Barbara Blaha (23 September 1983) is an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

author and founder of the political congress Momentum and the Denkfabrik Momentum Institute and editor of ''Moment'' magazine. Blaha is a former chairwoman of the Austrian Student Union.

Life

Blaha was born into a working-class family, the second of seven children. She attended elementary school and high school in

Simmering Simmering is a food preparation technique by which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept just below the boiling point of water (lower than ) and above poaching temperature (higher than ). To create a steady simmer, a liquid is brought to a boil, ...

. Blaha studied German at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

and graduated in 2009. In 2008, Blaha founded the Momentum Kongress in

Hallstatt Hallstatt () is a small town in the district of Gmunden District, Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Sa ...

. After her time with the Austrian Student Union, Blaha became commercial manager at the Vienna-based

Czernin Verlag The Czernin family (; ) is a European noble family that was one of the oldest and most prominent noble families in the Kingdom of Bohemia. The family can claim descent from many important European noble families, including the distant one fro ...

. She managed non-fiction for Brandstätter Verlag from 2014, and became responsible for the digital strategy. In 2018 she also took over the ''Art & Life'' Division. Blaha started the think tank “Project360” in 2019, which became the Momentum Institute and ''Moment Magazine''. The Momentum Institute is financed by donation and carries out social research.

Political career

Blaha started her social efforts in 1997 when she and her school friend revived the dormant school newspaper project ''Der Gottschalk''. She became involved with her school student council and the Vienna State Student Council. During this time she also became involved in the Action for Critical Students Vienna, of which she was Secretary and chairwoman. During her studies she began to get involved with the

Socialist Students of Austria The Socialist Students of Austria (, VSStÖ) is a socialist and social democratic student organization at Austrian universities. History The preliminary organization of the VSStÖ was formed in 1893 in Vienna. In the beginning, it was more a st ...

(VSStÖ). She was in the education policy department of the Austrian Student Union, responsible for questions regarding the

Bologna Process file:Bologna-Prozess-Logo.svg, 96px, alt=Logo with stylized stars, Logo file:Bologna zone.svg, alt=Map of Europe, encompassing the entire Bologna zone, 256px, Bologna zone The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements b ...

. She was elected to the Austrian Student Union Leadership Team, and served as chair for two years. She was elected to the University Council of the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (, ), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (federal state), Salzburg State, ...

in 2013.

Science Ball

Blaha is one of the co-founders of the Vienna Ball of Sciences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaha, Barbara Living people 1983 births Writers from Vienna University of Vienna alumni Austrian writers Austrian women writers