Programs and Events

Selected Events May-August 2008

U.S. Consulate General Leipzig Wows Patrons at First City Library Festival

August 24, 2008. 25 Leipzig libraries, archives and museums – among them the Consulate’s Information Resource Center (IRC) - took part in the first ever library street festival in the city organized by the Leipzig University Library. Consul General Katherine Brucker, Jim Seward, Consul for Public Affairs and Political/Economic Officer Edith Backman used the opportunity for a dialog with interested Leipzig citizens alongside with IRC representatives and two German interns who staffed the Consulate booth. more

Moravian Music Straight from the Archives

August 4, 2008. A unique concert featuring American Moravian music drew an audience of over 400 to Leipzig’s open air and free concert series at the Bach Memorial. On August 4, Leipzig-based American violinist Amber McPherson was joined by four local musicians to form "Amber McPherson & Friends," a quintet that played compositions recently uncovered by McPherson at the Herrnhut archives. more

Building Friendship

August 4, 2008. In July, a 17-day visit by 15 students and their teachers from the Paul-Gerhardt-Gymnasium in Gräfenhainichen, Saxony-Anhalt, to Springfield, OH, kicked off a new school partnership. During their two-week stay with host families, the students learned about U.S. history, culture, and everyday life. more

Leipzig Consul For Public Affairs Continues Consulate Engagement In Gotha

July 18, 2008. Consul Mark Wenig, accompanied by his wife Kjarstin and a consulate staffer, visited the Thuringian county seat of Gotha for a glimpse into the future of an upcoming research center. Director of the University and Research Library Erfurt/Gotha, Christiane Schmiedeknecht, discussed the historic 16th century roots of the Gotha Research Library as well as its present specialization in humanities. more

F/Stop Festival With U.S. Participation

July 16-20, 2008. Though only in its second year, the “F/Stop Festival” has become a major venue for presenting contemporary photography. A grant by the U.S. Consulate Leipzig supported the exhibition of three U.S. artists, Meggan Gould, Nicholas Prior, and Keri Picket. more

Consul For Public Affairs Opens Weimar Klezmer Music Festival

July 11, 2008. Mark Wenig, Consul for Public Affairs, delivered remarks at the opening concert of the annual “Yiddish Summer Weimar” Klezmer music festival in Weimar. The five-week long festival, supported by the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and U.S. Consulate General Leipzig, features jam sessions, workshops, dance courses, symposia, public concerts and street music events. more

Leipzig Toastmasters Salute Club Founder

July 8, 2008. The Leipzig Toastmasters Club, the only branch of this Englishspeaking club in the former East Germany, saluted the club’s founder, Mark Wenig, Consul for Public Affairs, at his last meeting. Wenig, who initiated the club in April 2007, along with Charles Whitmer, a Fulbright spouse at the time, had previous experience getting Toastmasters off the ground at two previous posts. more

Fulbright Lecture Series Concluded

July 8, 2008. A lecture/seminar series in Leipzig, which was cosponsored by the Consulate General Leipzig and the German-American Fulbright Commission, successfully concluded on July 8. The series, which began in April, featured six American scholars addressing topics dealing with present-day America, set in relations to the ideals of the past. more

Leipzig Meet Us Programs Open Doors In Remote Areas

July 7–8, 2008. U.S. interns Ben Kreider and Joe Semrad spoke to 9 different 7th, 10th, and 11th grade classes at the Lessing-Gymnasium in Kamenz (Saxony), and the Europagymnasium Richard von Weizsäcker in Thale (Saxony-Anhalt). The primary topic was the American election system and the upcoming presidential election. more

Consul Mark Wenig’s Last Meet Us

July 7, 2008. At his final “Meet US” event, Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig met with 15 students from a rural vocational school in Reichenbach, Saxony. The main topic of discussion was the 2008 presidential election, which Wenig stressed would once again be a very close race. more

New York Ensemble Presents Contemporary Music In Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt

July 4–6, 2008. Supported by the Consulate General Leipzig, three concerts showcased the spectrum of contemporary American chamber music to an audience of about 70 in three eastern German cities. more

Ambassador Interview Addresses Eastern German Audience

July 4, 2008. Headlined “U.S. (has a) strong interest in the East,” Leipziger Volkszeitung on July 4 carried an interview with Ambassador William R. Timken Jr. which was recorded at the Leipzig Consulate General’s Independence Day festivities. more

