Cooperations
Austrian-Burkina Faso Society
Following the decision to establish an honorary consulate-general for Upper Volta / Burkina Faso, ÖJAB founder Dr Bruno Buchwieser also initiated the establishment of a bilateral society to provide support for development cooperation between Austria and Burkina Faso. The purpose of the Austrian-Burkina Faso Society was and still is to maintain and promote relations between Austria and Burkina Faso through social gatherings, lectures, exhibitions and publications.
President: Dr. Monika Schüssler
Vice presidents: Eduard Schüssler; Dr. Thomas Motycka
Further members of the Executive Committee: Mag. Irene Luhn; Oliver Böck
Secretary General: Martina Steinbauer
Auditors: Wilhelm Perkowitsch; Mag. Bettina Pöltl
As an Austrian-foreign company, the Austrian-Burkina Faso Society is a member of the umbrella organisation PaN (Partner of all Nations)
Cooperation with ARBA
ARBA (Association des Ressortissants du Burkina Faso en Autriche) is an association for the promotion of art, culture and international dialogue, in which Burkinabé living in Austria are involved. The development cooperation projects of ÖJAB are supported by the close cooperation with the association ARBA, through which numerous successful projects have already been carried out.
Since 1961 ÖJAB has been active in development cooperation with Burkina Faso, which over time has become one of the priority countries of Austrian development cooperation. This work is supported by the close cooperation between ÖJAB and the association ARBA.
In the recent past, ARBA regularly participated in the Austrian Friedenslauf together with ÖJAB. During these runs, donations are collected to support ÖJAB's development cooperation projects in Burkina Faso.
On June 1, 2024, an Intercultural Day for Climate Health - a Dialogue between Austria and West Africa was held at Europahaus Wien, jointly organized by ÖJAB and ARBA. Thereby, the climate situation in the world in general and in Burkina Faso in particular was discussed in order to find solutions to implement them concretely in a joint project in Burkina Faso.
ARBA and ÖJAB aim to further expand their collaboration through future events.
Burkina Faso days
Once a year, ÖJAB and ARBA host a Burkina Faso Day. This one-day event features various activities, including a colorful arts and culture program, stalls selling typical Burkinabe clothing, live concerts by Burkinabe artists, Burkinabe food specialties, updates on ÖJAB's development cooperation projects in Burkina Faso, and much more. The proceeds from the day always go to charitable causes.
The Burkina Faso Day 2022 took place in June at the ÖJAB-Haus Dr. Rudolf Kirchschläger in Vienna. The Burkina Faso Day 2023 was held in October at the Urania in Vienna.
