Programs and Events

Selected Events May-October 2009

New American Studies Leipzig Students Visit Consulate

October 6, 2009. 36 new students of the American Studies program at Leipzig University visited the U.S. Consulate General as part of their orientation week. Consul for Public Affairs James Seward and Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Edith Backman talked to the students about the work and tasks of a Consulate and Information Resource Center (IRC) ... more 

Texas Tech University Hosts Concert Celebrating German Unification in Quedlinburg

October 4, 2009. Leipzig Consul for Public Affairs James Seward, along with a former U.S. Ambassador of Ethiopia and a small delegation from the university in Lubbock, Texas joined the 150 guests at the operatic recital at St. Blasii Church to celebrate 20 years of German unity. The event focused on Texas Tech University's (TTU) international academic program and its' contributions to the surrounding community. more

1st Grade Students in Saxony Cheerfully Wave American Flags

October 1, 2009. Consul for Public Affairs James Seward, an American intern and one Information Resource Center (IRC) staffer took part in an American Day at the Bautzen public library for children and young adults, continuing the annual series settled in the framework of post's "America @ Your Library" programming. Following a donation of children books to the library Consul for Public Affairs James Seward's contributed the English part to a bilingual reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar providing 50 1^st grade students with a kickstart in English. more

U.S. Consulate Reached Out to Remote Altmark Region

September 8-9, 2009. Consul General Katherine Brucker, Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Edie Backman, and an Information Resource Center (IRC) staffer joined forces for a consolidated outreach trip to meet mayors, U.S. businesses and library staff in five smaller towns - Genthin, Tangermünde, Stendal, Salzwedel and Gardelegen - in the rural Altmark area of Saxony-Anhalt north of Magdeburg. more

Leipzig Consulate at Saxony State Fair

September 4-6, 2009. The U.S. Consulate General Leipzig broke new ground with its first participation in the 18^th Tag der Sachsen, an annual event celebrating institutions and products from the state, which attracted 320,000 visitors to the town of Mittweida. For three days, Consulate staff manned a booth in front of the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida. Consul for Public Affairs Jim Seward presented a book collection (Best Children's Books 2008) to the Mittweida public library. more

Leipzig PD Part of Local Library Festival

August 23, 2009. The Leipzig Information Resource Center (IRC) joined some 30 Leipzig libraries - from public to university to special libraries - at the 2^nd Leipzig Street Library Festival. At the booth, James Seward, Consul for Public Affairs, IRC staff, and two German interns explained Meet US and America@Your Library programs, and alerted visitors to the wide range of State Department information offers, including eJournals USA and other online resources. more

U.S. Civil Rights Movement and the Peaceful Revolution in the German Democratic Republic

August 18, 2009. Leipzig Consulate General co-hosted a lecture on "The Civil Rights Movements in the USA and the Peaceful Revolution in the GDR" with the Konrad-Adenauer-foundation at the Museum of Visual Arts in Leipzig. Consul for Public Affairs James Seward greeted the audience of about 60, among them Consul General Katherine Brucker, and delivered a short introduction to the topic. more

President Obama Unveiled in Thuringia

August 13, 2009. Jim Seward, Consul for Public Affairs, delivered a greeting to some 50 guests at the unveiling of a bust of President Obama sculpted into a replica of the Mount Rushmore monument, part of the America layout at a huge model train center in the Thuringian town of Wiehe. Consul Seward was official patron for the event. more

Multicultural Outreach at Consulate Leipzig

August 12, 2009. A group of 17 immigrants from the German Academy for Employees (Deutsche Angestellten-Akademie), currently enrolled in a training course for cultural ambassadors, visited the Consulate and received a briefing by Consul General Katherine Brucker and James Seward, Consul for Public Affairs ... more

IRC Director Says Farewell

August 5, 2009. Consul General Katherine Brucker hosted a farewell reception for retiring Information Resource Center Director (IRC) Thea Bohse-Ziganke at the Consulate General in Leipzig. Seventy guests from libraries and institutions throughout the district as well as IRC colleagues from the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and Consulate General Hamburg, bid farewell to her. more

