2025 Conference
ARE THE HONEYMOON YEARS OVER?
IT’S TIME TO FACE SET-BACKS AND BUILD OUR OWN STABLE FUTURE
Friday 13th June 2025, 10:00 - 17:00
The Ringturm, Wiener Städtische Versicherung, Schottenring 30, 1010 Vienna (map) and LIVESTREAM
About The Conference
Honeymoon? We are aware that since East meets West became active in Central & and Eastern Europe, we encountered often tough obstacles. Some countries were open to our suggestions and made legal changes but (too) many could not cut the ties with the old prejudices against LGBTIQ people. But there was limited danger for the activists working in our focus region and still relevant progress was made. But today, in the midst of the geopolitical changes that we face and in all the backlash that LGBTIQ community is confronted with, we need to be active and bring people together more than ever! We think that every suppression always makes the suppressed stronger and this will also be the case with the LGBTIQ movement. Patience is for sure needed before things will turn good again. But this however does not result in idle time. Its crucial to become more active. We need role models, executives, public officials to stand out and be vocal. As a community, we need to be united and speak the same language. If our ask is inclusion, we need to walk the talk and act inclusively too by bringing everyone to the table and helping others to understand our needs. It is a social acceptance that we ask for, but that also has an economical rationale, something many times is forgotten.
The Program
The East meets West Conference does not only reach out to the many business professionals and LGBTIQ advocacy organisations we work with, but we offer a balanced program of key speeches, active panel discussions, specialists interventions and master type classes to everybody who is interested in the well being and strengthening of the LGBTIQ community.
MORNING PROGRAM
9:30 - 10:00 | Warm-up and Early Networking Time
If you are present in person on June 13th, you can enjoy your morning coffee and network in the Conference auditorium. If you join us online, you get your laptop, tablet or smartphone on stand-by and find a comfortable place to sit. But in both cases you have a look again at the program, the speakers and get ready for an awesome Conference day! Our international guests and supporting partners will greet you during this warm-up time and wish you a very good morning.
10:00 | Official Opening
Our key supporting partners welcome the participants in their exclusive location in the centre of Vienna where we can enjoy a unique panoramic view on the Imperial city.
Liane Hirner, CFO at Vienna Insurance Group (VIG), Austria
Valerie Brugger, Head of Marketing, Innovation & Digital Sales at Wiener Städtische Versicherung AG, Austria
Message of the Co-Founders
Pavel and Ludo are welcoming, also on behalf of all our supporting partners and official representatives, all participants to their 10th International East meets West Conference, explaining the main theme of this Conference: “Are the honeymoon years over?’ and if yes where do we go from now?
Pavel Šubrt and Ludo A.F. Swinnen, Co-founders East meets West, Austria / Belgium
The Look and the Look... this time “revisited”: The status of the LGBTIQ Communities in the CEE region and together looking for fitting answers
Instead of Ludo's classic "The Look from the East and the Look from the West" we break here this traditional approach, and we focus on people representing key areas that are under high pressure from a violent and loud anti-LGBTIQ opposition. As the panel members all live in, or have strong ties with the discussed locations, they will offer you an objective view on the situation in their country. This will allow you to discover the best possible strategies to deal with the new reality.
Eszter Polgári, Legal Program Director at Háttér Society, Hungary
Denis Oleinik, Executive Director at ComingOut, Russia
Jan Krč, Former Counselor for Public Affairs at the US Embassy in Vienna, USA
Moderated by: Ludo A.F. Swinnen, Co-founder East meets West, Belgium
KEYNOTE: Taking Our Destiny in Our Own Hands
When we undergo important changes in our existing working environment, we might get ‘lost in space’. In that case it is very inspiring to listen to people who can explain the more underlying strategic issues of these social changes. East meets West is happy and proud to have on the Conference a famous, internationally recognised authority on the LGBTIQ topics in business and society... and someone who actively writes for eg. Financial Times Deutschland.
Jens Schadendorf, Economist, LGBTQ Researcher and Bestselling-Author, Germany
AFTERNOON PROGRAM
Corporates, showing their true colors without airs and graces or any pretense
Until recently many corporates have been major supporters of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, not in the least in the funding of civil society groups world wide. Internally, they included these DEI values in the DNA of their companies. The recent US legislation and legal decisions have forced them to re-evaluate these policies. Some just dropped their DEI values, others reaffirmed their DEI beliefs and developed new activities that they consider to allow them to continue their support. We will focus on these corporate players and how they have reacted to the new situation. You will hear from corporate insiders how these key players have not forsaken their existing DEI focus and try to continue to keep playing their major role.
Elisabeth Dal-Bianco, Communication Operations Manager at IKEA, Austria
Réka R. Artner, Head of BOLD Community at Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Austria
Hannes Mösenbacher, Chief Risk Officer (CRO) at Raiffeisen Bank International, Austria
Matt Foster, Director of Inclusion and Impact at Ogilvy, The United Kingdom
moderated by Katja Kreiner, People Management at RDB, Austria
Advocacies, showing their ability to adjust their work to handle new and unexpected challenges
We have in our region of Central & Eastern Europe a large number of civil society groups that have been the motor of the continuous improvements we have seen in the last decades for the local LGBTIQ communities. But these groups are now faced with a question: will they be able to continue their work facing huge challenges. We have invited 4 professionals that will discuss with you possible answers to such pressing questions. It will inspire all of you to overcome the challenges you are confronted with in your daily work.
