Preparation for the Dachstein Dialoge Scholarship program is in progress. The program invites participants from countries affected by violence, conflict, and oppression to take part in a multi-week residential course in the region.

“We remain committed to our idea of creating intellectual, professional, and personal opportunities for those who communicate independent, fact-based history—together with leading educational institutions and NGOs,” emphasizes artistic director Philipp Blom. “However, at this point, too many funding commitments are still pending for the program to take place this year. All the more, we thank the municipalities of Filzmoos and Ramsau for their generous support of the festival.”

The Dachstein Dialoge scholarship program is intended to give future teachers and historians the opportunity to build on the knowledge and experiences gained during the DDSP and apply them in their future lives and professional practice. Participants are also encouraged to act as multipliers, sharing what they have learned with fellow educators in their home countries. The program will also engage them in working with their own personal histories—through writing, historical analysis, philosophical debate, and, as a culminating moment, the performance of a play based on their autobiographical stories.

The DDSP aims to create an intellectual, professional, and personal experience that will empower participants to develop as teachers and communicators of a history that is non-partisan and fact-based. It encourages learning from the best teachers in history, philosophy, sociology, and education.

The goal is not indoctrination or ideological teaching, but rather an approach grounded in human rights, equality, respect, and fact-based argumentation. It seeks, on the contrary, to unlock history as a source of insight into the structures and strategies at play in history and politics, prompting participants to ask new questions during and after their residency.

Didactic resources and methods will be provided to future teachers to create open teaching environments that strengthen basic human rights and mutual respect through their work and commitment to educating the next generation. To support this, the social aspects of the residential course—such as interactions with local families and other scholars from distant places—are as important as the academic or artistic dimensions of the project. These aspects may also be sustained through an online alumni community.

The DDSP is funded partly by the Avina Foundation, by the Erste Foundation, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ja!natürlich organic food brand. The annual budget is 150.000 Euros.

The concept of the DDSP was developed by Philipp Blom, artistic director of the Dachstein Dialoge, in consultation with the Seagull Foundation and its History for Peace program, as well as Prof. Michael Ignatieff and Catrin Neumüller.

The full scholarship enables young people from conflict regions to take part in the Dachstein Dialoge Scholarship Program – covering travel, accommodation, meals, a stipend, and all program-related costs.

To make this possible, we rely on additional financial support and are currently seeking sponsors.

By contributing, you help provide an educational experience that empowers young people to become multipliers for democracy education, conflict resolution, and fact-based historical awareness – making a vital international contribution to greater social cohesion worldwide.