US Secretary of State and Salzburg Global Fellow Antony Blinken delivers video message in celebration of Salzburg Global's 75th anniversary
US Secretary of State and Salzburg Global Fellow Antony Blinken delivered a video message in celebration of Salzburg Global Seminar's 75th anniversary on June 17 at the event New Forces of Leadership: Celebrating 75 Years of Salzburg Global Seminar. The following is a transcript of his address.
"Hello, everyone. And congratulations on the 75th anniversary of the Salzburg Global Seminar.
It's an extraordinary milestone, especially considering the conditions in which the Seminar began. Europe was still devastated by the Second World War, and Clemens, Heller, Scott Elledge, and Richard Campbell, an Austrian and two Americans, knew that Europe's recovery wasn't only about rebuilding infrastructure or revitalizing commerce. It was also about repairing the people-to-people ties that had been severed by war.
They had a vision of one-time adversaries coming together in friendship to share ideas for how to build a better world. So in the summer of 1947, what was then called the Salzburg Seminar for American Studies began. More than 90 students from 18 European countries gathered in the Schloss Leopoldskron to learn about politics and culture from American professors. As one instructor described it, after years of conflict, it was, and I quote, 'an occasion not of anxiety, but of promise.' Over the decades, that promise bore out.
Today, more than 40,000 people from around the world have participated in the renamed Salzburg Global Seminar, studying the leading challenges facing our countries, from the climate crisis to equitable economic development, to how to strengthen democracy, all while exploring beautiful Salzburg and making friendships that often last long after the seminar is over.
I'm one of those lucky participants.
In 1986, when I was a young law student, I joined a seminar on American foreign policy as a Fellow. I've never forgotten it. The Salzburg Global Seminar was the best summer school I could have hoped for. I learned more about how US foreign policy is shaped from incredible leaders, including Richard Gardner, diplomat and beloved Columbia law professor. And the other Seminar Fellows dazzled me. They were from 25 countries, from Austria to India to Guatemala. Many were doing amazing things in their careers, including serving in government - something that I hoped to do someday. Together we learned, debated, organized skits for a comedy show, and took an informal Sound of Music tour of the city. It was terrific.
That kind of exchange is just as important in 2022 as it was in 1986 or 1947. The challenges we face are too big for any country to solve alone. We need to work together, and exchange programs like the Salzburg Global Seminar help us to do just that by creating those occasions of promise that forge the collaboration that will always be the foundation of progress.
I'd like to thank Stephen Salyer for continuing this tradition of Austrian-American collaboration for almost two decades as the President of the Salzburg Global Seminar. When he retires this year, I know the program will be in good hands with this new president, the current Austrian ambassador to the United States, Martin Weiss.
I'd also like to thank Chairman Victoria Mars for her leadership and Governor Wilfred Hausler for warmly welcoming this group to Austria.
Again, to everyone gathering in Salzburg today to celebrate this anniversary, whether you're a board member, alumni, or a current Fellow, thank you for continuing to carry forward Clemens, Scott and Richard's vision of a better world.
Herzlichen Glückwunsch. Congratulations."
