Werner Welzig Worte

Werner Welzig has selected 28 speeches and addresses from among the several hundred he gave while holding the office of President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences between 1992 and 2003, and has released them for publication. The speeches and addresses are expressions of science and social politics, discussing the political position of the Austrian Republic in Europe, exploring the country's development in scientific research, and examining media and public policy, to name just three thematic areas. The editors have divided the spoken texts between two questions: Are appearance and contents" motives for an edition? How does a speech work? Three components are decisive: firstly, "content", secondly, "structure", and thirdly, "managing the situation". The resulting book contains 28 speeches and 30 different indices, and has been designed by the Dutch book designer and Gutenberg Prize winner, Irma Boom. Werner Welzig’s spoken texts are printed on 29 folded and uncut signatures that are wrapped by the 30 indices. In order to open the speeches, the prospective reader needs a "razor-sharp mind.