Programs and Events

Leipzig Consul Addresses Students, English Teachers in Southern Saxony
December 4, 2006 Leipzig Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig and the Information Resource Center (IRC) assistant participated in the second “America Day” at the city library in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) town of Annaberg-Buchholz. Wenig, who was joined by a representative of the Chemnitz Crusaders (American) football team, addressed two groups of students and English teachers from the district, focusing on sports in America.(more)

Commercial Minister George Ruffner for Business Talks in Leipzig-Halle Region
December 4, 2006 The Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, George F. Ruffner, who arrived in Germany this fall, conducted his first business meetings in the consular district at the beginning of December. He was joined by Consul General Mark Scheland and Commercial Specialist Bettina Kutsche to examine clean coal power-generation at the Lippendorf power plant in Boehlen, Saxony. The visit included discussions on energy efficiency procedures and a tour of the power plant, right up to the top of the 152 meter (499 feet) high boiler building.(more)

Tenth Saxony-Anhalt "Investors Stammtisch" at Burg Wanzleben
November 28, 2006 The periodic gathering of representatives of U.S. subsidiary companies based in Saxony-Anhalt and the neighboring states of Saxony and Thuringia hosted by hit-music broadcaster Radio SAW, featured Consul General Mark Scheland and the Commercial Counselor from the Canadian Embassy, Christopher McLean, among the guest speakers. Mark Scheland briefed the audience on globalization trends and their consequences, as well as on tasks of the U.S. Commercial Service in Germany.(more)

Thuringia Recognizes the Consular Corps and Military Liaisons
November 20, 2006 Consul General Scheland joined diplomatic and consular colleagues and honorary consuls of nearly two dozen other countries in a day-long exploration of economic, cultural, and tourism development in the Free State of Thuringia. The state chancellery and Minister-President Dieter Althaus used the annual information day for the Consular Corps as an occasion to recognize as well the work of U.S. and British military liaison officials, who over several years have helped increase contacts and cooperation between the people of Thuringia and Allied military establishments.(more)

Songs of Praise and Thanksgiving
November 19, 2006 Over 60 guests from government, business, theater, opera and music education, and others gathered at the Consul General’s residence Sunday, November 19, to enjoy a program of songs composed or arranged by 20th Century American composers. Soprano Nicole Simml from Wisconsin and pianist Amy Wegge, a native Minnesotan, performed works by Aaron Copland, Virgil Thompson, Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, Louise Talma and William Bolcon. The All-American program, drawing its theme broadly from the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving, was a happy revelation to many from the Leipzig region, whose own musical tradition emphasizes J.S. Bach, Mendelssohn, and the Schumanns.(more)

Learning from Nazi-Era Forced Laborers in Leipzig
November 17, 2006 Six individuals from Eastern Europe, removed by force from their homelands during World War II and put to work in the Leipzig area or born here during their mothers’ incarceration as forced laborers, accepted the City of Leipzig’s invitation to visit the city for a week as honored guests. U.S. Consul General Mark Scheland joined the group in a panel discussion at Leipzig’s “open university” (Volkshochschule) conducted for an audience of approximately 50 high and middle school students from the Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Taucha, Mittelschule Mölkau, and other Leipzig-area schools.(more)

Consul General at USA and Canada Day at Leipzig Travel Agency
November 16, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland was the featured guest at a Q & A session at the Leipzig Karstadt travel agency. Augmenting the agency’s resources, U.S. Consulate General Leipzig distributed tourism promotion material about the USA acquired from Commercial Service tourism experts in Frankfurt's Consulate General and from the Visit USA Committee Germany e.V. Consul General Scheland talked to interested Leipzig travellers while Consulate staff answered questions regarding passport requirements for the visa waiver program and other services of the Consulate.(more)

