Birgit Polzer

Age: 26

Role:  Stammtisch Coordination & Contact for possible Workshop/Event Locations

Studies: European Ethnology in Graz & Jena (and a bit of English, Musicology and Philosophy)

Languages: Native German, English, a tiny bit of Italian and Spanish

How long have you been in Graz & what brought you here?

I was born and raised in Graz and have, with the exception of two longer stays abroad (once in Scotland for 10 months and once in Germany for one semester) always lived at one place or another in this city.

What does Graz&... mean to you?

Most and foremost I hope for the project to give people the opportunity to come together and share their knowledge in a relaxed atmosphere that allows trial runs, mistakes, the most seemingly trivial and the most seemingly magnificent work at the same time. I really feel it’s important that people are aware of the knowledge and skills they have and that they value the qualities they possess. Therefore my hope is that people who want to get involved in the project will reflect upon what it is that they can share with others and I am sure there will always be someone interested in that exact knowledge, that discussion, that interest or skill. The role of Graz&..., in my opinion, is to create an environment where this exchange can take place.

Personally, I also really want to focus on finding and cooperating with as many possible different event locations in the city as possible: on the one hand this creates a chance for participants to get to know Graz in a way that no city-guide can offer and on the other hand I hope that having the events at different places will increase the diversity of all participants and make the workshops, the knowledge exchange and simply getting to know new people all the more interesting. My hope is also, that our workshops will have a positive effect on the locations themselves by giving them a new audience and hopefully creating links and connections to new people or associations.

What you would like to see someone share (something you’ve always wanted to learn)?

I would love to learn how to create or repair things that I can use in everyday-life, for example I’ve always wanted to get an introduction to book-binding or I’d like to learn how to fix my bike properly on my own. Additionally I would be very interested in all literature and language connected events, like a regular book (or comic) club or writing workshops. And I would love to see something like a monthly music-discussion event, just introducing each other to bands you got to know lately, compare them, listen to them …. ! But most of all I would like to be surprised by the ideas that people will come up with!

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