CenterAustria at the University of New Orleans will co-sponsor a major international conference on the topic of the Vienna Summit of 1961 from May 19-21 at the Austrian Diplomatic Academy in Vienna.
The conference will focus on the 50th anniversary of the Vienna Summit of 1961, which was the first bilateral Cold War summit between the United States and the Soviet Union. During this historic two-day meeting, President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev discussed prominent Cold War issues of the day including Berlin, Cuba, Laos and Vietnam.
CenterAustria has played a central role in the organization of this 50th anniversary conference. Gunter Bischof, director of CenterAustria, has penned two essays in the 1,000-page conference volume, both of which were written with former UNO history graduate students. Scholars from around the world, including the United States, Russia, Germany, France and Great Britain will deliver papers during the conference. Scheduled speakers include Sergei Khrushchev, the son of the former Kremlin leader, and Nikita Khrushchev’s translator from the 1961 Vienna Summit.
Founded in 1997, CenterAustria at the University of New Orleans builds upon more than three decades of cooperation with the University of Innsbruck and a sister city agreement between the cities of Innsbruck and New Orleans.