Workshop for Thuringia Teachers

August 4, 2009. Leipzig Consul for Public Affairs James Seward and Information Resource Center (IRC) staff held a workshop for 60 Thuringia English teachers in Jena. The teachers were informed about the newly renovated Information Resource Center and on the availability and use of various State Department and U.S. government public on-line research services aimed directly at teachers. more

Consul Speaks at American Studies Leipzig Graduation

July 31, 2009. Consul for Public Affairs James Seward represented the Leipzig Consulate General as welcoming speaker at the 7^th Annual American Studies Alumni Association (ASAA) graduation ceremony. The event, which celebrated the successful pursuit of a degree in American Studies for University of Leipzig students, was inspired by American graduation traditions. more

Meet US Meets Summer Vacation Academy Students in Leipzig

July 22-30, 2009. U.S. interns Ivana Djak, Colby Mangels, and Melissa Miller, along with German intern Maria Zywietz, discussed the topic of American and German stereotypes with two groups of English-language students age 14-18 in Leipzig. The students were on a field trip to Leipzig from their summer school (Ferienakademie) program in Grimma ... more

Student Outreach at its Best

July 15, 2009. Leipzig Consul General Katherine Brucker was welcomed by the team of Radio Mephisto 97.6, the local university radio station which has been an important player on the Leipzig media scene for over ten years. After a tour of the station, Consul General explained in an interview the functions of a diplomat ... more

Engaging German Business Students in Freiberg

July 15, 2009. Leipzig Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Edie Backman, along with four U.S. and German interns, led a 90-minute long discussion with approximately 50 international business students on the Obama Administration at the Technical University (TU) of Freiberg. In the framework of the business class "Cultural Studies of the USA," Backman introduced Consulate General Leipzig's tasks and objectives and conducted a lively debate of relevant topics ... more

Fulbright Lecture Series Concluded

July 7, 2009. The Fulbright Lecture Series, conducted in Leipzig, Chemnitz, Halle and Magdeburg and co-sponsored by U.S. Consulate General Leipzig and the German-American Fulbright Commission, successfully ended on July 7 in Magdeburg. more

Leipzig Consul General Presents Barack Obama's Gift to Library

July 6, 2009. Consul General Katherine Brucker and Thuringia Minister President Dieter Althaus visited the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar to present President Obama's gift to Chancellor Merkel, a rare two-volume book entitled Picturesque America or The Land We Live In (1872-1874). Library director Dr. Michael Knoche was thrilled to receive the volumes, which are illustrated with steel and wood engravings. more

Celebrating American Independence in Erfurt

July 1, 2009. About 300 guests gathered at the historic Petersberg citadel in Erfurt, capital of Thuringia, for the Consulate's Independence Day celebration. At the initiative of Consul General Katherine Brucker, Leipzig has returned to the old practice of holding the July 4th celebration in the three states comprising the Consulate's district Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. more

Leipzig Cotton Mill Turned Cultural Center Hosts American Artists

June 25, 2009. Chancellor Angela Merkel was in town on June 25 to lead off festivities to celebrate the Leipzig Spinnerei cotton mill's 125^th birthday. The gritty, sprawling smokestack-industrial era facility, for decades the largest cotton mill on the continent, shut down operation in 1993. It reopened its doors as a multifaceted center for working artists in 2003. more

Spraying Democracy in Saxony

June 25, 2009. Leipzig's HipHop and Graffity Association - supported by a major U.S. Embassy grant - invited youth between the ages 14-27 to discuss and artistically express their active involvement in democracy building and involved youth in upcoming events to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of East Germany's Peaceful Revolution of 1989. more

Leipzig "Meet US" Program Reaches out to Young Audiences

June 23-24, 2009. Consulate General Leipzig American intern Colby Mangels concluded this school year's Meet US outreach series with visits to a middle school and a gymnasium. Both schools are located in rural regions of Germany's East which have seen few American vistors. more

Leipzig Consul General Reads to the Youth

June 23, 2009. Consul General Katherine Brucker read in French and German from The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery at the Leipzig Public Library to over thirty 11^th grade Honors French students from the Reclam Gymnasium. The director of the Association for the Promotion of the Leipzig Public Library had invited Ms. Brucker to participate in its "Prominent Leipzigers read to the youth". more

