Austrian Federal Minister for Education, Science and Research, Dr. Martin Polaschek, visited Los Angeles and took part in the 2023 Austrian Research and Innovation Talk (ARIT). ARIT was organized together by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, and ASciNA (Austrian Scientists & Scholars in North America) and took place on October 7, 2023. This year marked the 20th annual ARIT and the topic was “Meeting Challenges of the 21st Century.” The conference was held at the Biltmore hotel in Los Angeles with around 130 participants.

On the margins of the conference, Minister Polaschek visited Los Angeles from October 6-9, 2023. Minister Polaschek was accompanied by a 40 member delegation from Austria as well as the Austrian Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Petra Schneebauer. The program included visits to USC and UCLA.

During his stay in Los Angeles, Minister Polaschek conferred Austrian citizenship to five descendants of victims of Nazi persecution and presented the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art to the Music Director of Los Angeles Opera, Maestro James Conlon, at a reception in the Austrian Residence.

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