Successful premiere

Ramsau sets strong impulses for the future

From the left: Rainer Nowak, Martin Kocher, Josef Herk, Henrietta Egerth, Gerhard Valeskini and Ralf-Wolfgang Lothert at the power panel on the right mindset.

(Bild: GEPA pictures, Krone KREATIV)

The Ramsau am Dachstein Future Forum celebrated its premiere under the motto "The champions of the future are WE!" premiere. Against the stunning backdrop of the Dachstein massif, the event not only impressed with top-class presentations and panels, but also with a special atmosphere that enabled dialog and networking at eye level. More than 250 decision-makers from the worlds of business, sport and politics came together to discuss the future issues of our time and create lasting momentum.

"The Future Forum is an event that raises public awareness of the challenges of the future. And it helps to create the enthusiasm in companies that is necessary to master these challenges," emphasized Minister of Economic Affairs Martin Kocher during a power panel moderated by Rainer Nowak, "Krone" Super Head of Economic and Political Affairs, at the start of the Future Forum.

Minister of Economic Affairs Martin Kocher sees the Future Forum as an event "that raises public awareness of the challenges of the future".

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

"Actively shaping developments"
"Krone" Managing Director Gerhard Valeskini emphasized the urgency of actively shaping these developments: "We must try, not only in the media, to identify future trends as quickly as possible and then pass them on to our employees, which is an ongoing process." The Future Forum offers the ideal framework for exchanging ideas and developing concrete approaches. For Valeskini, it will be crucial in future to keep up with international competition in order not to "lose touch in many areas".

Andreas Jenewein, Gerhard Valeskini, Alexandra Halouska and organizer Anton Schutti in front of the dreamlike Future Forum backdrop in Ramsau.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Presenter Andy Marek in conversation with "Krone" Managing Director Gerhard Valeskini

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Sports manager Herwig Straka drew parallels between sport and business: "If you want to stay ahead, you have to be flexible and prepared to break new ground." The founder and CEO of the "e|motion Group", Tournament Director of the Erste Bank Open and Tournament Director of the ATP Board is convinced that the courage to change is the key to success both in sport and in the corporate world.

Food for thought from top-class speakers
The major topics of our time were discussed in Ramsau am Dachstein: digitalization, demographic change and international competition. Over the two days, there was inspiration and food for thought from top-class speakers such as university professor and Hybrid Work Advisor Johanna Bath; HoT boss and former SK Rapid manager Michael Krammer; Josef Herk, President of the Styrian Chamber of Commerce; Henrietta Egerth, Managing Director of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG); Katharina Swoboda, Head of Communications and Government Affairs, Siemens; Reinhard Florey, CFO OMV; Martin Ohneberg, CEO and founder of Henn-Connector-Group and Gerhard Christiner, Technical Director of Austria Power Grid AG, to name but a few.

Organizers Michaela and Christoph Stadler from sportlicher.at, together with Anton Schutti, want to establish the Ramsau Future Forum as a sustainable meeting place for decision-makers in the coming years and thus create a platform for important impulses for shaping the future.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Pupils from the BG/BRG Stainach, who won the European Champion title in the young entrepreneurs category in Sicily last summer with their idea of producing sustainable and nutritious pasta from spent grains, a by-product of the brewing process, were met with great applause.

Pupils prove themselves as successful young entrepreneurs.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

"A champion is someone who wins. But he has to train for it, even in bad weather, even when the going gets tough. But he doesn't win alone, he also needs a team to support him. And he needs high goals, being good is not good enough, he has to want to be epic. This applies not only to sport, but also to entrepreneurship," says keynote speaker and "spiritual father" of the event motto "The champions of the future are WE!", Dietmar Dahmen. The success of the Future Forum shows that dialog is the most important tool for meeting the challenges of the future.

Keynote speaker Dietmar Dahmen.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Ideas for the future, wine and a warm welcome
The Styrian impulse evening as part of the Future Forum provided the setting in the rustic Ramsauer Waldschenke to continue the conversation in a relaxed atmosphere after an intensive day. With delicacies and a wine tasting, a relaxed atmosphere quickly developed, which enabled a personal exchange with prominent guests, including the managing editor-in-chief of the "Krone" and editor-in-chief of the "Steirerkrone" Klaus Herrmann.

How do you become a champion? This question was answered at the "Krone" Future Forum in Ramsau by kitesurfer Valentin Bontus, who won gold at the Olympics. He proudly presented his medal to ex-ski racer Nici Schmidhofer, who also won gold.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Presenter Andy Marek inspects Bontus' Olympic suit.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The managing editor-in-chief of the "Krone" and editor-in-chief of the "Steirerkrone" Klaus Herrmann and Upper Austrian "Krone" editor-in-chief Alexandra Halouska with sports manager Herwig Straka

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The mayor of Ramsau, Ernst Fischbacher (2nd from left), also came to visit.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The impulse evening brought sport and business together in a traditional way!

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Ski world champion Nici Schmidhofer and Olympic kitesurfing champion Valentin Bontus took center stage. In a humorous and motivating speech, Bontus gave an insight into his future: "In November, training will start again off Sardinia, and in 2025 there will be World Championships and European Championships, as we do every year - so I have the chance to win three titles within 14 months."

Morning impulse with a cross-country skiing legend
The second day of the Future Forum got off to a sporty start: early in the morning, more than 50 participants got moving at the "run4future" event around the Ramsau ski jump and got the day off to a lively start together with cross-country skiing legend Alois Stadlober and his daughter, Olympic champion Teresa Stadlober.

Day two started with a joint run on the new 2.5 km long Ramsau cross-country ski trail, led by Austrian cross-country skiing greats Alois Stadlober, Teresa Stadlober and Mika Vermeulen. The Nordic World Championships 2025 in Trondheim await them in the near future.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Anton Schutti, Mika Vermeulen, Teresa Stadlober and Alois Stadlober

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The fresh mountain air and the impressive panorama of the mountains created the ideal setting to gather inspiration for new approaches.

At the end of the event on Thursday evening, the organizers of the Future Forum handed over a cheque for 2,000 euros to Alois Stadlober, chairman of WSV Ramsau, who gained 15 new members in one go.