We cannot change many things in life, but we can change our attitude immediately – including towards minorities.

Beate Winkler

Activities in the area of human rights

My artistic projects also provide opportunities for social dialogue and inspiration – including in the field of human rights. In addition, I support European foundations, NGOs, and international organizations in matters of integration and intercultural dialogue. My focus areas include strengthening democracy and equal opportunities, and changing perceptions and attitudes – especially through the media – to make human rights more effective. The aim is to help bring a human rights culture to life. My numerous publications also contribute to this, for example, “Tackling intercultural conflicts – finding approaches to solutions.”

At the heart of Beate Winkler’s activities:

  • In the action paper “We have more opportunities than we think” (German | English) I give around 50 concrete suggestions on how each and every one of us can strengthen democracy and coexistence in everyday life.
  • The initiative “#ZUSAMMEN! Zukunftsbilder für eine neues WIR”
    This initiative advocates for social cohesion and positive visions of the future for an open, fair, and democracy-enhancing society, which we urgently need to address our major challenges such as the consequences of the war in Ukraine, climate change, digitalization, and migration. The initiative aims to raise public awareness of these issues and promote new forms of collaboration. The initiators contacted a wide range of organizations, asking them to organize their own events, using their own resources and responsibility, on the following topics: “How do we want to live together in the future? Can we work together to overcome the growing divisions and polarizations, the feeling of a lack of participation, and the lack of influence on political decision-making processes in our society?” The results were compiled on a shared platform, projects were held during the action days from November 6–11, 2022, and presented publicly on November 14 at the Radio Culture House.
  • The “Initiative Digitalisierung Chancengerecht” (IDC) was founded at the suggestion of Doris Schmidauer, together with Sabine Köszegi, Marlies Lenglachner, Martina Mara, and myself. It is committed to ensuring that digital transformation is shaped in a humane, democratic, socially responsible, and environmentally sound manner. The 2019 UNESCO report “I Would Blush If I Could,” which forms the basis of its work, developed 15 recommendations to close the gender gap in digital education. The goal of the IDC is for these recommendations to be discussed by representatives from business, politics, education, health, culture, and media within a broad public sphere and subsequently implemented across all sectors.

Web site IDC

Statement Beate Winkler zur PK am 11.06.2021
Folder „Initiative Digitalisierung Chancengerecht“
Folder “For Equal Opportunities in Digitalisation” (en)

Professional background

First female Director of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism, Xenophobia and Antisemitism (EUMC) and the first female Director of any EU agency (1998-2007): nine years of experience in establishing and managing this independent EU agency, which was expanded during its mandate to become the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights. Key areas of her work included: building networks with Member State governments, NGOs, and municipalities, and publishing reports; developing strategies for intercultural dialogue and combating racism; fostering new forms of cooperation between policymakers and academia; and developing public relations strategies, organizing events, lectures, moderating discussions, conducting interviews, etc.

Sharing these experiences as an advisor in the “Bureau of European Policy Advisers” (BEPA) – the “think tank” of the President of the European Commission

Education and training: Doctorate in Law, painting, general management, communication, group dynamics, psychoanalytic perceptions, intercultural competence, etc. Previously: over 14 years in the office of the Commissioner for Foreigners of the German Federal Government (1982-1996), Managing Director of the BDA (Association of German Architects), Berlin and Head of the Secretariat of the German National Commission for the International Year of Disabled Persons (1981).

Beate Winkler has now focused on the connection between art and human rights.

  • as a member of the Board of Trustees of the CIVIS Media Foundation, Cologne (organized and supported, for example, by the EBU, ARD, WDR, ORF, arte, SRG SSR Idée Suisse, Radio Televizja Slovenija, European Parliament, Freudenberg Foundation),
  • as a member of IWF Austria, an international organization of women in leadership positions that promotes young women and engages in social discussions.

Human Rights: Lectures and Moderations

Lectures, presentations and moderations during the last few years, e.g. at:

  1. International and European institutions
    • United States House of Representatives (US Congress), Washington, USA
    • UNESCO, Paris
    • UN World Forum of Human Rights, Nantes
    • Alliance of Civilizations (UN), Rio de Janeiro
    • OSCE, Vienna, Paris and Bucharest
    • Holocaust Conference, Stockholm
    • Council of Europe, Strasbourg
    • European Parliament, Strasbourg and Brussels
    • European Commission, Brussels and Berlin
    • European Forum for Fundamental Rights, Vienna
    • EU human rights dialogue with China and Russia, Beijing, Luxembourg and Vienna
    • EU Committee of the Regions, Brussels
  2. International NGOs, European organizations, universities
    • Roundtables (politics, science, NGOs, media) in almost all EU member states
    • Europaforum (European Parliament, ARD/WDR etc.), Berlin and Brussels
    • Commission des droits de l´Homme, Paris
    • Centre Pompidou, Paris
    • Menuhin Foundation, Lisbon
    • European Private Foundation Center, Brussels
    • Open Society Institute, Budapest
    • American Jewish Committee, Washington
    • Islam Conference Austria, Vienna
    • European Jewish Congress, Paris
    • Islam Conference, Kuala Lumpur
    • Forum for Roma Inclusion, Berlin
    • Sigmund Freud Society – Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, Vienna
    • European Network Against Racism, Brussels
    • Universities like Vienna and Bielefeld
    • Bruno Kreisky Forum, Vienna
    • Salzburg Global Seminar, Salzburg
  3. German organizations (examples)
    • Committee on Internal Affairs of the German Bundestag, Berlin
    • Franco-German Summit, Freiburg
    • Federation of German Industries, Berlin
    • Federal Criminal Police Office, Wiesbaden
    • Federal Agency for Civic Education, Berlin
    • Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Cologne
    • Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, Mainz
    • German NGOs (e.g. Amnesty International, Intercultural Council)
    • Political foundations (Friedrich Ebert, Konrad Adenauer, etc.) Brussels, Berlin