September 8
Panel Discussion ‘Living the Diversity: Witnessing the Change’
Bank Austria Salon, Altes Rathaus
The Long Nights of Interculturality continued in the Bank Austria Salon in the Old City Vienna Hall with a panel discussion titled ‘Living the Diversity: Witnessing the Change’. The panel was moderated by ICDO Ambassador and Mister World Europe, Alberto Nodale, and inspired by the moving tales of Rania Mustafa Ali and Suad Mohamed, who shared their migration journeys to Austria and the challenges of living away from their home countries.
Rania Ali is a journalist, public speaker, and human rights defender whose award-winning documentary produced by The Guardian- ‘Escape from Syria: Rania’s Odyssey’ follows her journey from war zone in Syria. During the panel discussion, she described the beginning of her journey, viewed over nine million times online:
“Overnight my life was upside down as many of the lives of others Syrians. I once heard that one of the tragic consequences of war is innocent bystanders. I was one of those bystanders and I had to escape with my family several times. I was displaced over four times; I escaped from Raqqa to Kobani, went to Turkey and then went back to Kobani, and then left Syria again.”
The event was concluded with musical performance, where attendees had an opportunity to enjoy the performances of renowned artist Kim Cooper and her band, as well as Vienna based pianist Jovana Misaljevic.
