Interviewed by Zorica Trajkova Strezovska

Dr. Lothar Hofmann is a member of the Austrian Fulbright Alumni (AFA), an alumni association registered in Austria and recognized by the US government. He has been a Board member of AFA for more than twenty years and is currently serving as President of AFA. He is also a Board member of ENAM, the European Network of American Alumni. Dr. Hofmann is a commercial lawyer in private practice admitted to the bars of Austria and New York. He studied Law and Business Informatics in Vienna and finished an LL.M. program at the University of Chicago. Furthermore, he is an officer of the Austrian Army in the capacity of an expert for International Law at the National Defence Academy in Vienna, and a member of various national and international legal and lawyer societies.

Zorica (MAAA): Mr. Hofmann, you are the president of the Austrian Fulbright Alumni Association. Could you please give our readers some more information about your organization, its membership and activities?

Lothar (AFA): Austrian Fulbright Alumni (AFA) has been founded in 1994 and it will have its thirty-year anniversary in early 2024. It is a non-governmental, non-commercial entity with around 400 members. As in almost 50 countries worldwide, in Austria the Fulbright program is managed by a commission based on a bilateral agreement. In 1950 the US Educational Commission was established in Vienna, followed by the first exchanges in the 1951–52 academic year. In 1963, after the enactment of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, the Austrian and US governments concluded a new Fulbright Agreement that established the Austrian-American Educational Commission (AAEC), known as the "Fulbright Commission". The purpose of the AFA, whose activity is not directed at profit, is cooperation, research and teaching of scholarship holders and former scholarship holders of the AAEC, in the scientific, cultural and educational fields, as well as creation and deepening of friendly contacts and support of the task of the Fulbright Commission.

We conduct scientific events like speeches of Fulbrighters and other, cultural, sports and social events and act closely together with the Austrian Fulbright Commission. Highlights are the Home Dinners which we organize together with our members for US Fulbrighters currently working in Austria and the Ball of the Technical University in Vienna) (TU).

Zorica (MAAA): Our Macedonian American Alumni Association is an umbrella association for all participants in US-government exchange programs. What are the advantages to having a separate association for only Fulbright alumni?

Lothar (AFA): The formation of an alumni organization specifically for Fulbrighters is obviously a consequence of the establishment of the Austrian Fulbright Commission. An advantage of such form is that the association can concentrate on the principles and needs of the Fulbright program. However, it is fruitful and essential to work closely together with other alums and alumni organizations, as the goals are similar, particularly in times when it becomes more difficult to convince alums that it makes sense to join an association in order keep the ideas and experiences of such exchange programs alive.

Zorica (MAAA): What projects is the Austrian Fulbright Alumni (AFA) Association currently working on?

Lothar (AFA): Recently, end of September, we had our sailing regatta on the Old Danube, mid of October a well-attended speech by Ambassador Ulrike Butschek, Head of the Department for Human Rights in the Austrian Ministry for European and External Affairs, regarding Human Rights, through which we achieved substantial recognition even outside the Fulbright sphere by lawyers, individuals and organizations interested in Austrian-US relationships, and at the beginning of November we conduct our traditional Goose Dinner.

Later in November we shall actively participate in the Austrian Fulbright Commission’s Thanksgiving event, Thank Fulbright, which also provides an opportunity to donate for the Fulbright program. In January we shall organize a visit to the well-known Ball of the TU in the Imperial Palace Hofburg for US Fulbrighters present in Austria at that time, including dance, particularly waltz lessons, bringing our friends from the US in touch with the world famous Viennese culture of festive balls.

We have expanded our Board with a view of integrating younger generations and reaching a broader reception. We actively try to more intensively include US Fulbrighters currently working in Austria and present their achievements to the Austrian Fulbright community. It is an important task to comprehensively support the Fulbright Commission in its efforts to strengthen the Fulbright program for the years to come. This includes making Austrian Fulbrighters aware that it is important to constantly support the ideas which made it possible for them to have exceptional experiences in the US, guiding their further life.

Zorica (MAAA): How do you manage to keep your members engaged and actively involved in AFA’s projects and activities?

Lothar (AFA): We continuously try to involve younger generations and serve as well, and at the same time, our existing members lively communicate our activities over our homepage, social media and personal involvement.

Zorica (MAAA): Your association is rather actively involved in ENAM. Could you please share your impressions from ENAM’s conference which was held this month in Tbilisi, Georgia?

Lothar (AFA): Tblisi was a great success due to the hard work of our Georgian friends who have done a magnificent job. ENAM is still discussing its best form to operate and to market its abilities, and it is important to have this discussions on an informed basis with a constant cooperation with the member associations. In my view ENAM is a valuable tool for national alumni associations in order to support their work.