‘Achieving more together’ under this title mayors from Austria, South Tyrol, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg met for the first time to exchange experiences and ideas. This elevated the annual meeting of Austrian mayors to an international level.Ursula Hillbrand was commissioned to moderate large parts of the demanding programme. With her many years of experience in various European Commission committees, she knows exactly how to create space for constructive and inspiring discussions between all participants within a very short time. Ursula Hillbrand’s ‘Salon of Ideas’ provided participants with a format in which the most important topics could be discussed in detail. Despite all the differences in terms of origin, political background or size of the communities, it quickly became clear that there were common concerns and what these were.

For example, women should be encouraged to position themselves at the front row.

Support for this also comes from the President of the Association of Municipalities, Riedl: ‘It must be a central concern at all levels to make the role attractive and encourage women to run for mayor.’ The ‘Salon of Ideas‘has certainly brought important networks and awareness to the further development of the issue.“