Rethinking (In)Equality: "There is no good life at the expense of others"

Another dimension of inequality, namely that within the Italian regions, was addressed by the economic historian Pier Francesco Asso from the University of Palermo. In no other European country is the North-South divide more pronounced and persistent. Looking at the contemporary economic history of the Mezzogiorno, the first two decades of the 21st century stand out as particularly fatal. One possible countermeasure is to strengthen cooperative networks. These do exist, but in contrast to companies in the north, they concentrate on informal contacts, family and friend circles, which results in little exchange and innovation. Stefanie Kisgen, Managing Director of Steinbeis University, spoke of the need for disruptive leadership in order to implement sustainable change. Gender inequalities in leadership positions, on the other hand, were addressed by the Brazilian lawyer Juliana Oliveira Nascimento. As one of the founders of the women's network "Compliance Woman Committee", she advocates for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women according to the United Nations Guidelines for Sustainable Development.

Gender equality was also one of the topics in the discussion round with Cristina Masera, General Secretary of the AGB/CGIL labour union confederation, Esther Ausserhofer, Vice-President of the Young Entrepreneurs in the Entrepreneurs' Association and the political scientist Thomas Benedikter, moderated by Harald Pechlaner, Director of the Center for Advanced Studies. Women still account for 80 percent of part-time work. Ausserhofer stressed that a cultural change is needed in which men also participate more in care work and part-time models become attractive for men and women in a ratio of 80:80, for example. Diversity in the workplace is an enrichment, not a brake, it brings more innovative solutions and is not least a lever for the shortage of skilled workers. Cristina Masera emphasised that a simplification of the contract system should be started. There are over 900 forms of contract in Italy. It is no wonder that the younger generation in particular has too little knowledge in this area. The province also needs to address the precarious employment conditions in the low-wage sector. Many people have jobs but earn so little that they are still dependent on social assistance. This basically costs the province more than if it internalised precarious employment and paid a fair wage. In South Tyrol, it is possible to reduce poverty through social benefits, Thomas Benedikter said. Nevertheless, there is a more unequal society than in North Tyrol, Austria and Germany, for example. Inequality is the price of rapid growth in the past 30 years. The unequal distribution of income is mainly due to a less progressive tax system with many loopholes as well as the low countervailing power of employees and labour unions. Furthermore, it has not yet been possible to make non-performing assets accountable.

After the welcome by Mayor Heiko Hauser, Hannes Götsch, Project Manager of BASIS Vinschgau Venosta and Johannes Graf Trapp, the initiator of the Churburg Economic Talks, the focus in Schluderns was not only on the regional level and inequality relations in South Tyrol, but also on the concrete contribution of the participants. In the discussion round with Barbara Unmüßig and Davide Brocchi, there were numerous comments from the audience, some of which were very specific about the acute problems in South Tyrol. Mobility policy was mentioned as well as the deficits in social policy, where there is still a lot to be done, especially in the field of family. The responsibility for this could not be shifted to the citizens.

Together with Philipp Corradini (researcher at the Institute for Regional Development) and Philipp Rier (spatial planner), and moderated by Elisa Innerhofer, proposals for solutions to the urban-rural exodus were developed. The topic of affordable housing was discussed in cooperation with Ulrich Santa (Director of the KlimaHaus Agency), Ulrich Kriese (Edith Maryon Foundation) and moderated by Vittoria Brolis, while access to education and the labour market was highlighted at the moderated working table by Daria Habicher after the keynote speeches by Stefan Perini (Director of the Institute for Employment Promotion) and Matthias Einhoff (Centre for Art and Urban Studies). At all three working tables it became clear that financial and social insecurities prevent innovation and that young people in particular are offered few opportunities to actually break out of existing systems and dare to try something new. The discrepancy between wages and the cost of living is striking. More participation is needed, but it has to be designed in such a way that participatory initiatives are followed by actual implementation. It was also emphasised that South Tyrol's funding policy focuses too much on technical innovations and unfortunately forgets about social innovations.