The Latest at Goethe

What does the Goethe-Institut do at such different places as New Delhi, Tel Aviv and Novosibirsk? Work in these three cities was the focus of the Parliamentary Summer Fete of the Goethe-Institut in Berlin.

„50 Years in New Delhi – 30 Years in Tel Aviv – 0 Years in Novosibirsk“ was the motto of this year's Summer Fete on 30 June at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin. The Goethe-Instituts in these three cities were either founded or celebrated a milestone anniversary in 2009. They stand as examples of the scope of activities and the effects of international cultural dialogue.



Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, the president of the Goethe-Institut, brought yet another milestone anniversary to mind in his address. In the year 1959, 50 years ago, the German Foreign Office and the Goethe-Institut agreed that all cultural institutions overseas would be assigned to the "Goethe-Institut Association."

Lehmann spoke of how important it is for the Goethe-Institut to react to change and understand itself as part of a worldwide cultural network. „Impressed by the changed global conditions, all of the branches of the Goethe-Institut subjected themselves to a process of reform, which can be described in three words: Innovation – Interaction – Inspiration. Our chances to 'survey the world' lie less in explanatory global models than in local connections, suitable networking and analogue translations. The Goethe-Institut is part of a learning community.“

For the young Federal Republic, it was an unusual decision, according to the president: „Foreign cultural and educational policy was placed in the hands of an independent organization. This independence however decisively supported the credibility of the birth of democratic Germany.“

Love affair with a difficult language

Film screenings and a panel discussion attended by the directors and close partners of the institutes in Delhi, Tel Aviv and Novosibirsk then offered the over 800 guests from politics, ministries, the press and partner organizations an insight into the current work of the largest German cultural mediator.

„By coincidence, in 1971 at the age of eleven I began learning German at the neighbouring Goethe-Institut. In the meantime, I have passed the most advanced German exam. Nonetheless, the love affair – and the frustration it involves – with the beautiful and difficult language continues,“ journalist Padma Rao described her German-learning career. She has been the Southeast Asian correspondent for the Spiegel for eleven years. „A popular meeting place, the world's best language lessons and an inventive arts programme“ – that is what the Goethe-Institut in New Delhi is to her.



In fact, the Goethe-Institut together with the Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (gtz) recently carried out a groundbreaking art project in the Indian capital with „48 oC – Public. Art. Ecology.“ For the first time, works of art that deal with issues such as mega cities, climate change and ecology were presented in the public space in Delhi by a German-Indian alliance and provided stimuli for diverse discussions.

A new, positive image of Germany

„Culture also has to be fun.“ This is a maxim followed by Georg Blochmann, director of the Goethe-Institut in Tel Aviv. „With our programmes we want to reach young people in particular who have interests beyond Israel.“ This is why he does not hesitate to include the lively German club and music scene in his activities and thus motivate young people for the other programmes the Goethe-Institut offers.



Moshe Zuckermann, director of the Institute of German History at the University of Tel Aviv agrees that this has been a successful endeavour for the past 30 years. "If we can today register a newly awakened interest, especially among the younger generation, in German culture and also in new cultural, social and artistic trends in Germany, yes even the birth of a new, positive image of Germany, then this is due first and foremost to the consistent, fruitful work of the Goethe-Institut," the professor stated during the discussion at the Summer Fete in Berlin.

One of the newest outposts in the Goethe network is the institute that opened in March 2009 in Novosibirsk. Yet, although the institute is still under a year old – the programmes realized as part of the opening were impressive. At the Opera House of Novosibirsk an audience of 2,000 people saw a "national work" of Russian culture: Lev Arnchtam's 1954 ballet film "Romeo and Juliet". The lost score was reconstructed by German conductor Frank Strobel, who also conducted the ceremonial concert.

A cultural railway bridge

Andreas Herzau, a renowned urban photographer from Hamburg, spent a number of weeks discovering Novosibirsk and created a portrait of a city between its Soviet past and social renewal. At a German-Russian blogger's meeting, aspects such as censorship and freedom of speech were debated.

All in all, the German-Russian cultural festival sibSTANCIJA_09 and its many programmes lasted four weeks. „The city of Novosibirsk was born and grew rapidly thanks to the Transsib railway bridge. The new Goethe-Institut will build other cultural bridges to Germany and Europe for Novosibirsk,“ said Olga Vostretsova, who organized many cultural programmes for the Goethe-Instituts in Moscow and Novosibirsk.

In closing, ARD correspondent and Weltspiegel host Jörg Armbruster, who moderated the event, said: „The world that we see here would be a poorer place without the Goethe-Institut.“