Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Welcome to Vienna! Let us take you on a waltz through our home city for ECTA's 39th Annual Conference 2021.

As a cosmopolitan city in the heart of Europe, Vienna prides itself on its abundance of music and art, its grand architecture and its one-of-a-kind Kaffeehauskultur. Do not miss to enjoy a cup of coffee between ECTA sessions in one of the famous coffeehouses or just refresh yourself with a glass of tap water coming directly from the Austrian Alps.

According to an annual index compiled by Mercer, the Austrian capital is the most liveable city in the world for the 10th year running, noting that half of its urban surface areas are covered with woods, parks, vineyards and other sort of greenery. In fact, with the city’s 637 hectares of vineyards, Vienna is the only million city that has important viniculture. We will certainly not fail to serve you one or more glasses of Vienna’s vinous specialty – the Wiener Gemischter Satz – at one of the evening events.

Although calling the world’s most liveable city their home, the Viennese might not always be the friendliest people in the world. However, don’t take it personally. It’s just that you might not be used to the famous Viennese ‘Schmäh’, a sardonic sense of humour. They also love to complain, with the local word ‘raunzen’ symbolizing an essential skill for becoming accustomed to Viennese way of life.

Unlike in many other cities, Vienna focuses on preventing patterns of inequality and gentrification by limiting the cost of living. Therefore, Vienna is considered to be one of the safest cities in the world.

We are delighted that ECTA has chosen Vienna as the venue of its 39th Annual Conference. As the conference motto Waltzing with IP will guide us through the days, we very much hope that you will enjoy and make the most of your stay in our lovely city.

Herzlich willkommen in Wien!