How to talk objectively about excitement

Eisenstadt, 19 May 2026 How much excitement or outrage is beneficial to a cause and when does the damage outweigh the benefit? This was the central question addressed at this year's European Business Forum Burgenland on 16 and 17 May 2025.

Viewed positively, excitement can be seen as an expression of civic engagement and political interest. Excitement can lead to uncovering grievances and initiating change. On the other hand, this excitement can lead to polarisation, intolerance and an intensification of conflicts within society and the economy.

Opening by President of the Provincial Parliament Astrid Eisenkopf

"The European Business Forum Burgenland brings together people who are looking for constructive solutions to social and economic challenges. The participants at this year's event are focussing on the topic of excitement. The discussions and dialogue show that excitement does not have to lead to division, but to shaping. After all, democracy thrives on participation, critical discourse and respectful cooperation. It gives us the opportunity to use excitement as a driving force for progress - in dialogue, in the diversity of opinions and in the joint search for solutions," said State Parliament President Astrid Eisenkopf, who sees this as a central task in her political work, at the opening of the event.

Panel guests from politics and business

The two-day Business Forum looked at the topic from a political perspective on 16 May and from a business perspective on 17 May.

On Friday, the panel discussed the topic with the guests and students in attendance:

• Patricia Pappacena, former press spokesperson for a federal minister for education.
• Josef Barth, Head of Public Relations at the Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption in Austria.
• Georg Renner, journalist for the Wiener Zeitung.

Saturday then focussed on the economy: What does excitement mean for companies?

The Burgenland author and this year's winner of the Bachmann competition, Johanna Sebauer, kicked things off with her text "Das Gurkerl".

This was followed by a discussion:

• The marketing director of Felix Austria, Michael Gulliver Wagner.
• Management consultant Angelika Kiessling-Kranzelmayer, who was head of communications at Bosch Austria for nine years and is now a lecturer at the Burgenland University of Applied Sciences.
• Marlena Mayer, press spokeswoman for the Federation of Austrian Industries.

Broad engagement with an important topic

The project manager, Gerda Füricht-Fiegl, who heads the Master's programme European Studies - Management of EU Projects at the Burgenland University of Applied Sciences, believes it is important to look at the topic of excitement from different perspectives. "It takes passion for a topic to drive it forward in politics and business. On the other hand, excessive excitement often creates uncertainty and chaos. The latter makes an objective debate more difficult, which unfortunately often leads to negative consequences for politics and business. I am pleased that we had experts from various fields as guests at this year's European Business Forum and were therefore able to deal with this topic in a very broad way."

Thanks to the partners

The event organised by the Department of Economics at Burgenland University of Applied Sciences was held in cooperation with Europa Direct / Wirtschaftsagentur Burgenland. Many thanks for their support with the Europe Café, the wheel of fortune and the travelling exhibition on Austria's 30 years of EU membership. The exhibition will be on display at Campus Eisenstadt for another two weeks.

The Federation of Austrian Industries sent spokeswoman Marlena Mayer to the podium as a guest.

The Economic Forum of Executives helped to promote the event.

Mag.a Christiane Staab │ Marketing and Communication │ University of Applied Sciences Burgenland GmbH │ Tel: +43 (0)5 7705 3537 │ E-Mail: christiane.staab(at)hochschule-burgenland.at