Acknowledgements
In 2011, the German Bundestag approved additional funding for measures by the Goethe-Institut to promote the German language abroad. This support and the helpful coordination by the Federal Foreign Office made it possible to implement a number of projects which otherwise could not have been brought to fruition. This book is one of those projects. We are delighted to have been given this opportunity to turn the spotlight on a core aspect of our work – pre-integration language learning in the countries of origin.
We wish to express our sincere thanks to everyone who helped to create this book from so many life stories: our Goethe-Institut colleagues in Izmir, Casablanca, Yaoundé, Bangkok, Sarajevo, Hamburg and at our head office in Munich, and the staff at the Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands in Hamburg. We would also like to thank Marion Hollerung, Matthias Schilling, Linda Grätz and Peter Maly for their creativity, professionalism and dedication. They have worked day and night to make this project a success. Our particular thanks go to Astrid Dill for her tireless commitment to the project over many months and for focusing on many more aspects than just photography.
Above all, however, we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to all those who shared their stories with us and whose portraits are featured in this book. We were deeply moved by their willingness to give us a glimpse into very personal aspects of their lives. We thank each and every one of them, and wish them – and all the others whose stories could easily have appeared in this book – all the very best for the future. We wish them every happiness with their partners and every success in all their endeavours. Happiness means something different to everyone, as the stories in this book show.
Barbara Baumann and Tina Stein, Goethe-Institut, Language and Integration Project
Publication Details of the Book „Im Kopf waren wir schon in Deutschland“
© 2011 Goethe-Institut e. V. Zentrale / Goethe-Institut Head Office Munich
Language Department, Language and Integration Project
Dachauer Straße 122
80637 München
Project management: Barbara Baumann, assisted by Tina Stein (Goethe-Institut)
Photography: Astrid Dill
Text (Portraits): Astrid Dill, Marion Hollerung
Text (pages 20-21): Klaus-Thomas Frick, Christina Gregor, Andrea Hammann (Goethe-Institut)
Editing: Marion Hollerung, Barbara Baumann (Goethe-Institut), Tina Stein (Goethe-Institut)
Photo editing: Bettina Siegwart (Goethe-Institut)
Final editing: Linda Grätz
Graphic design: Matthias Schilling, d-signbureau, Starnberg
Printed by: Schroff Druck und Verlag GmbH, Augsburg
To improve the readability of the text, the masculine is occasionally used as a generic form. We have attempted to avoid this usage as a rule, but please note that where applicable, it should be construed as to mean both sexes.
All rights reserved.
This publication, including all parts thereof, is legally protected by copyright.
Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law, all uses require the prior written consent of the Goethe-Institut.
ISBN: 978-3-939670-67-4
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