We are very grateful for the visit of the Spanish UNESCO Chair in Democratic Citizenship and Cultural Freedom from the Universities of La Rioja and Saragossa who spent the day visiting our faculty and the main campus. The initial contact was made between chair holders Ana María Vega Gutiérrez and Pablo Argárate at an international meeting in Rome.
The delegation is comprised of 6 members: Ana María Vega Gutiérrez (Univ. of La Rioja), Professor of Law, UNESCO Chair director, specialising in religious diversity and human rights; Pilar Diago Diago (Univ. of Zaragoza), Full Professor of Private International Law, focusing on international family law and cross-border mediation; Zoila Combalía Solís (Univ. of Zaragoza), Full Professor of Ecclesiastical Law, expert in religious freedom and Islamic law; Esther Raya Diez (Univ. of La Rioja), Full Professor of Social Work, researching human rights and AI in social intervention; Fermín Navaridas Nalda (Univ. of La Rioja), Professor of Didactics and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Education, specialising in inclusive education and generative AI; Ana González-Marcos (Univ. of La Rioja), senior lecturer in Project Management, leading research in machine learning and AI applications.
Meetings today included presentations regarding the activities of the UNESCO Chair of Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue for Southeastern Europe in Graz, the faculty’s commitment to the field of women and gender studies presented by Michaela Sohn-Kronthaler, interreligious projects in various fields, and possible future international cooperations discussed with Erasmus coordinator Antonina Wozna Urbancak,
Rector Peter Riedler welcomed our guests and and gave a short overview of the historic and current significance of the university and the main challenges facing third level education in Austria as a whole. The delegation enjoyed a short lunch with Vice Dean of Studies Martina Bär who gave an overview of the faculty.
Potential outcomes of the visit are expected to include joint publications, international seminars, mobility agreements for students and staff, and new courses on the management of religious and cultural diversity.
We are looking forward to continuing our exchange and collaborating in practical ways in the future.