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Goethe-Institut San Francisco

50th Anniversary Goethe-Institut San Francisco

Now, in 2017, we look back upon half a century of promoting and encouraging German language and culture in the Bay Area and beyond.

Photo (detail): © 3d © Bounlow-pic - Fotolia,com

Privacy and Digitalisation“Facebook is not the same as your living room”

Social media, smartphones, the Internet of Things – whatever happened to privacy? Or has privacy become an outdated idea? This is a conversation with Jan Philipp Albrecht, a staunch advocate of data protection. [more …]

Photo (CC): Kevin Ahearn

Future Perfect Net Gain

The US start-up Bureo fights ocean pollution and supports Chilean fishing communities by upcycling discarded fishing nets into skateboards. [more …]

© Liam Sharp

Peace Prize of the German Book TradeWriting against inhumanity: Margaret Atwood and Germany

This year’s Peace Prize of the German Book Trade will be awarded to Margaret Atwood at the Frankfurt Book Fair. But the major German book prize for international authors is not the only thing that connects Canada’s most famous author to Germany. [more …]

Photo (detail): Hiroyuki Oki

Social Architecture in Vietnam Trees that grow from houses

Social engagement and climate-adapted construction are central topics in international architectural discourse. Anh-Linh Ngo, architect and co-editor of the journal ARCH+, was born in Vietnam and has lived in Germany for many years. He elucidates current developments in Vietnam on these issues and what we can learn from Vietnamese architects. [more …]

An Interview with Klaus-Dieter Lehmann“Life’s reality is what’s decisive”

In view of the political changes in the USA, the work of the six Goethe-Instituts there is becoming increasingly important. In a video interview, President Klaus-Dieter Lehmann explains how the Goethe-Institut aims to strengthen transatlantic communication and cooperation. [more …]

Photo (detail): © Primalux/Fotolia

The advantage of being multi-lingualIt’s all a matter of communication

Many countries have several official languages, which is not always to the advantage of the political climate. But the citizens, above all, benefit from being multi-lingual. [more …]

Photo: Hendrik Schmidt

Markus Lüpertz"Everything I know comes from painting"

For Lüpertz to be anything else would be quite a surprise. For decades he has been an uncooperative force in the art world; a self-styled dandy in the postmodern age; a fervent champion of unfashionable painterly traditions, whose work nonetheless speaks directly to contemporary anxieties. [more …]

Photo (detail): © martinbrombacher.de

Well Worth Seeing

Tourist attractions, spectacular architecture and flagships for the realm of art and culture; the opening of the Elbe Philharmonic Hall and the 20th anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in 2017 mark an international trend – the enhancement of culture through spectacular architecture.