy visible (again)”
| 13:20-13:30 | James Vandenberg, Urban Studies Group, Institute for Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna: “Beyond Salads: Cultivating More Than Food with Urban Agriculture”
The Cimate Puzzle
12.00 – 15.00 / Senate Hall – please register
Using 42 playing cards based on the reports of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the climate puzzle enables exciting and solution-oriented discussions. As a team, link the causes and effects of climate change and work together to develop solutions to systemic challenges.
Guided tour through the Marketplace of Initiatives II
13.30 – 14.00 / Main Ceremonial Hall – please register
Panel discussion
14.00 – 15.00 / Small Ceremonial Hall – please register
Experts from research and practice discuss questions of participatory climate justice:
- Daniel Dutkowski, Deputy Head of Urban Renewal Area Management (GB*)
- Viktoria Kudrna, Officer of the Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH)
- Patrick Scherhaufer, Senior Lecturer at the BOKU University
- Stephan Auer-Stüger, Councillor of the City of Vienna
- Katrin Vohland, Director General of the Natural History Museum Vienna
- Markus Weidmann-Krieger, Ecological Director of Solektiv
- Daniela Zanini-Freitag, expert on social change at the Federal Environment Agency
Climate Walk: How climate-friendly is our infrastructure?
15.00 – 16:30 / Meeting point: Stairs in front of the main building – registration is requested
How do you get to work or university in the morning? By car, bike, streetcar – or on foot?
Your answer to this question depends not only on personal preferences, but also on the infrastructure available to you. Not everyone has a public transport station on their doorstep, and not all districts have a well-developed network of cycle paths. Find out why these inequalities exist and how we can overcome them on this Climate Walk.
This Climate Walk is organized by the Environment and Climate Research Hub and the Verein Climate Walk. Together with experts from “Geht-doch Wien”, the Vienna Mobility Agency and the University of Vienna, we will explore what climate-friendly mobility can look like. Join us to discuss challenges, solutions and visions for a sustainable future.
Join us and help shape the mobility of tomorrow!
Guided tour through the Marketplace of Initiatives III
15.30 – 16.00 / Main Ceremonial Hall – please register
Conclusion
16.15 / Small Ceremonial Hall
Please note: By participating in this event, you agree that the photos and videos taken during the event in which you can be seen may be published on the websites and social media channels of the University of Vienna as well as in print media to present our activities.