Independence Day Party Takes Off At Leipzig-Halle Airport

July 2, 2008. Leipzig Consulate General’s combined 4th of July and farewell reception for Consul General Mark Scheland and Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig attracted a record crowd of some 700 political, economic, academic and cultural contacts, who were generally complimentary of this year’s party venue: a hangar at the Leipzig-Halle Airport overlooking a runway. more

Consul For Public Affairs Participates In “Values” Discussion With International Students In Weimar

July 1, 2008. Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig attended a session of the Weimar Summer Courses for international students, where he addressed several aspects of U.S. policy and values before introducing the main speaker, Prof. Dr. Michael Dreyer. more

Consul For Public Affairs Visits Site Of WWII Atrocity In Gardelegen

June 28, 2008. Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig paid a visit to a memorial in the Saxon-Anhalt town of Gardelegen,, which was witness to one of the most senseless atrocities of WWII. Just days before the liberating U.S. Army arrived in the town, some 1016 sick and weak concentration camp death march survivors were burned alive in a barn on April 13, 1945, by retreating members of the SS. more

Consul For Public Affairs Welcomes Young American Musicians In Saxony Anhalt

June 27, 2008. Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig delivered a greeting on behalf of the Consulate to 62 young musicians from the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan, who performed a concert in the Saxon-Anhalt town of Loitsche, just north of Magdeburg. The students, along with their director and several adult administrators, are on a three-week tour of Europe. more

Consul For Public Affairs Addresses Magdeburg “Symposium On The American Presidency”

June 27, 2008. Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig was one of the main speakers at a symposium in Magdeburg on the U.S. presidency. The event, held at the library of the Otto von Guericke University, also featured talks by Prof. Jim Willis of Azusa Pacific University in California, Prof. Paul Rundquist, an American visiting professor at several universities in the region, and by a graduate student in American Studies. more

Leipzig IRC Continues Speaker Series At University Of Applied Sciences

June 27, 2008. Prof. Dr. John J. Regazzi, Dean of the College of Information and Computer Science at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, lectured about the historical context and technical developments that have spurred on E-publishing, thereby also casting a look ahead for some 40 library science and print/publishing freshmen from the local HTWK (University of Applied Sciences). more

Leipzig Interns Assume An Active Role In Meet Us

June 25–July 1, 2008. In a series of classroom visits at the Wilhelm-Ostwald-Gymnasium in Leipzig and the Giebichenstein-Gymnasium "Thomas Müntzer" in Halle, American interns Ben Kreider and Joe Semrad covered a wide variety of topics, ranging from the American education system to the traditional lifestyle of the Pennsylvania Amish and Mennonite community. more

Leipzig Nurtures Jewish-American Studies At Halle University

June 25, 2008. A representative of the Saxony-Anhalt Ministry of Culture, dignitaries from Halle University, the local Rabbi, and Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig, gathered with some 40 more guests to pay tribute to Information Resource Center’s new cooperation with the university’s Jewish Studies Institute. The celebration centered on the official donation of 40 significant recent books discussing Jewish American issues – a highly anticipated gift filling a major gap in the Institute’s book collection. more

Consulate General Leipzig Represented At All-Day Info-Fair

June 25, 2008. Under the motto, "Go Out - Study Abroad," Leipzig University and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) hosted their first ever information fair for students and faculty. Consulate staffer Birgit Kämmer was among the invited guest speakers, who informed students about the U.S. system of higher education and explained financial aid programs. more

Focus On Political Science At Jena University

June 24, 2008. Consulate General Leipzig staff joined students, faculty and guests of the Political Science Institute of Friedrich Schiller University Jena on their Day of Political Science. A symposium on political education in a globalized world and a festive evening provided an adequate backdrop for the presentation of final certificates to the graduates of 2008, and for honoring outstanding MA and doctoral theses, several of them on U.S. topics. Guest of Honor was Jürgen Chrobog. more

Good, Bad, Or Both – The Legacy Of 1968

June 23, 2008. Consulate General Leipzig took advantage of a research trip that brought Mitchell Cohen, Professor of Political Science at Bernard Baruch College, to Saxony and connected him with the Leipzig American Studies Institute. Prof. Cohen met with students as well as Leipzig's Fulbright Professor Benjamin Alpers, American guest professor Paul Rundquist, and Political Science Professor Sigrid Meuschel. more

