Two-day festival presented hands-on climate research: The 2023 Knowledge Days, which were organised by the City of Salzburg together with many partners such as Salzburg AG and Salzburg Research, were dedicated to many facets of climate change this year under the motto “Climate.Changes”, from scientific phenomena to changes in the social climate.

Pupils experienced science and research up close

On Friday, an exciting programme was on the agenda for almost 150 pupils: they experienced the exciting world of science and research up close at interactive stations, lectures and discussions with experts and workshops.

Premiere for the “1st Salzburg Bicycle Cinema”

We welcomed around 250 guests to the premiere of the “Bicycle Cinema” on Friday evening. As expected, almost all of them came by bike despite the heavy rain. The electricity for the cinema screening of “Into the Ice”, a visually impressive and stirring cinema adventure that shows the effects of climate change on Greenland’s glaciers, did not come from the power socket, but was generated by around 30 volunteers using muscle power by pedalling. Afterwards, the audience discussed the topic with experts from the University of Salzburg, GeoSphere Austria and the Alpine Association. Everyone agreed that a package of measures is needed quickly to ensure that the unique natural landscape of the Alps is preserved and remains safe for people.

Public day on Saturday with numerous presentations and hands-on stations

On Saturday, a varied and comprehensive programme from 20 educational and knowledge institutions attracted around 600 people. Young and old were able to build solar windmills with apprentices from Salzburg AG, find out about renewable energies, enjoy climate-friendly food, try out upcycling, find out about facade greening or simply listen to exciting inputs in the storytelling lab. Dagmar Aigner (Culture, Education, Knowledge – Stadt:Salzburg), Herwig Struber (CEO of Salzburg AG) and Siegfried Reich (Salzburg Research) emphasised how important it is for the public sector, commercial enterprises and research to work together so that the challenges of the future can be overcome in harmony with people, nature and economic conditions.

Salzburg Research with 2 stations on site

Salzburg Research was not only co-organiser of the entire event, but was also on site with two stations: Together with the association ICT4D.at and the ideas platform IdeaSpace.cc, the three best ideas from the ideas competition “Rebooting Hope: Ideas for regenerative communities” were presented. Together with the SIR and the Sophiensiedlung energy community, we organised a stand on the topic of energy communities: Sharing renewable energy with others.

Pictures: © Stadt Salzburg, Alexander Killer © wildbild © Salzburg Research