Salzburg Global Seminar is a non-profit organization that challenges current and future leaders to shape a better world. It convenes programs on health care, education, culture, finance, technology,
public policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
, media, human rights,
corporate governance
Corporate governance is defined, described or delineated in diverse ways, depending on the writer's purpose. Writers focused on a disciplinary interest or context (such as accounting, finance, law, or management) often adopt narrow definitions ...
,
philanthropy, and the
environment. Programs regularly occur at
Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg, Austria. Since 1947, Salzburg Global has welcomed more than 40,000 participants, known as Salzburg Global Fellows, from more than 170 countries.
Organizational history
In 1946, Clemens Heller, a native Austrian attending graduate school at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, "envisioned a cultural bridge spanning the Atlantic not only by introducing the demoralized Europeans to all sorts of American cultural achievements, but also by stimulating a fruitful exchange between European national cultures and America."
Richard "Dick" Campbell Jr., an undergraduate student and Scott Elledge, an English instructor also at Harvard, became allies in the realization of this project. Though Harvard was unwilling to support the project, they were able to convince the Harvard Student Council to be the official sponsors of the Seminar. The three founders raised the majority of funds. It was also necessary for the trio to obtain permission from the State Department for entrance into
Allied Occupied Austria.
Legend contends that in 1947, Heller bumped into
Helene Thimig
Helene Ottilie Thimig (5 June 1889 – 7 November 1974) was an Austrian stage and film actress.
Personal life
Helene Thimig was the daughter of actor Hugo Thimig and the sister of actors Hermann and Hans Thimig.
Thimig was married to the ...
on a subway train in New York. The widow of theater producer
Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pro ...
had been friends with Heller's parents before the war and had a summer home in Salzburg named
Schloss Leopoldskronbr>
http://www.salzburgglobal.org/news-publications/presidents-reports.html]
![Leopoldskron](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Leopoldskron.jpg)
Heller explained his plans and Thimig said she would rent Max’s Schloss at a low rate for the purpose of a summer school. Dick Campbell is quoted as saying "We hope to create at least one small center in which young Europeans from all countries, and of all political convictions, could meet for a month in concrete work under favorable living conditions, and to lay the foundation for a possible permanent center of intellectual discussion in Europe."
The first session, officially called "The Harvard Student Council's Salzburg Seminar in American Civilization," lasted six weeks in the summer of 1947 and brought together men and women from eighteen countries, including countries from behind the Iron Curtain. Faculty for the first session included literary historian
F. O. Matthiessen
Francis Otto Matthiessen (February 19, 1902 – April 1, 1950) was an educator, scholar and literary critic influential in the fields of American literature and American studies. His best known work, ''American Renaissance: Art and Expression in ...
; anthropologist
Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s.
She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard C ...
; economists
Walt Rostow
Walt Whitman Rostow (October 7, 1916 – February 13, 2003) was an American economist, professor and political theorist who served as National Security Advisor to President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1969.
Rostow worked ...
and
Wassily Leontief
Wassily Wassilyevich Leontief (russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Лео́нтьев; August 5, 1905 – February 5, 1999), was a Soviet-American economist known for his research on input–output analysis and how changes in one ec ...
; writer and literary critic
Alfred Kazin
Alfred Kazin (June 5, 1915 – June 5, 1998) was an American writer and literary critic. He wrote often about the immigrant experience in early twentieth century America.
Early life
Like many other New York Intellectuals, Alfred Kazin was ...
among others.
The Seminar was formally incorporated on April 20, 1950. Dexter Perkins, Frederick Muhlhauser,
Herbert P. Gleason, Clyde and Florence Kluckhohn, Wassily Leontief and Richard Campbell all signed the papers of the Salzburg Seminar in American Studies. By 1950, the Seminar developed into more than a summer school and session topics were expanded beyond American Studies.
During President Tuthill’s second year, he told the Board that in 1979 "American Law would be the only ‘American’ subject offered." The Seminar had become so global in focus, that he twice urged that the Seminar be renamed "Salzburg Seminar in International Studies." In 2007, the Seminar changed its name to the Salzburg Global Seminar in order to better reflect the increasingly global, rather than American, outlook of the Seminar and the focus of its course offerings.
Although the Seminar grew to include a more global focus, American Studies themes continued to be present at Salzburg Global Seminar. In 1994, the Seminar returned to its roots by establishing the American Studies Center. From 1994 to 2002 thirty-two sessions on American themes were held. In 2003 the Salzburg Seminar American Studies Association (SSASA) was created. SSASA organizes a yearly symposium devoted to a broad American Studies theme such as politics, literature, history or cultural studies.