"Eastern German Teachers Visitor Program" Alumnus 0rganizes "Meet Us" In Vacha

June 19, 2008. Leipzig Consulate General staffer Kirsten Teschauer and U.S. intern Lindsey Moore engaged thirty 11th grade students at a Vacha high school in a lively discussion on cultural differences. The "Meet US" program was the fourth in as many years organized by Marko Braungarten, 2004 participant in the Eastern German Teachers Visitor Program (EGTVP). more

Explaining U.S. Higher Education

June 19, 2008. As part of Consulate General Leipzig's outreach to institutions of higher education in the consular district, staffer Birgit Kämmer traveled to the Technical University Freiberg to address educational opportunities in the U.S. The 23 (mostly) undergraduate students received up-to-date information about the U.S. system of higher education, grant programs, and current visa regulations. more

Ties To Tennessee State University

June 17, 2008. Leipzig Consul General Mark Scheland met with nine students from Tennessee State University in Nashville, who are conducting a 10-day summer study program in Germany with a focus on the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and its historical reverberations in Europe and the former GDR. more

West Point Cadets Study German In Leipzig

June 17, 2008. U.S. military cadets are an unusual sight in Leipzig. The Leipzig University of Applied Science (HTWK) chose to publicly introduce its German program, which brought three cadets from the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point to Leipzig for a 4-week German language program, the first-ever training of its kind conducted outside a German military (Bundeswehr) academy. more

Explaining Independence Day

June 12, 2008. Bringing the "Meet US" program to a suburb of the small city of Gera, Consulate staffer Birgit Kaemmer and U.S. interns Sunshine Moore and Joe Semrad introduced a group of 15 high school students to the traditions of celebrating Independence Day. more

Showing Team Spirit In Leipzig

June 11, 2008. Consulate General staffers Zoe Kusmierz and Sylvia Sander, U.S. intern Joe Semrad, and Consul General Mark Scheland ran as the Consulate team Diplomatische Laufbahn* in the First Annual Leipzig Firmenlauf, a fun run and team-building event for companies and organizations. more

‚Meet Us’ Goes Sorbisch In Bautzen, Saxony

June 11, 2008. Leipzig Consul General Mark Scheland joined state parliament (Landtag) deputy Marko Schiemann for a half-day visit to the historic city of Bautzen and neighboring Grosspostwitz. The Consul General broke new ground in Mission Germany's "MeetUS" program of school outreach with a visit to Bautzen's bilingual Sorbish/German public secondary school (Gymnasium). more

Embassy Support For Frank Freidel Residency

June 10, 2008. Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig represented the Berlin U.S. Embassy and Leipzig Consulate General at a lecture by this year’s Frank Freidel Resident, Dr. Paula Lee. The program enables an American academic to use the resources of the Frank Freidel Library in Leipzig during a six-week stay, as well as to teach and network in a transatlantic framework. more

Taking Stock Of Commercial Relations With Saxony

June 10, 2008. Consul General Mark Scheland addressed over 30 private sector managers and leaders of institutions in Görlitz, on the German-Polish border. In his remarks and a Q&A session, the Consul General conveyed U.S. objectives in international economic policy, emphasizing the U.S. engagement in the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization negotiations, the Major Economies process for combating climate change, and the public/private agenda of the Transatlantic Economic Council. more

Reading Of “The Gardner”

June 9, 2008. Consul General Mark Scheland visited class 4a of the Edouard-Manet Elementary School for a reading of American author Sarah Stewart’s “The Gardener”; a favorite book of the Scheland family. Scheland and his German and American interns were instantly greeted by the class of 24 fourth-graders with a cheerful English “Good Morning!” more

HipHop Hits Leipzig

June 7, 2008. The 6th annual HipHop Awareness Week, which was supported by Leipzig Consulate General, opened with a panel discussion on “Old School Histories” and continued with the “Battle of the East,” the most competitive break dancing contest in eastern Germany, drawing some 900 HipHop enthusiasts. The panel featured academics, a German HipHop activist, and Rebel Diaz, a HipHop trio from the Bronx. more

Focusing On The Local And The Larger Pictures

June 4, 2008. Consul General Mark Scheland reflected on his soon-toend three-year term and the upcoming U.S. elections during his first farewell interview with local media in the Leipzig Consulate General district. This major interview with Freie Presse Chemnitz appeared on June 5 under the headline: “Adrenalin Boost for (new) President.” more