American Voice at “Literary Autumn” in Jena and Leipzig
November 16, 2006 Basically as an “encore” to a very successful first appearance at Leipzig Book Fair in the spring 2006, best-selling author Dave King – currently a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome – presented his first novel, “The Ha-Ha” to audiences in Jena on November 15, and Leipzig on November 16. The reading of his moving story on the costs of war and the infinite worth of human relationships, ended in both cities with a long and vivid discussion on writing, human imperfection and American society. Consul General Mark Scheland attended the King reading in Leipzig.(more)

Consul General and Leipzig Cultural Official Open America@Your Library Partnership
November 14, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland officially launched the America@your library partnership with the Leipzig Municipal Library, the 5th and final event of this kind in Leipzig's Consulate General district. The opening drew about 70 guests, including this year’s Fulbrighters in the region, former participants of the International Visitor Program who travelled to the U.S., local high school students, and members of the general public. The Consul General presented a check for € 2,500 to the head of the library, Dr. Arne Ackermann. The program celebrating the new partnership also included a bilingual reading by Kjärstin Wenig, wife of the Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig, and the head of the children's library, Ms. Gründig, to twenty elementary school kids, a discussion/Q&A by the Consul General with sixty 10th graders, and information on exchange programs.(more)

United States Air Forces in Europe Band Perform in Apolda
November 12, 2006 Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig and consulate staffer Beate Renker attended a concert by the Chamber Winds Ensemble of the United States Air Forces in Europe Band. Consul Wenig delivered welcoming remarks to the crowd of ca. 70 listeners, including the mayor of Apolda Rüdiger Eisenbrand. Apolda has kept up a lively sister city relationship with Rapid City, SD, and is very active in the German-American cultural dialogue. Consulate General Leipzig organized this concert in cooperation with Apolda city authorities and the Sister City organization. The audience appreciated the concert and mixed freely with the musicians.(more)

Magdeburgers Display Interest in U.S. Elections
November 9, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland participated in a public panel discussion hosted by the Saxony-Anhalt chapter of the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation and by the German-American Dialogue Center. Along with Bundestag deputy Uwe Küster as moderator and two professors, one American, Prof. Crister Garrett, University of Leipzig, and one German, Prof. Erhard Forndran, University of Magdeburg, the Consul General explained to an audience of nearly 200 the structures of the U.S. legislative and electoral systems and the variety of offices and issues that were in play in the 2006 elections.(more)

Washington Policy Expert Gives Election Analysis via Digital Video Conference (DVC)
November 8, 2006 Terry Michael, director of the “Washington Center for Politics and Journalism,” participated in a Digital Video Conference (DVC) with a diverse audience from the Leipzig community, including press representatives. As part of his presentation and in response to questions, Michael cautioned against expecting too much change too soon, and made the point that even though the Democrats now had the opportunity to effect change, there was no guarantee they would do it.(more)

Saxony-Anhalt English Teachers Learn About U.S. Elections
November 7, 2006 On the U.S. Election Day, Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig addressed 20 English teachers about the midterm elections. The event took place at the Magdeburg public library, Saxony-Anhalt's America@your library partner. The group was first welcomed by Ms. Beate Hörning, who oversees the library's partnership with the Consulate, in which she introduced the guests.(more)

Consul takes part in Podium Discussion on German Foreign Policy
November 2, 2006 Consul Mike Rousek took part as one of four panelists in a Podium Discussion hosted by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Zwickau. The discussion was moderated by MdB Andreas Weigel, who fielded questions from some 60 local residents on the future of German foreign policy and engagement abroad. Other panelists included Major General Reinhard Kammerer, the Commander of the 13th Panzer Grenadier Division headquartered in Leipzig, whose unit is currently the lead for the German army's peacekeeping efforts in Afghanist and and the Balkans.(more)

Consulate Cooperation with Chemnitz - Industrial Center and College Town
November 1, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland visited the city of Chemnitz in Saxony and paid a call on Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig. In their first meeting since Ms. Ludwig's assumption of office in late summer 2006, the Lord Mayor and Consul General reviewed the variety of the Consulate's cooperation with local institutions, reaching back several years, and discussed prospects for the future.(more)

