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“We recognize in times like today leadership, solidarity, communication and cooperation are vitally important. We believe we all have roles to play.”

As a global institution focused on shaping a more creative, just, and sustainable world, Salzburg Global Seminar is fortunate to work with Fellows in more than 180 countries around the world. 

As president but also as a Salzburg Global Fellow, I wanted to reach out on behalf of everyone at Salzburg Global Seminar and Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron to let you know how we are responding to the COVID-19 crisis. 

Salzburg Global Seminar has lived through many crises over its 73-year history. We recognize in times like today leadership, solidarity, communication and cooperation are vitally important. We believe we all have roles to play.

In this period, we are putting first the health of our staff, Fellows and partners. For this reason, our team members based in Salzburg, Washington and other places, are working remotely for the next several weeks, and Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron is closed until we can safely re-open. 

While we are postponing the majority of our programs in Salzburg up to June 2020, we are striving to make better use of the digital tools available to bridge divides, expand collaborations and transform systems. Even if for now we can’t bring our Fellows and partners to Schloss Leopoldskron, we are implementing new ways to bring Salzburg Global to the world. 

Here are just two current examples: 

• On March 20 – the International Day of Happiness – will will partner with Karanga for the world’s largest free online Social and Emotional Learning Conference. As a Salzburg Global  Fellow, you can participate through Zoom, Facebook, or Twitter.
• Working with the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, the planned May 2020 program on the Climate Emergency and the Future of Food will now be transformed into a major online and digital collaboration designed to emphasize the imperative for holistic food system transformation to achieve a 1.5°C world by 2050. The program will connect diverse food system actors and stakeholders, helping to create strategic alignment and inclusive coalitions in advance of forthcoming political milestones, such as COP26 in Glasgow later this year and the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021.

Stay tuned. There will be more opportunities to engage in programs together over coming months. 

We cherish the Salzburg Global family – our Fellows, partners, supporters and friends – and we hope you do too. Let us together leverage our intelligence and influence to produce meaningful change.     

We are all in this together. Please share your ideas for how to make the most of this necessary period of physical isolation. Please let us know what we can do to support your efforts.

We look forward to welcoming you back to Schloss Leopoldskron one day soon. In the meantime, keep the spirit of Salzburg Global with you and reach out to other Salzburg Global Fellows who share your values and commitment. 

Sincerely,

Stephen L. Salyer
President & CEO, Salzburg Global Seminar