Leipzig Contributes To University Course

June 4, 2008. Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig continued his engagement for the annual summer semester class on "Cultural Studies of the USA" launched by Prof. Dr. Michael Hinner, who holds the chair in Business English at the Technical University (TU) Bergakademie Freiberg. It was Wenig's 3rd lecture at the university in as many years, and this years' presentation focused on the 2008 presidential election campaign. more

Discovering New Audiences

Bringing Hollywood Directing To Leipzig

May 29-30, 2008. U.S. TV and film director, filmmaker and scholar Gil Bettman (Chapman College, CA), conducted a workshop on “camera movement and directing”, which provided rare and unique insights into Hollywood-style directing to 18 students from the Leipzig University Communications Department. more

Unveiling Of Donors’ Plaque At The Leipzig “Bibliotheca Albertina”

May 29, 2008. Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig participated in the unveiling of a plaque honoring the contributions of the Leipzig University Library’s three major sponsors over the past ten years. Among them is the Institute for American Studies Leipzig, recipient of the library of U.S. historian Frank Freidel and founder of the Frank Freidel Memorial Library. more

Leipzig Students Win Trip To Sister City

May 29, 2008. Having proven their knowledge of U.S. history and language, and above all of Houston, TX, the three winners of the “Leipzig Meets Houston” high school student competition rejoiced after being announced at an event jointly staged by the Leipzig City International Office and the local Leipzig-Houston Sister City Association. more

Celebrating Five Years Magdeburg-Nashville

May 28, 2008. On the 5th anniversary of the signing of the sister city agreements between Magdeburg and Nashville (TN), Leipzig Consul General Mark Scheland joined Magdeburg Lord Mayor Lutz Trümper and Dr. Uwe Küster, Member of Parliament and Director of the German-American Dialog Center at a press conference to announce a new element in this very successful sister city link. more

U.S. Librarian Addresses Leipzig Students

May 28, 2008. Dale Askey from the Kansas State University Libraries lectured at Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK) to an audience of 25 librarians and first-semester students of library sciences on “Information Ecologies – Gap between Librarians and Researchers.” more

Consul For Public Affairs Visits Historic Saxony-Anhalt School

May 27, 2008. Upon the invitation of the headmaster, Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig and a Consulate intern made a visit to the historic Landesschule Pforta in Schulpforte, Saxony Anhalt. The Americans were invited to lunch in the school cafeteria then toured the school which was founded in 1543. more

Consulate General Leipzig Reaches Out To Students In Consular District

May 26 and May 27, 2008. Consulate General Leipzig staffer Birgit Kaemmer was among the invited guest speakers at all-day events at the Technical University in Dresden (May 26) and the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (May 27) in support of the German Academic Exchange Service's (DAAD) “Go Out” initiative. more

U.S. Showcase at “Marketplace of Cultures”

May 24, 2008. Consulate General Leipzig participated in Pirna’s sixth “Markt der Kulturen” which celebrated and showcased the wealth of peoples and cultures in a part of Saxony where right-wing extremism continues to be a problem. In an on-stage address, Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig stressed the importance of such an event to broaden perspectives and promote tolerance. more

Persian-American Journey To Leipzig

May 23, 2008. In a reading in Leipzig’s House of the Books, U.S. author Terence Ward introduced an audience of 40 mainly young people to the significant Persian influences on Western culture, as well as on Iranian life today. The following day, Ward discussed cross-cultural program options with Florian von Bothmer and Sebastian Alexander of eurient, an association fostering understanding for the Middle East in Saxony. more

Building Bilingual Education For Tomorrow's Skilled Workers 

May 22, 2008. Consul General Mark Scheland and Consul Edie Backman participated in the cornerstone ceremony for a new secondary school, the Ganztagschule Sülzetal, in Langenweddingen, Saxony-Anhalt, near Magdeburg. The school, which is subject to open for local 5th to 10th graders in fall 2009, is the result of a public-private partnership. more

Bringing The U.S. Elections To Chemnitz

May 22, 2008. Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig gave back to back lectures on the 2008 presidential election campaign, first at the Technical University Chemnitz and then at the Chemnitz Public Library, a Leipzig A@YL partner. Political Science Prof. Dr. Beate Neuss introduced Wenig to the 120 students of the political science and philosophy department, who gathered for this special offering. more

Briding The Continents With Jazz

May 21 and May 24, 2008. Consulate General Leipzig supported two jazz concerts by the Louis Romanos Quartet in Leipzig (May 21) and Schönbach (May 24). Featuring music composed by U.S. jazz drummer Louis Romanos, the band included young musicians studying at the musical academies in Leipzig and Weimar. more