Kindergarten in Saxony-Anhalt in Preparation for Globalization
November 1, 2006 Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig, his wife Kjärstin and Leipzig's Information Resource Center (IRC) director visited a day care center called "The little hoodlums" (Die kleinen Strolche) in the small western Saxon village of Zschernitz to meet kindergarten staff and an American English teacher, Brielle Confer. Confer, from North Carolina, started last August on a one-year experimental program to provide bilingual education to some 69 pre-school age children from Delitzsch county.(more)

Erfurt High School Students Learn About U.S. Society and Politics
October 19, 2006 Two groups of 11th grade high school students from the Sports Gymnasium in Erfurt came to the city branch library at the Gymnasium to attend a presentation and Q&A session conducted by Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig, U.S. Consulate General Leipzig. Twenty students, accompanied by the principal, Mr. Böttcher, his deputy and three English teachers, were welcomed by Mrs. Waldheim, Director of the Erfurt public library, which is also an America@your library partner in the Leipzig consular district.(more)

Ambassador Timken Attends Opening of Holocaust Exhibit in Dresden
October 11, 2006 Ambassador Timken participated in the opening of “Deadly Medicine,” an exhibit about racial policies under the Nazis, which began an eight-month run at Dresden’s Hygiene Museum. The exhibit venue is significant, as some of the museum’s scholars in the 1930s were among those who embraced Eugenics. The exhibit is on loan from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. In addition to the Ambassador, speakers included Saxony Minister-President Georg Milbradt and Federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. In attendance among the almost 1000 guests were Fred Zeidman, Chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, and Sara J. Bloomfield, Director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.(more)

Sue Timken Visits Dresden Salvation Army Headquarters
October 11, 2006 Mrs. Sue Timken, wife of Ambassador Timken, paid a visit to the Salvation Army headquarters in Dresden, where she participated in the distribution of lunches to about 60 homeless people. She met with the director, Major Jim Garrington, who provided a briefing on the group’s operations in the Dresden area and throughout eastern Germany.(more)

U.S. Vice Consul Spoke on the Occasion of the German Reunification
October 2, 2006 On the occasion of German Reunfication Day, the regional chapter of the Junge Union (youth organization of the Christian Democratic Union – the CDU) organized a program entitled, “Against the Oblivion of an Inhuman Border.” About 100 people took part in the ceremonies, which began with a silent protest march to the cemetery chapel in the town of Hönbach. One of the keynote speakers at this event was Michael Rousek, Vice Consul of the U.S. Consulate General Leipzig. He pointed out that the United States and Germany are partners and good friends, and emphasized the continuing close relationship between the two countries. In this context, Rousek also mentioned the good relations existing between the state of Thuringia and the U.S.(more)

Opening of America@your library Partnership in 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.(more)

Bautzen High-School Students Celebrate Louis Armstrong with "American Day"
September 26, 2006 Sixty high school students from the local Schiller and Sorbs Gymnasium, along with Bautzen residents, attended the “finissage” of the paper show, “Louis Armstrong,” which had been on display at the Bautzen public library for the month of September. A three-person band from Philadelphia performed at the event, and afterwards Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig talked about Armstrong, as well as consular services, engaging the audience in a discussion on a variety of U.S.- related issues.(more)

World Literacy Day and Children's Day Celebrated in Leipzig
September 20, 2006 Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig highlighted the UN-designated World Literacy Day and Children's Day for 40 fourth grade children from the Lessing Primary School, which took place at the Leipzig public library. After a lively Q&A session with the Consul in German and English, Wenig's wife Kjärstin and the children's librarian conducted a bilingual reading from Astrid Lindgren's "Children's Day in Bullerbü."(more)

Consul for Public Affairs in Gera for “American Night” and Tour of 2007 Federal Garden Show site
September 16, 2006 Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig and his wife Kjärstin were in Gera to attend the city’s “American Night” festivities, also attended by representatives of Gera’s U.S. sister city, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Consul Wenig delivered a greeting as about 50 attendees in the evening watched a short presentation about Fort Wayne and enjoyed a band from there.(more)

Celebrating Steuben and the Magdeburg Dialogue Center
September 15, 2006 Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr., was a key speaker at the 4th Steuben Conference staged by the German-American Dialogue Center in Magdeburg, which also celebrated its 6th anniversary. The conference under the auspices of Karsten Voigt, coordinator for German-American relations in the Foreign Office, drew about 120 members of the Dialogue Center, who also followed a panel discussion about transatlantic relations in the wake of September 11, 2001, and an anniversary speech by former U.S. Ambassador John Kornblum.(more)

9/11 Remembered
September 11, 2006 About 300 children from the Lutheran School Center in Leipzig started their school day on September 11 with a church service in memory of the 3000 victims of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. five years ago. At the service, Consul General Mark Scheland recounted not only his personal experiences of that day, but also explained the many ways in which Americans have been trying to deal with this tragic event and its consequences.(more)

Consul Opens Poster Show on Discovery of the Americas
August 25, 2006 Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig and his wife Kjärstin attended the opening of the poster show, “Seeds of Change,” held at the Creative Art Association in the city of Löbau, in upper Lusatia in eastern Saxony. Before some 75 guests, including a representative of the Landkreis Löbau-Zittau, Wenig briefly explained the Consulate’s function and commented on the exhibition’s telling of how the discovery of the American continent had both good and bad consequences for Europeans and native Americans.(more)

Consulate General Connects With American Kids at International Camp in Saxony-Anhalt
August 9, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland and Public Affairs Assistant Beate Renker represented Ambassador Timken in rural Güntersberge at the closing ceremony of the 10th EuroCamp for Kids. Over 250 children from 20 countries, including an American delegation of 18, came together for 10 days to participate in creative activities, including dance, an international games evening, talks with members of the Lions Club and business representatives, visits to exhibits and trips to Magdeburg (including the State Parliament) and Wernigerode. Consul General Scheland joined diplomats from the Embassies of Israel, South Africa, Senegal, Russia, Kazakhstan, Hungary, and the Czech Republic as well as Saxony-Anhalt Chief of Protocol, Minister Rainer Robra, in conversations with the kids, aged 12-13, and with organizers.(more)

Consul General Discusses With Jena Students
July 20, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland was guest speaker in the July 20, semester-ending meeting of a seminar on “Neoconservatism” conducted in the political science department of Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena. Scheland focused his talk on how ideological inclinations are but one of several influences on a policy-maker or legislator at work in any democracy.(more)

Consulate Leipzig's Interns Visit Schools
July 17 - 19, 2006 American interns Scott Krause and Andrew Martinez conducted several school outreach programs, in Leipzig (7/17), Goerlitz (7/18) and Delitzsch (7/19). In Leipzig, the program was held at the Thomas Gymnasium and focused on the intern’s experiences in California. The Goerlitz program, which took place at the Europa-Library, an "America@your library" partner, included two groups of secondary school students from Nisky, and was held in cooperation with an intern from Ireland to present views of society and culture from Ireland and the United States. In Delitzsch, the American intern provided students from grade 9 to 11 a dialogue with a “typical American” on questions about U.S. foreign and domestic policies.(more)

Consul General Builds Ties to Wolfen and Bitterfeld
July 18, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland devoted most of the day to public diplomacy and official calls in the Saxony-Anhalt cities of Bitterfeld and Wolfen. At a campus of the Wolfen city Gymnasium, the Consul General heard from students about the impact of their high school exchanges in Texas and at Wolfen’s partner high school in Clemson, SC. Wolfen’s Lord Mayor and three members of the state parliament took advantage of the Consul General’s presence at the school and participated in a roundtable discussion with the students and Mark Scheland, comparing our two countries’ educational systems, and touching on other topics. After a visit to the American-subsidiary chemical company Tricat, the Consul General gave a stand-up interview to a camera team from the local access TV station, hosted several local officials at lunch, and called on Bitterfeld’s mayor.(more)