Monika Haider, Founder of Diversity Awards Austria
Yves Aerts Jacobs, Executive Director at çavaria, Belgium
Goran Miletic, Senior Advisor to the Executive Director, Civil Rights Defenders, Sweden
Madrid Bednár, Founder of Dragrift Slovakia Slovakia
moderated by Laco Hudec-Šubrt, Founder at VecizVeci and performer, Austria
Entrepreneurship, finally recognising their unexploited potential
The major part of the economical business activity in Europe is the daily work of millions of smaller businesses, often not in the spotlight but key to our economical welfare. We have too long tried, often with limited success, to engage this major economical power to push the DEI values. Now the time has come to turn these motivated people to become a group of inspirational and impactful role models. We look on ways we can use this unexploited business power and turn the present negative wave into a commercial success. Also here its essential to cooperate within their sector and join forces to become a real economical power that will continue to support the LGBTIQ community.
Lushentha Naidoo, Managing Director at ESDP, The Netherlands
Giovanna Ceccherini, Secretary General at ELTA - European LGBTQ+ Travel Alliance, Italy
Vit Lichtenstein, Co-founder and General Manager at mypaperwork.ai, Austria
Roger Holzapfel-Barta, CEO at Hotel Deutsche Eiche, Germany
moderated by: Tina Ličková, Researcher & Podcaster, Slovakia
The East meets West Closing Words and Networking!
We from East meets West meet many people, NGO’s and businesses that are just too good in what they do. We honour here for the 5th time these 3 categories and give the winners a pat on the shoulder, an encouragement together with an original East meets West 2025 Award Trophy.
Most importantly, we have something very special for all that are joining in person. A person close to Ludo and Pavel, with a great talent for performances, will be joining us and will be turning the ending of the 2025 East meets West conference into an unforgettable experience.
Vienna offers endless possibilities to end and celebrate a successful and inspirational day. So it is true during the Vienna Pride week. East meets West will be recommending all who joined the Conference in person few tips on how to spend the remaining time of the day.
The Registration
Registration is required to attend the 2025 International East meets West Conference in Vienna.
East meets West understands that sometimes the in-person participation of NGOs or as an individual might need an extra support. Contact us under events@eastmeetswest.eu to find out more about our NGO support program.
As every year, we will leave all participants with the possibility to support the crucial work of LGBTIQ NGOs in CEE Region financially.
The Venue
We promised you a great location for our Conference: downtown Vienna, a prime business location and of course the TOP floor.
We all will meet at The Ringturm. Located in the heart of Vienna, the Ringturm serves not only as the corporate headquarters of Wiener Städtische Versicherung and Vienna Insurance Group (VIG). It also offers stunning views on the whole city of Vienna, and is important and vibrant cultural landmark. Since 2006, the Ringturm has been transformed into an oversized artwork during the summer months, showcasing the work of renowned international artists. Built in 1955 according to plans of Erich Boltenstern, the 73 meters high Ringturm (93 meters high including the 20 meter weather lighthouse) is the second-tallest building on Vienna's Ringstrasse. Only the Gothic St. Stephen's Cathedral is taller.
Wiener Städtische Versicherung is the largest single company within the Vienna Insurance Group (VIG), the leading insurance group in Central and Eastern Europe. Present in 30 geographies across Europe, VIG is the market leader in countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
Curious of this iconic location? Just look at the view below (photo we made during one of our site visits). We are very much looking forward welcoming our international audience on June 13th at Wiener Städtische Versicherung and VIG corporate headquarters. The registrations will start in just a week from now!
In Austria, from Austria
We again host our signature event in Austria, our home country. As you are used from us in our previous CEE events, we will feature again a local LGBTIQ reality check and bring you an updated and more correct picture of the daily LGBTIQ reality in Austria. In 2025 we will of course keep our high professional standard and focus on delivering real value to both our audiences, those in-person and those joining online. We will make streaming available to audiences across the whole world. We nevertheless recommend you join us in person in a real space for people to meet again.
By hosting our conference in Austria, and streaming the event to the whole world, we want to give a special attention to the Austrian LGBTIQ situation. By doing so, we also aim to create business opportunities for local LGBTIQ owned and operated businesses.
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Why to Join us in Vienna
Vienna, the capital of Austria, offers a blend of imperial traditions, music, and endearing charm. A city that inspires with the old and the new alike, and always has a cosy place available in a coffee house or wine tavern. Vienna also has an active LGBTIQ community and is considered Austria's queer capital. Vienna is also a popular destination for international LGBTIQ travellers from around the world. The Vienna Tourist Board strongly believes in promoting diversity and equality and runs a great dedicated section on the official website. And if you prefer digital, an LGBTIQ guide in ivie App takes you to the most important locations that Vienna has to offer for LGBTQ people and their friends (LINK to ivie App).
The 2025 Vienna Pride March (Regenbogenparade)
Vienna Pride 2025 will take place from 31st May to 15th June. The highlight is the Pride Parade on 14th June, where more than 250,000 people are expected to celebrate and march together. The main Pride March event will again be accompanied by numerous other events that will take place both virtually and on site. More info.
Our 2025 Supporting Partners
Organising the 10th International East meets West Conference in Vienna would not be possible without the kind support of the following partners:
