‘I want to be a voice for the unfamous people. I care about them, and I want the people who see my pictures to also care.’ Visualising the different realities of life for women and girls was a central motivation behind Mary Ellen Mark's work. The panel discussion aims to bring this concern into the present and to Vienna. Which of the problem areas highlighted by Mark, in which women and girls experience discrimination, are still highly topical in Austrian society? To what extent are issues such as discrimination and a lack of equal opportunities consciously or unconsciously kept invisible? What social and political options for action are there to counteract these structures? Where do we still come up against limits? And which of the topics that are also reflected in Mary Ellen Mark's photographic works are already outdated today?
Barbara Blaha prefers to work at the interface between science and politics. She heads the Momentum Institute and the Momentum Congress and uses her journalistic expertise to work on concrete, constructive proposals for a sustainable and fairer society.
Martina Fürpass has been Managing Director of sprungbrett since 2022 and supports girls and young women on their path to a self-determined future. With the sprungbrett association, she is committed to equal opportunities through educational programmes and empowerment and wants to show diverse perspectives beyond familiar role models and enable a life free of violence for young women.
Elisabeth Hammer has been managing neunerhaus since 2017 and is also part of the jury for the SozialMarie award, which honours European projects for social innovation every year. neunerhaus enables homeless people and those at risk of poverty to lead a self-determined and dignified life with medical care, housing and counselling with the aim of helping those affected to help themselves in order to improve their living situation in the long term.
