Vienna SPÖ education – Martina Canori-Buchhart is the new education secretary

2023-09-30 09:00:15

Martina Canori-Buchhart was unanimously elected as the new education secretary at the state education conference. Local councilor Marcus Schober is handing over the role after 16 years in office.

Vienna (OTS/SPW) – As of October 2nd, the education department of the SPÖ Vienna has a new secretary, Martina Canori-Buchhart. “I am honored by the trust placed in me by the Vienna Education Committee,” says the new secretary. “Political education is a central contribution of every party in Vienna to our democracy. Access to it must not be a question of age, origin, gender or financial means. “Especially as social democrats, our core task is to bring political education to those who are otherwise forgotten by the political system,” says Canori-Buchhart. “In recent years, the education department of the SPÖ Vienna under Marcus Schober has made major steps towards modernization. We have become more digital in our offerings, more modern in our pedagogical concepts and broader in our topics. I and everyone on our team are very grateful to him for that. It will now be my job to make political education in the SPÖ Vienna more female. The fight for equality is a central theme of the next decade. My goal is to sharpen our focus on these systemic problems within society,” demands Canori-Buchhart. Martina Canori-Buchhart is the first female education secretary of the SPÖ Vienna.

“I wish my successor all the best and would like to thank my team for 16 very dynamic and fulfilling years,” said Marcus Schober, Canori-Buchhart’s predecessor as Education Secretary of the SPÖ Vienna. “It was always important to me to combine political education with modern concepts of lifelong learning. If you want to get people excited about political work and education, you have to show them direct options for shaping things. I managed this well together with my colleague Martina Canori-Buchhart. After 16 years, it is now time to hand over the helm. I’m looking forward to new tasks and, above all, to experiencing school with my daughter.” Marcus Schober was education secretary of the SPÖ Vienna from 2007 to 2023. Before that, he was a senior employee of Michael Ludwig within the Vienna SPÖ education for two years he succeeded as education secretary. During his time as education secretary, he was actively responsible for the realignment of Vienna’s SPÖ education. This also included the founding and development of the Vienna Education Academy in 2016. He has been a member of the Vienna City Council since 2015. Marcus Schober will retain his mandate and his voluntary functions within the SPÖ Vienna.

SPÖ Vienna regional party chairman Mayor Dr. Michael Ludwig, who handed over the office to Marcus Schober in 2007, says goodbye to the outgoing education secretary: “The education department of the SPÖ Vienna is representative of the high priority that the topic of education has within our party. We know that education is still very often passed on. Free access to high-quality education for all people is an important building block for greater equal opportunities and for a good, self-determined life and makes an important contribution to a functioning democracy. With a lot of enthusiasm and courage for new things, Marcus Schober has continued to advance this principle in his role as Education Secretary over the last 16 years. I would like to thank him for that and wish him all the best for all his future tasks!” The mayor sends his congratulations to Martina Canori-Buchhart: “I am pleased that, with Martina Canori-Buchhart, a woman has been appointed as Vienna’s education secretary for the first time. I warmly congratulate her and look forward to good cooperation.”

“I wish our newly elected Education Secretary Martina Canori-Buchhart all the best for her new tasks!” congratulates Ernst Woller, Education Chairman of the SPÖ Vienna. “Martina Canori-Buchhart and I have been working together in Vienna’s SPÖ education for a long time, which is why I have complete confidence in her work. As the first female education secretary, I couldn’t imagine a better candidate than her,” said Woller. “A special thank you goes to our long-time Education Secretary Marcus Schober, who decided to change careers after 16 years. Politically, he remains with us both in the Vienna SPÖ education and in the local council. Although lifelong learning is one of our core ideas, we will miss his creativity, energy and ambition. I wish him all the best on his professional and political path and am sure that we can continue to count on him in the voluntary educational organization.

On October 2nd, local councilor Marcus Schober will also hand over his role as director of the Vienna Education Academy to the current office manager and head of finance Cappar Hajo. “I would like to thank Marcus Schober for seven years as boss and the opportunity to build our great team. The current loss of trust in politics and democracy shows that the need for serious political education remains high. “I am looking forward to this new challenge together with the team at the Vienna Education Academy,” says Cappar Hajo. (Ending)