Sit In Series by Karin Sawetz, publisher Fashionoffice
(log series through March and April 2013, Vienna)

Series on occasion of an English course:
Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - Day 6 - Day 7 - Day 8 - Day 9 - Day 10 - Day 11 - Day 12 - Day 13

Today, I write about another culture event in Vienna - even when the election of the new Pope Franciscus (he is the 266th and the first South-American Pope) would be more interesting; especially the speculations about the effects on our society and the values of the Christian Church. The Catholic Church stands for freedom of religion and dialogue - that includes criticism with respect for each other. There are many agendas on the list of Christians; some of them like equal rights for women and men are strongly supported by Austrian priests. It's a great time; everything is possible and I wish that the new Pope decides wisely. My believe carries my hope. "My words in god's ears," such as the Austrians say.

fig.: The image shows Ebow, the German-Turkish experimental-electronic music rapper from Munich. Photo: Kamer Aktas. The 'Into the City / music and politics' project will start on 11 May 2013 with the performance of Ebow at the open air event on the Karlsplatz in Vienna. Video: On her website, Ebow publishes currently the mixtape video 'Habibi's Liebe & Kriege' about the developments in Arabian countries and societies. Her music combines club atmosphere and critical analysis of social themes. The 13 clips of Ebow's video mixtape invite users to meet the world between Orient and Occident.

Spreading words is the theme of today's issue of the 'Sit In Series'; but I won't write about the words that are spread by the Church. I found a very interesting project by surfing through the catalogue of the Wiener Festwochen; the city's festival weeks run from 10 May until 16 June 2013 on various venues in Vienna. The title of the project is 'Into The City - music and politics' and introduces young people into the power of music for the articulation of political hopes, visions and the expression of personal views on today's life.

"The burning topicality of the discourse on music and politics is clearly borne out by a cruel event of the current Syrian conflict. In July 2011, 41-year-old singer Ibrahim Kashush protested against the Syrian regime by chanting satirical songs at a manifestation in Hama: four days later, his corpse was found with the vocal cords cut out." festwochen.at

During the music/politics project, people will not only learn to find the right notes; they will find out how important the culture of protest for modern democracies is. 'Into The City' is accompanied by installations, performances, lectures, discussions, workshops in collaboration with professional musicians from the whole world, schools and youth institutions of the City of Vienna. The event series will start in May and will end in June. On 8 June, the results of the music/politics workshops will premiere at the closing party on the Karlsplatz.

The details of the program 'Into The City - music and politics' and the subscription form will be unveiled on 1 April on intothecity.at.

BTW: According to the media (I heard it on the day of the election on CNN), Pope Franciscus speaks several languages, but he doesn't speak English. I don't want to be 'holier than the Pope'; but now I have to get ready for the sixth part of my English course.


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