About the MuseumsQuarter

The MuseumsQuartier is an amazing cultural complex in the heart of Vienna. It unites baroque buildings, new architecture, cultural institutions of all sizes, various disciplines of art, and recreational facilities in a single spectacular location. The Forum sessions will take place in art museums, exhibition spaces, dance centres, artist studios, etc. This extraordinary setting will hopefully be inspiring for us all.

The MuseumsQuartier Vienna (MQ) is one of the ten largest cultural quarters in the world. Located at the border of the old city in the former imperial stables, it combines institutions of different art fields, restaurants, cafès and shops in an area of over 640,000 square feet in a post–modern ambiance, a combination of baroque buildings and modern architecture.

How to get from the Airport to the City

The City Airport Train (CAT) is a fast and comfortable way to get to the city centre. One-way tickets are 8 Euro, return tickets 15 Euro. Daily service is provided from 05:38 to 23:35. Trains run every half hour and take 16 minutes to the City Air Terminal/Landstraße (view the schedule ). From there, the metro U3 (orange line) will take you directly to
-the City Centre (Stephansplatz)
-the venue MuseumsQuartier (Volkstheater, Museumsquartier)
-the Western hotel area (Westbahnhof).

The bus service Vienna Airport Lines (one-way 6 Euros, return 11 Euros) will take you to
-Wien-Mitte / City Air Terminal (U3, U4) in 25 minutes
-Westbahnhof / Western Station (U3, U6) in 35 minutes

A taxi will travel in 25 minutes into the city for 30 to 40 euros per car.

How to get to the MuseumsQuartier

A very comfortable way to reach the MuseumsQuartier - Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna - is by metro. The orange line U3 connects the City centre and the Western Station (Westbahnhof) hotel areas with the MuseumsQuartier.  Metro stop: U3 Volkstheater. Follow the circular MQ sign.

Getting around in Vienna

Vienna has an excellent public transport system with metro, trams and buses. When planning your trip, consider that the metro U2 is currently not in service!

You will also receive a free 3-day Vienna Congress Ticket upon registration. This ticket is valid for all public transportation (tram, metro, bus - except night buses) in Vienna from Tuesday, September 13 to Friday, September 16.

Registration, information & contact

The registration and information desk in the Oval Hall will be open daily from 8:00 to 19:00 (Tue 21:30). As the venue MuseumsQuartier is a large complex and access to Forum areas is restricted to participants, we kindly ask you to wear your name badge at all times. Furthermore, if you intend to bring a guest with you to the reception on Tuesday evening, or have a family member with you at any point, please let us know immediately so we can add them to the list and prepare a name badge for them. If you need information or assistance, please contact:
-Local Information & Registration Manager: Ms. Christiane Tronigger +43 (676) 83710450
-Local Design Team Member: Ms. Petra Wagner-Luptacik +43 (664) 6207727

Participant Notebook

On registration, you will receive a notebook containing
-The Forum Programme with detailed description of all sessions
-A map for orientation
-A list of participants
-A Vienna city map & What's on in Vienna
-An invitation by the City of Vienna to the Heurigen dinner Wednesday evening.

Pre-Reading

Our programme on Wednesday, 14 September, will focus on complexity, beginning with a keynote presentation by noted French sociologist Alain de Vulpian, who will share his observations about how social complexity induces Organizational Learning. SoL co-founder Arie de Geus, formerly of Shell, and Anne Murray Allen of Hewlett-Packard will respond with their reflections from a business perspective, after which plenary session participants will engage in a large group dialogue on the topic. In preparation for this session, we would like you to read the paper that was emailed to you to better understand recent shifts in the process of civilization and their impact on organizational life.

Bookstore & Author signing

A bookstore will be open during break and lunch times where we will accept major credit cards. There will also be an author-signing on Friday, September 16 during lunchtime.

Practicalities for the first Forum Days

A detailed and informative schedule of the Forum is available here. You will of course receive a printed programme on registration. You can also download the programme. For your information, a map for orientation is available. Here are some important elements of the first Forum days:

Tuesday, September 13
-The Registration desk opens at 16.00 in the Oval Hall in the MuseumsQuartier.
-A Welcome Reception is hosted by SoL Austria between 17:30 and 18:45 in the Arena21 next door.
-The Opening Session takes place from 19.00 to 21.00 in the Halle E.

Wednesday, September 14
- The Art of Waltz: The Waltz, Vienna and the music of Johann Strauss form a musical braid that is still alive in Vienna. At the end of the first Forum day, we will together experience the Art of the Waltz and listen to music by Johann Strauss. To experience the waltz means to actually dance. So the Plenary Room will become the dance floor.
- Dinner at the Heurigen: In the evening, the City of Vienna will invite us to enjoy traditional Viennese cuisine and fine new wine at a typical Viennese wine tavern, locally called Heurigen. Buses will take us from the MQ at 18:30 to the Heuriger Fuhrgassl-Huber. Buses will also take us back into the city at 22.00 or 23.00.

Weather & Clothing

The weather in Vienna is generally mild in September with temperatures between 15° and 25° C (60° to 80° F). There can be occasional rain showers. Wednesday night we will be going to a local wine tavern. Weather permitting we will be staying outside, so you may want to bring a warm jacket. During the Forum, informal clothing is suggested for all occasions.