Today, Salzburg Global Seminar holds sessions that focus "on critical issues confronting the global community, covering topics as diverse as health care and education, culture and economics, geopolitics and philanthropy... Seminars are designed to be participatory: prompting candid dialogue, fresh thinking and constantly in the search for innovative but practical solutions."
Home of the Salzburg Global Seminar
Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg Count
Leopold Anton Eleutherius von Firmian (1679-1744) commissioned
Schloss Leopoldskron in 1736. The chapel of Leopoldskron was consecrated in 1744. Archbishop von Firmian handed the Fideikommiss charter to his nephew, Lakantz, Count of Firmian. The Archbishop died in October 1744, and was buried in the Salzburg's cathedral while his heart was interred in Leopoldskron's chapel.
The Schloss remained in the possession of the Firmian family until 1837. It was then sold to the owner of a local shooting gallery, George Zierer, who stripped the palace of most of its valuable interior decorations, including paintings, etchings, and sculptures.
The Schloss had several owners during the 19th century (including two waiters who wanted to use it as a hotel, ex-
King Ludwig I of Bavaria and a banker) until it was bought in 1918 by the famous theatre director
Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pro ...
, co-founder of the
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...
.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
the Schloss was confiscated as Jewish property. After the war, and Max Reinhardt's death, the Schloss was returned to the Reinhardt Estate. After two quick sales, first to a bank and then the City of Salzburg, Schloss Leopoldskron was sold to the "Salzburg Seminar in American Studies" in 1959. The purchase price of the Schloss and 17 acres was "$77,000, plus $10,500 in solicitors' fees." In 1973 the adjacent Meierhof, a part of the original Firmian estate, was also purchased by the Seminar.
In 2014, the Meierhof underwent a substantial two-month renovation which incorporated the 18th century style of the Schloss. For instance, the headboards were crafted from historic shutters. In addition, three rooms were created to reference the 1965 movie "
The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...
" which was filmed, in part, on the Schloss grounds. In addition to being the home of Salzburg Global Seminar, the Schloss Leopoldskron and the Meierhof now operate as a fully functioning hotel.
Leadership of Salzburg Global Seminar
*
Martin Weiss Martin Weiss may refer to:
* Martin Weiss (diplomat) (born 1962), Austrian diplomat and Ambassador of Austria to the United States
* Martin Weiss (Nazi official) (1903–1984), commander of Vilna Ghetto and the ''Ypatingasis būrys'' mass murder k ...
, 2022-present
*
Stephen Salyer, 2005–2022
* Amy Hastings, (acting) 2005
*
Olin Clyde Robison, 1991–2005
*
Bradford Morse, 1986–1991
*
Herbert P. Gleason, (acting) 1985-1986
*
John W. Tuthill, 1977–1985
*
Thomas H. Eliot, 1971–1976
*
Paul M. Herzog, 1965–1971
*
Arthur S. Adams, 1962–1965
*
Dexter Perkins, 1950–1961
Mission
The mission of Salzburg Global Seminar is to challenge current and future leaders to shape a better world. The Salzburg Global Seminar convenes imaginative thinkers from different cultures and institutions, organizes problem-focused initiatives, supports leadership development, and engages opinion-makers through active communication networks, all in partnership with leading institutions from around the world and across different sectors of society.
Areas of Impact
Salzburg Global's programs are organized under five thematic headings:
* Peace and justice
* Arts and culture
* Education
* Health
Programs
* Salzburg Global American Studies Program
* The Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change
* Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovation
* Culture, Arts and Society
* Education for Tomorrow’s World
* Health and Healthcare Innovation
* Global Innovations on Youth Violence, Safety and Justice
* Parks for the Planet Forum
* Japan-India Transformative Technology Network
* Asia Peace Innovators Forum
* Salzburg Global Finance Forum
* Salzburg Global Corporate Governance Forum
* Salzburg Global Law and Technology Forum
Salzburg Cutler Fellowship Program
In 2012, Salzburg Global Seminar launched the Salzburg Cutler Law Fellows Program, named in memory of
Lloyd N. Cutler, former
White House Counsel
The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...
for two presidents and Chairman of the Board of Salzburg Global Seminar. The program is a partnership with ten leading U.S. law schools in order to identify and mentor young leaders in international law and legal practice.
Notable Salzburg Global Fellows
Alumni of Sessions of Salzburg Global Seminar are referred to as Salzburg Global Fellows. The Salzburg Global Fellowship consists of more than 30,000 individuals from 169 countries around the world who have participated in Salzburg Global Seminar programs since 1947.”
References
External links
Salzburg Global SeminarSchloss Leopoldskron
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Non-profit organisations based in Austria