With the claim "Impulses for Europe", the DenkStein association sees itself as a space for reflection and encounters, an initiative that connects the past and the future. Educational projects, artistic collaborations and cross-border initiatives open up new approaches to European contemporary history and strengthen awareness of democratic values. According to chairman Dr Bernhard Winkler, DenkStein is "more than just a place of remembrance. It is a space in which we reflect on the past in order to shape the future and inspire young people for the multifaceted Europe of freedom and democracy".
Thinking Europe forward: The 2nd ThinkForum
On 11 December, the 2nd ThinkForum took place in Bad Leonfelden under the title "Thinking Europe Forward". The forum deliberately sees itself as a platform for new ideas and perspectives on Europe. The focus was on the question of how civil society involvement can be strengthened and how borders - especially in people's minds - can be overcome.
As in the previous year, a central element of the DenkForum 2025 was the role of art and culture as a source of inspiration.
For the anniversary of the DenkStein Eiserner Vorhang 2024 association, the Bruckner University organised an internal competition, which was endowed accordingly by the association
The open competition was aimed at all areas of the university - music, dance and theatre. The condition for participation was that ensembles deal with the utopia of a borderless Europe. Several ensembles from different areas of the Bruckner University, including classical music, text and music, elementary music performance, early music and new music including electronics, submitted specially developed concepts.
An expert jury consisting of Bruckner University lecturers - Prof. Irena Müller-Brozović and Prof. Hannes Löschel - as well as the head of the Event Service department, Jörg Parnreiter, and Vice-Rector Julia Purgina discussed the quality and suitability of the submitted projects together with the association representatives Alfred Fiedler and Wolfgang Stanek.
After intensive discussions, it was agreed that the competition had produced two winners whose artistic realisations of the theme could hardly be more different.
The contribution of the COFIE ensemble - EMP students with a proven creative and interdisciplinary way of working - was convincing with the "Glass Cage" project, which was shown for the first time at the DenkForum 2024 on 11 December. The audience was thrilled by the impressive performance, in which voices, music and movement are woven into a whole.
In 2025, the immersive virtual reality installation "ÀDYTON" by the artist couple Belenish Moreno-Gil and Óscar Escudero made it possible to experience Europe beyond classic border concepts. The artistic work also formed the starting point for in-depth discussions in a World Café format. This should not go unmentioned: Belenish and Oscar, two Spaniards, met and fell in love during their Erasmus studies in Vienna. Their lives symbolise a Europe without borders - encounters, exchange and solidarity. That is Europe.
In addition to the DenkForum, the association can look back on a successful year with school projects, university collaborations and public events. For the future, the DenkWeg Iron Curtain Trail, a multimedia circular trail in Guglwald, is a key project that aims to permanently anchor remembrance, reflection and European perspectives in the public space.
We think it's #schongenial how the arc from the past through the present to the future can be experienced.