“Meet US” Makes It to Mockau

May 21, 2008. Leipzig’s public library branch in Mockau hosted its first ever U.S.-related program. In the combined framework of the well-established “Meet US” and "America@YourLibrary” programs, Consul General Mark Scheland gave a lecture and presentation on the presidential elections to an audience of 25 10th and 11th graders from Brockhaus Gymnasium. more

Reaching Out To Leipzig’s Famous Thomas School 

May 20 and May 23, 2008. As part of the “Meet US” program, Consul General Mark Scheland encountered a 4th grade class of the Thomasschule, one of the oldest schools in Germany and internationally known for its Thomaner boys choir. Scheland read from the delightfully illustrated children’s book, “The Gardener” by American author Sarah Stewart to make the youngsters aware of America’s role and the life of a diplomat. more

Fulbrighters In The East

May 20, 2008. Supported by the Consulate General Leipzig, U.S. historian Prof. Sarah Brown (Florida Atlantic University/Charles University Prague) continued this year’s Fulbright lecture series at Leipzig University with a presentation on the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. more

American Prodigy Wows Them In Leipzig

May 18, 2008. Consul General Mark Scheland and his wife Elizabeth hosted an afternoon recital to introduce the outstanding musical talent of Nickolas Kudo, a 13-year-old American pianist living in Mannheim. Kudo’s mastery of works by Beethoven and Chopin amazed the 80 guests, among them Saxony Minister-President Milbradt, Jena Lord Mayor Schröter, a state parliamentarian and former minister, two deputy mayors, two concert promoters, and a Dresden newspaper’s chief editor. more

Photography From Chicago And Leipzig Makes Trip Across Atlantic

May 16, 2008. Consulate General Leipzig helped launch the Leipzig portion of a German-American photo exhibit in Alte Baumwollspinnerei (a former textile mill complex, now famous for ties to the “New Leipzig School” painters). The exhibition Three Hours between Planes – also on display in Chicago – features works by graduates from Chicago and Leipzig art schools. more

Gotha And Gastonia Celebrating 15-Year Partnership

May 15, 2008. Consul General Mark Scheland spoke at a welcoming event for a six-member sister city delegation from Gastonia (NC) in Gotha, Thuringia. Gotha Lord Mayor Knut Kreuch and Gastonia Mayor Jennie Stultz also addressed the gathering, which included 20 Gotha officials and sister city activists. The Consul General emphasized the positive and productive development of the U.S. presence in Thuringia in the economic sphere as well as in building people-to-people relationships. more

Haldensleben Rotary Club Asks "Quo Vadis USA?"

May 14, 2008. Leipzig Consul General Mark Scheland spoke to over 30 members and guests of the Rotary Club in Haldensleben, Saxony-Anhalt, representing a broad crosssection of professionals and entrepreneurs in the region. The Consul General's prepared remarks focused on the continuity of strategic goals in U.S. foreign policy over several decades. more

Consul General Elucidates 2008 Presidential Election Campaign For German Fulbright Grantees

May 9, 2008. A full room of over 100 young scholars awaited the appearance of General Consul Mark Scheland, as he wrapped up a three-day orientation program in Jena for Germanywide recipients of Fulbright grants who are preparing to depart on their academic- and cultural exchange to the United States. more

"Meet Us" At "A@YL" Partner In Goerlitz

May 7, 2008. For several years now, Consulate General Leipzig officers have traveled to the furthest eastern Saxon city of Görlitz, situated on the border with Poland, to partake in a bi-annual “America Day” celebration with approx. 90 youth and children. Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig and his wife Kjarstin addressed groups of students and young children through interactive and culturally enlightening presentations. more

Consul For Public Affairs Helps Open Karl May Festival In Radebeul

May 2, 2008. Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig represented the Consulate at the opening of the 17th annual Karl May Festival weekend in the Saxon city of Radebeul, near Dresden. The festival honors the American West, with its dress, music and tradition, which was the subject of many adventure novels written 100 or more years ago by Karl May. more

Leipzig Hosts Leipsic

May 2, 2008. Four American women from the village of Leipsic, Ohio, visited the Leipzig Neues Rathaus with Consul General Mark Scheland to bring a small gift from their town government. City protocol chief Dr. Magdalena Grams had acceded to the Consul General’s request that the ladies be met briefly by a Leipzig official. more

Selected Events September-December 2008
Selected Events January-April 2008