The topic of the evening, "Moving forward - keeping the balance: The contradictory functions of conservation areas," provided the basis for the numerous short statements (in presence and recorded) of the guest speakers on contradictory topics in nature conservation.

In his welcoming speech, Siegfried Spanz, CEO of the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (CUAS), outlined the development of the UNESCO Chair at CUAS over time and emphasised "...the establishment of the first UNESCO Chair at a university of applied sciences as an important milestone...".

In a video message, the Austrian Federal Minister on Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Leonore Gewessler, emphasised the importance of the balance between the topics of ecology and economy and warmly welcomed the students: "Please look forward to an extraordinary learning experience here in Austria. I am sure that the Master's programme will provide you with the necessary skills for nature conservation in the 21st century."

In her remarks, Patrizia Jankovic, Secretary General of the Austrian UNESCO Commission, described the function of a UNESCO Chair as an "interface between science, society, business and different interests."

Representing the European Union, Frank Vassen from the Directorate-General for the Environment emphasised the importance of the Master's degree in the European context. "We have more than 28,000 Natura 2000 sites in Europe. There are many necessary conflicts here for which appropriate solutions have to be found. As you know, this is not always easy."

In order to convey keeping the balance as a practical experience, Mr. Mario Filzi offered a short show performance on juggling and encouraged the audience to participate in simple juggling exercises in a first crash course.