KEBÖ Annual Conference 2025: Learning peace – adult education strengthens cohesion

"In 2024, the 10 associations gathered in KEBÖ welcomed 2.5 million participants
and 171,000 educational events were held. This is an 
impressive record for adult education as an essential pillar of our education system."
KEBÖ Chairman Bernd Wachter

Education as a response to polarization
KEBÖ Chairman Bernd Wachter opened the conference with an appeal to view education as an active contribution to social cohesion, while also highlighting the track record of the non-profit adult education associations united in the KEBÖ. “In 2024, the 10 associations gathered in KEBÖ welcomed 2.5 million participants and held 171,000 educational events. This is an impressive record for adult education as an essential pillar of our education system,” said Wachter. In her video message, Federal Minister Eva-Maria Holzleitner (BMFWF) emphasized the topicality of the issue and the enormous commitment of the KEBÖ associations and their member organizations in all regions of Austria: Peace is more than the absence of war. Rather, peace means respect, the ability to engage in dialogue, cohesion, and also the ability to resolve conflicts constructively. “Especially at a time when polarization, hatred, and disinformation are weighing on our society, it is clear that we need education that strengthens, empowers, and protects. This is precisely where adult educators in Austria make an indispensable contribution,” said Holzleitner. Elmar Pichl, head of the university section at the ministry, also emphasized the educational relevance of peace skills in the context of lifelong learning. Hubert Petrasch, chairman of the Forum for Catholic Adult Education, emphasized the historical development of KEBÖ and praised its recent establishment as an association: “This structure gives adult education new legal and strategic opportunities at the federal level,” Petrasch affirmed in his speech.
According to Petrasch, peace education is “as necessary as a bite of bread,” especially in view of increasing social division.

“It's money, stupid!” – Welzer criticizes Europe's political disorientation
One of the highlights of the conference was the keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Harald Welzer, sociologist and director of the FUTURZWEI Foundation. Welzer warned against Europe's morally exaggerated but politically inactive self-image and called for a realistic, value-based peace policy. He argued that the continent must learn to position itself as an active political player once again. Freedom and democracy can only be secured in peace, he said, and the ability to maintain peace also requires a willingness to engage in dialogue with authoritarian regimes. In a sharp critique of unbridled capitalism and political developments in the US, the sociologist summed up his analysis succinctly: “It's money, stupid!”
In the subsequent panel discussion with Terezija Stoisits (former Ombudsman), Nora Tödtling-Musenbichler (Caritas), and Markus Schlagnitweit (ksoe), moderated by Magdalena Modler El-Abdaoui (Director of Bildungshaus St. Michael and Haus der Begegnung Innsbruck), the role of adult education in peace work was further explored.

Practical examples and handover
In the afternoon, member organizations of KEBÖ presented specific peace education projects. Organizer Martina Bauer, education and project manager at the forum, emphasized: “Peace education does not happen in the abstract, but in everyday life – in courses, encounters, and conversations on site.”
The conference concluded with the handover of the KEBÖ chairmanship to the Association of Austrian Adult Education Centers (VÖV). In his speech, Secretary General John Evers thanked his predecessor Bernd Wachter and emphasized the task ahead: “Bernd Wachter not only steered KEBÖ excellently through a challenging time, but above all, he visionarily transformed it into a new structure.” The next two years should be used to firmly establish this new structure in partnership with the public sector, especially with the BMFWF. “We need a new culture of adult education, a new strategy for lifelong learning in Austria. KEBÖ can and will make a decisive contribution to this. It is particularly important to consider what motivates people to learn – for example, if we want to reach the 1.7 million adults who have problems with basic skills,” said Evers on taking over the chairmanship of KEBÖ.

Austrian Conference on Adult Education
The Austrian Conference on Adult Education is the working platform for Austrian adult education associations recognized under the Adult Education Promotion Act of 1973. The ten federal associations represented in the KEBÖ are autonomous, non-profit organizations that provide continuous and systematic educational services throughout Austria. The KEBÖ chairmanship rotates every two years among the five largest participating associations.
In 2024 alone, 170,993 events were organized by the KEBÖ. A total of 5,078,280 participants were counted.

Questions & Contact
Forum for Catholic Adult Education in Austria;
Federal Office, Erdbergstraße 72/Top 8, 1030 Vienna
Bernd Wachter, MMag.
Email: office@keboe.at
Website: www.forumkeb.at

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