Selected Events 2006

From left: John Koenig, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Berlin; Dr. Birgit Dippe, ESO Görlitz; Consul General Mark Scheland, U. S. Consulate General Leipzig; Elke Junker, Eso Görlitz

September 29, 2006
John Koenig, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Berlin, Consul General Mark Scheland and Consul for Public Affairs, Mark Wenig, U.S. Consulate General Leipzig, attended the official opening of the America@your library partnership at the Europe-Library in the city of Görlitz. The event was attended by a number of notables, including the Mayor for Cultural Affairs, Ulf Großmann, as well as students of local high schools and the Euro language school (ESO). At the conclusion of his remarks, John Koenig presented a check for 2,500 Euros to the head of the library, Dr. Birgit Dippe, who will also participate in an "International Visitor Program" to the U.S. in 2007. The America@your library partnership was celebrated with a traditional "American Day," which had earlier included joint lectures by the Deputy Chief of Mission and the Consul General on a variety of U.S. issues. The sixty high school students from Görlitz used the opportunity to ask good questions and had a lively discussion with the American officers. Consul Wenig's wife, Kjarstin, and consulate staff member Geertje Huendorf conducted bilingual readings of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" for two separate classes involving forty children. At the end of the day, Koenig, Scheland, and Wenig and his wife met with Görlitz Lord Mayor Joachim Paulick.