Consul Tackles Tough Questions in Chemnitz

June 23, 2009. Consul for Public Affairs James Seward talked with more than 30 students of English and their teachers at Chemnitz Night School (Abendgymnasium) about President Obama and the progress of his administration after more than five months in office ("President Obama - Challenges Galore"). more

Rare Bauhaus Art on Display in Gera

June 22, 2009. Leipzig Consul for Public Affairs James Seward and Leipzig Consulate staff helped launch an exhibit which celebrates the 90^th anniversary of the foundation of the world-famous Bauhaus with pottery, an underrepresented aspect of the Bauhaus portfolio. Supported by a major grant, the Gera Museum for Applied Fine Arts arranged the first ever retrospective with pieces by Marguerite Friedlaender-Wildenhain ... more

Leipzig Consul General Shows a Heart for Music

June 21, 2009. As a music lover and Leipzig choir member, Leipzig Consul General Katherine Brucker was a welcome prominent "table host" at the Leipzig Community Foundation's citizen picnic. The event was organized by Angelika Kell, a local community organizer, whose organization was just recently honored in Berlin for its civic engagement by Wolfgang Tiefensee, Minister for Transportation and Eastern Reconstruction. more

Leipzig Consulate General Scores at Thueringentag

June 19-21, 2009. With its first active participation in the Thüringentag, an annual event celebrating institutions and products from the state, Consulate General Leipzig broadened its profile in a remote region of Thuringia. From June 19-21, the Consulate General Leipzig staffed a strategically placed booth at the event, which drew 210,000 visitors. The U.S. stand quickly evolved into a meeting point for thousands of visitors interested in the United States and the information products on display. While students primarily wanted to learn about educational opportunities in the U.S., others enjoyed taking the "About the U.S." quiz. Tourist/travel information and advice on ESTA was in great demand. more

U.S. Hands-On at Schools in the Leipzig District

June 17-22, 2009. U.S. intern Ivana Djak started her tour of German high schools on June 17 at the Thüringisches Rhön-Gymnasium in Kaltensundheim, where she spoke to roughly sixty 7^th and 11^th graders. On June 18, she addressed fourteen 11^th grade English students at the Heinrich-Böll-Gymasium in Saalfeld. more

Leipzig Reaches Out at Saxony-Anhalt Day

June 12-14, 2009. Consulate General Leipzig broke new ground with its first active participation in the Saxony-Anhalt Day, an annual event celebrating institutions and products from the state, which attracted 200,000 visitors to the town of Thale in the Harz region. For three days, Consulate General Leipzig staffed a strategically well-placed booth in the ‘International village' directly across from Saxony-Anhalt's "Open to the World stage" where Consul for Public Affairs Jim Seward also presented the 2009 World Book Encyclopedia to the Thale library. more

An American Artist in the Harz Mountains

June 13, 2009. As a welcome addition to the activities at the Saxony-Anhalt Festival in Thale, Consul for Public Affairs James Seward and Consulate staffer Gabriele Schuckelt did further outreach programs and networking in Quedlinburg, a historic and scenic town near Thale. Dr. Marlene Selker introduced them to the Texas Tech University Center in Quedlinburg and they discussed further cooperation with Dr. Eberhard Brecht, Mayor of Quedlinburg and Vice President of Saxony-Anhalt's Association of Cities and Communities. more

America@Your Library and "Meet Us" Presented at Library Conference

June 4, 2009. Hamburg Information Resource Center (IRC) Director Christiane Schaffer-Grunwald represented Mission Germany's programs and products at the 98^th Annual Library Conference in Erfurt, Thuringia where 3,600 librarians and information specialists discussed the current challenges and issues of a globalized information society. One of the conference panels focussing on "Multicultural Library Tasks" included an overview of joint programs by the U.S. Consulate Leipzig and the Erfurt public library ... more

Leipzig University Radio Mephisto 97.6 Honored in Berlin

June 7, 2009. June 7 turned out to be a special day for a group of ambitious journalism students who - with the help of a Consulate General Leipzig grant - travelled to the U.S. during the election campaign in the fall of 2008. Under the leadership of Department Chair Professor Rüdiger Steinmetz and Mephisto Program Director Dr. Christoph Peters, the 11 students researched, produced and aired a whole series of U.S. election programs ... more

