In July's Newsletter —
Events:
- July 4 Celebration on Saturday July 1!
- Monthly Executive Committee Meeting
- Experienced Dems Back in September
- Save the date! EMEA Regional Retreat in October
Message from the Chair
Inside DA Austria:
- DA Austria Tweets Again
- Study Abroad Outreach Volunteer Needed
Issues & Actions:
-
Save the date! EMEA Regional Retreat
Review:
Our Executive Committee meetings are now typically held on the first Tuesday of the month. To accommodate summer holidays, our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] for the link.
DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!
Events:
July 4 Celebration
When: Saturday, July 1, 2023
Time: 2:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Where: Der Garten, Spenadlwiese 1 Hauptallee, in Vienna's Prater (a short walk from the end station of Tram #1)
Admission: Free
RSVP and more info: https://www.democratsabroad.org/73648/picnic_softball_and_rock_n_roll_celebrate_independence_day_with_democrats_abroad_austria
Monthly Executive Committee Meeting
When: Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Time: 19:30–21:30 p.m. CET
Where: Online (write [email protected] for link)
Experienced Dems May Meet-up
When: Summer break. See you in September!
Democrats Abroad at Oktoberfest
When: Sunday, October 1, 2023
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Where: Festhalle Schottenhamel, Munich, Germany
RSVP for tickets: https://www.democratsabroad.org/emilyllines/da_oktoberfest_extravaganza_2023
Save the date! EMEA Regional Retreat
When: Friday, October 27–Sunday, October 29, 2023
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Where: Alicante, Spain
Go to the DA Event Page for other events hosted online! https://www.democratsabroad.org/at_events
Message from the Chair
Democrats Abroad Austria was well-represented at DA Global’s Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. in early June, with all four of our voting members attending in person (read more below). The big news from the meeting is we elected a new International Executive Committee, whom I believe have the vision and leadership skills to take DA further and rally the overseas vote in 2024 like never before. A special congratulations to our own Jennifer Rakow-Stepper who was re-elected to a second two-year term as our EMEA Regional Vice Chair! It is great to have Jen - with her incredible commitment, drive and know-how - helping to guide decision making at the international level.
One tip for any future travel to Washington: be sure to take a tour of the Capitol and take advantage of that fact that it’s not so difficult to get passes for the viewing galleries of the Senate and House. It felt good to sit up in the gallery of the Senate and see them voting on Biden’s judicial nomination - and pointing out all of the Senators that we overseas voters were instrumental in getting elected. As we are found of saying, our votes are often the margin of victory. Enjoy the start of summer and hope to see you at our Independence Day picnic and softball game.
— Richard Miller, Chair, DA Austria
Inside DA Austria:
DAA Tweets!
DA Austria is back on Twitter! If you are on Twitter, please follow us at @DemsAustria. We currently have 307 followers; let’s get that number up! We are always look for people to help support our social media channels. If you are interested, please send an email to [email protected].
Study Abroad Coordinator Needed!
The youth vote will be critical in the 2024 elections and many of those young voters who study overseas forget they can vote while abroad. Democrats Abroad has a network of volunteers in countries with study abroad programs–a number here in Austria–to work with study abroad programs and help register their students.
We need one or two people who are willing to take the lead on coordinating our efforts in Austria. This position typically requires a few hours per week in the mornings to go to the schools and some preparation with the programs beforehand. We already have program lists, contact names, and example emails. So the work is putting the plan into action.
Please contact Richard Miller at [email protected] if you’d be able to help with this vital role.
Issues and Actions
Save the date! EMEA Regional Retreat
Volunteers, leaders and team leaders are encouraged to attend EMEA’s semi-annual regional retreat in Alicante, Spain the weekend of October 28-29. This is a great and fun opportunity to meet other DA people from across the region to get inspired and get enthused for the work we have ahead of us! Unlike the business meeting (see Review below) the regional retreat is all about networking, training, and sharing best practices.
Come to Alicante and discover the wealth of talent and energy of DA’s volunteers and leaders. I hope to see you there!
— Jen Rakow-Stepper, EMEA Regional Vice Chair
Review
DA Global Annual General Meeting and Elections
Democrats Abroad Austria was well represented at DA Global’s Annual General Meeting and Elections on June 11–12, 2023 in Washington D.C with the full voting delegation – Richard (Chair), Marjorie (Vice Chair), and Bruce and Jen (DPCA Voting representatives) – attending in-person.
This was the first in-person meeting of DA leaders since the pandemic and we took full advantage of being in D.C. to advocate for “The Commission on Americans Living Abroad Act” with our Representatives in the Senate and Congress and to personally hear from US Congressman Ro Khana at the welcome reception.
Besides congressional “door-knocking” on Thursday and Friday and the business meeting and elections on Saturday and Sunday, some of DA’s global caucuses held side events. On Wednesday, the Global Black Caucus arranged for a tour of the National Museum of African American Art and Culture, the Global Women’s Caucus held a cocktail reception on Thursday evening, and on Friday afternoon the LGBTQ+ Caucus held a panel discussion about the current threats to the LGBTQ community. The Taxation Task Force (TTF) remained in D.C. the following week to raise awareness of the many tax issues Americans living abroad face. Thanks to a very generous donation by DA-AT member Russell Perry, a member of the TTF who wouldn’t be able to fly to D.C. was able to attend in-person. Thank you for your extraordinary generosity Russell!
Marjorie Rosenberg, Vice Chair DA Austria writes, “Several of us spent time in Washington, DC at the annual DPCA Business Meeting. The day before the meeting was set aside for door knocking in Congress and I had the chance to accompany a group as we visited Representatives in order to encourage them to co-sponsor H.R. 2729, “The Commission on Americans Living Abroad Act”, sponsored by Congresswoman Dina Titius of Nevada. We visited the offices of Congressman Colin Allread of Texas and Congressman David Scott of Georgia where we were received by staffers who took time to note our concerns regarding the specific issues that we face as expats. In the afternoon we were offered a tour of the DNC and in the evening a welcome reception on a rooftop terrace.
The business meetings began the next day and we heard reports from state teams, from the outgoing global executive committee and from the various caucuses. We had the chance to exchange information and ideas with leaders from other countries and the meeting ended with the election of a new global leadership team.”
We didn’t get through all the business at hand though, so an online meeting will be held within 90 days to discuss and vote on Resolutions which were presented to the voting body. DA’s leaders pay their own way to attend the meeting and I’d like to commend Austria’s voting delegation for participating in person. It really does make a difference to be able to network and compare notes with other leaders.
— Jen Rakow-Stepper, DPCA Voting Representative and EMEA Regional Vice Chair
Thanks for reading the July Newsletter!