Regional Development: Exchange of Experiences Between Appalachia and Leipzig County
July 17, 2006 Dr. Gregory Bischak, senior economist for regional planning and research at the U.S. Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), visited Borna and several sites south of the city of Leipzig. County Executive Petra Köpping and the Economic Development Corporation of 'Leipziger Land' County hosted about 20 local officials as well as Federal Parliament (Bundestag) Deputy Christoph Waitz for Dr. Bischak's presentation on the economic development strategies pursued by the ARC since its inception in the mid-1960s. A lively dialogue ensued on parallels between the coal mining regions of the eastern United States and western Saxony.(more)

Countering Book and Flag Burnings
July 13, 2006 Leipzig Consul General Mark Scheland participated in a reading from the "Diary of Anne Frank" in a school in Schönebeck, Saxony-Anhalt. Minister-President Wolfgang Böhmer had invited the Consul General, State Parliament President Dieter Steinecke, State Justice Minister Angela Kolb and actor Peter Sodann to join him in the event, which included a discussion forum with students and teachers at the county vocational high school. The school’s director said he had welcomed Böhmer’s proposal that the school community join him in demonstrating common abhorrence of the late-June public burning of a copy of the Diary and a U.S. flag in the nearby village of Pretzien. Two hundred students and teachers attended the event.(more)

Consul for Public Affairs Helps Open Klezmer Music Summerfest
July 11, 2006 Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig joined other invited guests and speakers and delivered brief remarks in support of the “Yiddish Summer Weimar” (formerly the “Weimar Klezmer Weeks”), a festival of Klezmer music, which livens the streets of Weimar each summer. This event, which attracts participants from all over Europe as well as North America, combines workshops, jam sessions, and outdoor concerts in celebration of Jewish folk music that originated in eastern Europe.(more)

Conference Highlights U.S. Investment in the East
July 11, 2006 Representatives from 40 U.S. companies accepted an invitation by Federal Minister and former Leipzig Lord Mayor Wolfgang Tiefensee to a Dresden conference aimed at boosting U.S. investments in the new Länder. In his remarks, Ambassador William R. Timken Jr. referred to the over 40,000 jobs currently offered by U.S. companies in the east as an important factor in German-American relations. He also pointed out, however, that “investors do not go where the U.S. is not wanted.” In order to improve the promotion of German business locations in the future, Tiefensee announced that the German marketing companies, the "Industrial Investment Council" (IIC) and "Invest in Germany", would be merged. The conference, which took place at AMD Corp., applauded U.S. economic engagement in Germany as a whole and the eastern states in particular.(more)

The Fourth of July Returns to Leipzig's Wilhelm-Seyfferth-Strasse
July 3, 2006 About 500 guests from throughout the Leipzig consular district enjoyed an Independence Day barbeque on the consulate grounds, the first U.S. national day reception conducted in Leipzig since 1999 - after years of rotation through other cities in Leipzig's three states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Following a flag presentation by the U.S. Marine Corps from the U.S. Embassy Berlin color guard and a stirring a capella performance of the national anthem by the American bass vocalist James Moellenhoff, Consul General Mark Scheland greeted the guests and described the community spirit and common American experience of neighborhood "Fourth of July" parties in the United States.(more)

"America@Your Library" Opening in Chemnitz
June 29, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland and Consulate General Leipzig staff held a full-day of activities in Chemnitz highlighting the U.S. The program started at the Dr. Wilhelm-André-Gymnasium, where Scheland, his wife Elizabeth and American intern Andrew Martinez met a Fulbright teacher and his family and discussed U.S. politics, history, and culture with thirty high school students. Later in the day, Scheland inaugurated the "America@your library" partnership at the Chemnitz Public Library, in the presence of Lord Mayor Seifert, city officials, students, library representatives from all over Saxony and 140 invited guests from the Chemnitz constituency.(more)