All Eyes on President Obama During His Visit to Germany

June 4-5, 2009. Leipzig Consul General Katherine Brucker was overall Mission Germany lead for President Obama's June 4-5 visit to Dresden and Buchenwald in Leipzig's consular district. Bruce Armstrong, Information Officer at U.S. Embassy Berlin, was the team leader in Dresden and Munich Consul for Public Affairs Kathryn Crockart covered press for the Buchenwald portion of the visit. Much of Leipzig's staff was "deployed" for the visit. more

U.S. Foreign and Security Policies Engender Lively Debate

May 20, 2009. Prof. Dietmar Herz from the University Erfurt and Wolfgang Stützer, former director of the German-American Institute Freiburg, discussed the foreign and security policies of Germany and the U.S. in a program supported by a Consulate General Leipzig speaker grant. After presenting the historical and geopolitical differences of the foreign and security policy of the two countries the speakers discussed current issues such as Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East, and presented the different approaches of Germany and the U.S., followed by a lively debate in which the audience took part. more

"Marketplace of Cultures" for Tolerance

May 16, 2009. Consul General Katherine Brucker visited Pirna in Saxony, a city with some 39,300 inhabitants, to participate in the 7^th annual "Marketplace of Cultures", a program designed to combat right-wing extremism and promote tolerance, which attracted more than 8,500 visitors. The Consulate U.S. information booth was one of more than 60 stands which showcased the wealth of peoples and cultures. more

Consul Opens Curtis Poster Show

May 16, 2009. Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Edith Backman greeted about 70 guests at the opening of the exhibition "Visions of Native Americans: The Photographs of Edward S. Curtis", a State Department poster show which will be on display at the International Karl May Heritage Center in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Saxony, until October 2009. more

The First 115 Days Obama

May 14, 2009. Crister Garrett, Leipzig University's professor for American politics and director of the Institute of American Studies, reviewed American foreign and domestic policies of the new administration in Zittau (Saxony). The event offered about 50 participants of all age groups (from high school on) a forum to discuss goals as well as perspectives ... more

State Department Officer Reaches Out to Students in Leipzig

May 13, 2009. Christopher Hodges, Deputy Director for Austria, Germany and Switzerland, Office of Central Europe at the Department of State, took part in a Meet US school outreach program in Leipzig. He gave a short presentation of his work and the first 100 days of President Obama to about 90 students (age 15-17) of the Rudolf-Hildebrand-Schule in Leipzig suburb Markkleeberg. more

Reviewing Obama's First Hundred Days in Saxony

May 12, 2009. Consul for Public Affairs James Seward along with an Information Resource Center (IRC) staffer travelled to Lichtenstein, Saxony, for a whole day of programs under the title "President Barack Obama - Rolling Up his Sleeves". The Consul discussed presidential initiatives countering the financial downturn and other domestic and international issues, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation in the president's plans. more

Wittenberg Hosts Three American Fulbrighters

May 8-10, 2009. The conference "Gender and Sexuality in American History and Culture" at the Zentrum für USA-Studien (ZUSAS) took place at the Leucorea center in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Saxony Anhalt. The continuously developing role of women and perceptions of gender in U.S. society was the central theme of the academic conference, supported by a grant from the Consulate. more

5th "Battle of the Books" Kicks Off at Consulate General

May 8, 2009. The "Battle of the Books," based on an American model, is held annually as an English language reading and literature competition, organized by an English teacher from a local high school. Some 60 students taking part in the "Battle of the Books" competition were greeted by Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Edith Backman at the Leipzig Consulate. more

Meet the Author George Ellenbogen

May 6-May 7, 2009. Consulate General Leipzig took advantage of poet George Ellenbogen's two weeks of readings in Germany and France. The award-winning poet and former Creative Writing professor at Bentley College (until retirement in 2004) gave a lecture and reading for about 45 American Literature students of Dresden University (May 6) and delivered a public reading for a small group of about 25 poetry fans in Leipzig (May 7). more

Consulate on Bike Tour Through Muldetal

May 4-6, 2009. Consul General Katherine Brucker and Consulate staff took part in a three-day, multi-city bike tour through the Mulde River valley in Saxony. Combining sport and outreach, American officers and German staffers bicycled through the towns of Grimma, Wurzen, Eilenburg and Bad Dueben, ending in the city of Dessau. more

Selected Events January-April 2009