“Tonight is intended as an homage to the German language. We also could have called it an Ehrerweis or a Lobpreisung.” Federal Foreign Minister Dr. Guido Westerwelle pauses briefly in his speech. “But that is not necessary. German is self-confident enough to get along well with words from other languages.” The Federal Foreign Office and its partners were launching an initiative called “German – Language of Ideas” at a Berlin venue called Radialsystem, and this opening event in late February showed just how multifaceted the German language is – and above all how much fun it can be. Japanese author Yoko Tawada, who lives in Germany, scrutinized the complexities of German grammar with a sharp wit. Hungarian essayist Péter Esterházy reported on his childhood adventures with the German language. Tenor Christoph Prégardien recited Goethe’s Erlkönig – an icon of German poetry and song that seems to epitomize the perfect sound of the German language. Slam poet Nina “Fiva” Sonnenberg and DJ Phekt rapped in German and showed how vibrant the language is. And this is precisely the intention of the “German – Language of Ideas” initiative, a focus of Germany’s foreign cultural and educational policy in 2010.
As Federal Foreign Minister Westerwelle said, “German gives individuals opportunities. It opens the door to one of the best education systems in the world and of course also strengthens Germany’s stance as an academic hub. German gives people the opportunity to have an academic career in over 350 institutions of higher education, some of which, as we all know, are world renowned. The German language is the key to German literature, music, philosophy and science, to the wealth of great European cultural traditions and of course also to the largest economy in Europe. For all of these reasons, over 14 million people have chosen to learn German. No other language in Europe is spoken by more people as a native tongue than our language. We want to generate enthusiasm for German among even more people.”
Together with its partners – the Goethe Institute, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA), the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa), the Deutsche Welle and the Educational Exchange Service (PAD) – the Federal Foreign Office wants to encourage young people to learn German with lots of imaginative events and projects all over the globe. An important role is also played here by an initiative called “Schools – Partners for the Future” (PASCH), with which the Foreign Ministry has already set up a worldwide network of over 1,400 schools. The plans include the “German Olympics” for high-school students, an international debating competition for young people, language camps for young people, and a Youth Parliament to be held partly in German. A survey of all the events, projects, instruments and players can be found under:
www.diplo.de/sprache-der-ideen