Consul Wenig Joins Visiting American Professor in Addressing Students in Meerane
June 26, 2006 Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig, joined by University of California Davis Communications Professor Dr. Charles R. Berger, addressed some 30 students from the Pestalozzi Gymnasium on a visit to the city of Meerane. Berger, whose grandfather emigrated from Meerane to the U.S. in the late 1880s, was on a visit to find his roots. Also present were Birgit Kaemmer, Cultural Affairs Assistant at the Consulate General Leipzig, who addressed the students about exchange opportunities in the U.S., Prof. Michael B. Hinner of the Bergakademie in Freiberg, and Leipzig intern Andrew Martinez. Following the student meeting, the visitors were taken by the Meerane Mayor Lothar Ungerer on a city tour.(more)

U.S. Consulate General Hosts American Students
June 20, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland and Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig hosted two groups of Americans at the Consulate. Students from the University of Arizona (in Leipzig for a summer school program) and teachers who are members of the American Association of Teachers of German (on a teacher in service training program), gathered in the garden to exchange ideas. The Consulate has had longstanding close working relationships with the two host institutions, The Herder-Institute and Leipzig University.(more)

Ambassador Timken Visits Economic Flagship in the East
June 19, 2006 Ambassador Timken and his wife Sue paid their first visit to Jena, an economic flagship and island of relative success, amid large areas of high unemployment in eastern Germany. At Jenoptik, a leader in the optics industry since 1846, CEO Alexander von Witzleben explained to the Ambassador how the company had successfully rationalized and remade itself after the fall of the Wall.(more)

U.S. and Czech Consulates Feed “Fußball” Fever
June 12, 2006 On June 12, about 380 guests gathered at the headquarters of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) in Leipzig to cheer on the U.S. and Czech national teams in their World Cup match, displayed on a giant screen. U.S. Consul General Mark Scheland had approached his Czech counterpart in Dresden and regional broadcaster MDR about co-hosting this event with guests drawn primarily from the U.S. and Czech communities in the three-state region as well as German friends from the media, business, government, and other fields.(more)

Roebling Commemoration A "Bridge Over The Atlantic"
June 12, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland traveled to Mühlhausen, Thuringia, to speak at a Festakt honoring that city's most famous son, John (Johann) August Roebling, the 19th Century innovator of suspension bridges, best known for the Cincinnati bridge that now bears his name and for the Brooklyn Bridge. Scheland also encountered students at the local high school, now named for Roebling.(more)

Consul Wenig Guest of Honor at “Luther's Wedding,” Wittenberg English Ministry
June 10, 2006 Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig and his wife Kjarstin were honored guests in the city of Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, as the city took time to celebrate its annual reenactment of the “Luther Wedding.” After signing the Golden Book and lunching with the Mayor and his wife and other guests, the Wenig’s observed the wedding parade from an elevated vantage point, and participated in other festivities.(more)

Vice Consul Michael Rousek and His Wife Visit Halle
June 8, 2006 Vice Consul Michael Rousek and his wife Ngan visited the Felix Count von Luckner Society to honor the 125th birthday of the count. Deutsche Post was also present to unveil a commemorative envelope for the occasion and provided a small post office with von Luckner stamps at the event. The society, located in Halle, was established in Memory of Count von Luckner, who negotiated with allied forces to save the city from destruction during WWII.(more)

Consul Wenig at Freiberg's Technical University
June 7, 2006 Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig explained to a group of 40 business majors at Freiberg’s Technical University the U.S. system of higher education, while the staff of consulate's Information Resource Center (IRC) introduced U.S. information resources and services, and Embassy educational advising. Professor Michael Hinner, head of the business English and intercultural communication’s department, had invited Consular staff.(more)

Consul Wenig Loans Model Ship To Dresden Museum
June 2, 2006 Leipzig Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig officially turned over his model ship, the 17th century British “Sovereign of the Seas,” to the Dresden Transport Museum at a ceremony at the museum. Also in attendance were U.S. Naval Attaché Captain Timothy A. McCandless and a representative of the Royal Navy from the British Embassy Berlin.(more)

