• Guest: Austrian Federal Minister for Social Affaires and Consumer-Protection Rudolf Hundstorfer
• Moderation: Eva-Maria Mozgan, Club Alpbach Medica

FM Hundstorfer mentioned that in Austria 5 Mio Euro are invested every year in active employment policy for young people between 15 and 24. Today every apprenticeship-position in Austria is publicly funded – this autumn everyone interested in an apprenticeship should have access to such a position.

FM Hundstorfer stated a certain mobility problem amongst the young generation in Austria. It´s important to give them the feeling that they are not left alone in case they have problems to establish themselves on the job-market. He accentuated the importance of education for an individual as well as for the society.

Concerning the Austrian pension system FM Hundstorfer advocated for what he calls the “rules of the game”: follow the political conditions and raise the pensions just as much as defined by law, oriented on the consumer price index. He assured the young mentees that the commission on the public pension is doing a good job and that a 20year-old can expect to have an adequate pension, even if it will not be as high as it is now.

In the following discussion FM Rudolf Hundstorfer reported that 8 Billion Euro are funded every year for the two pension-systems. He sees the coverage of free employment-contracts, the encouragement of constant working-contracts and the promotion of one-person-firms as some of the answers for the problems of the “generation internship”. As demography and also children-rate per woman change dramatically FM Hunddstorfer advocates for an offensive immigration-policy. He reported that a new information campaign on gender equality will start in september 2009 and that the so called “Mindestsicherung” will follow in 2010.

FM Hundstorfer always supports young people and promotes the younger generation – that’s why he’s always open for dialogues and discussions with the younger generation - his advice to the mentees of Club Alpbach Medica: „keep and follow your curiousity“!

Matthäus Walter, Mentee 2009/10

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