20 Nations, 20 Games - One Party
June 1, 2006 On the occasion of International Children's Day, kids from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Arab world and North America enjoyed a day of multicultural encounters, fun and games in Leipzig. The U.S. Consulate General Leipzig supported the open-air event and landed a real hit by providing instruction and baseball equipment from the Leipzig “Baseball Strikers.”(more)

Consul Wenig Visits Samuel-Heinicke-School for Hearing-Impaired Children
May 30, 2006 Public Affairs Officer Mark Wenig joined students at Leipzig’s school for hearing-impaired children during their week-long project, “Children of the World”. The Consul who was greeted by a friendly and highly interested group of 70 students, and supported by consulate staff, gave a presentation on high-school life in the U.S. and answered numerous questions on society and culture in the U.S.(more)

Ambassador's Visit Blends German and American Culture
May 25-26, 2006 U.S. Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr., visited Meissen-Proschwitz, Dresden and Radebeul May 25-26 and participated in the openings of two popular festivals. The Ambassador, Mrs. Timken and daughter Frances Karsh, accompanied by Consul General Mark Scheland and family, visited the "Prinz zur Lippe" winery May 25 to learn about the reestablishment of world-class viticulture in Saxony since German unification. Later that evening, the Ambassador and family joined Dresden's Acting Mayor Lutz Vogel in attending the first concert of the city's annual music festival (Dresdner Musikfestspiele). The following day the Ambassador conducted a full-day program in Radebeul as patron (Schirmherr) of this year's Karl May Festival.(more)

U.S. Showcase at Pirna Intercultural Festival
May 20, 2006 Leipzig Consul General Mark Scheland and Vice Consul Michael Rousek joined the third "Day of (Celebrating Different) Cultures" in Pirna. The consulate staffed an information booth at the event, which featured stands from more than 50 countries and was designed to promote tolerance and understanding. Consul General Scheland represented the Diplomatic Corps during a talk on stage with Pirna Lord Mayor Ulbig.(more)

Leipzig Consul General Inaugurates "America@your library" in Erfurt
May 18, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland inaugurated the America@your library partnership with the Erfurt public library in the presence of state chancery and city officials, 50 invited guests and a representative from U.S. Forces Europe, the initiator of book donations to Erfurt libraries and schools from the now closed U.S. Rhein-Main air base. As part of the program, the Consul General explained to a group of high school students the work that consulates and diplomats do, and fielded questions on U.S. policy, while the Consulate's cultural exchange assistant Birgit Kämmer outlined bilateral exchange programs with another group of about 30 students.(more)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Comes to Leipzig
May 17, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland helped welcome visitors to the exhibition, "Eric Carle - Artist for Children," at the Leipzig National Library. A household name not only in Germany and the U.S. but in most parts of the world, Eric Carle, the son of German immigrants to the U.S., has lived and worked in both countries. At the opening, Mark Scheland contributed his own personal experiences with Carle, whose artistic children’s books have played a major role in his life as the father of four.(more)

Second German "Battle of the Books"
May 5-7, 2006 Seven German schools representing the federal states of Saxony, Thuringia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein and Hesse participated in the second annual “Battle of the Books” in Markkleeberg near Leipzig. The competition on students' familiarity with selected American youth literature was introduced to Germany in 2004-5 by four American Fulbright teaching assistants in the Leipzig Consular General district working with Ms. Kerstin Kirschke, a teacher at the Rudolf-Hildebrand-Gymnasium. This year's participating 10th and 11th graders proved to be amazingly eloquent in English when answering factual, interpretative and creative questions on the books, and they all attested to the friendly and creative character of the competition.(more)

American Day in Görlitz: Library Celebrates 10th Anniversary
May 5, 2006 The “Europe-Library” in Görlitz celebrated its 10th anniversary with a traditional “America Day” and a reception for local and international guests. Information Resource Officer Holly Murten, U.S. Embassy Berlin and Vice Consul Michael Rousek, U. S. Consulate General Leipzig, as well as consulate staff actively participated in the event by addressing the guests and explaining U.S. higher education, German-American relations, and cultural differences to high school and university student groups.
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U.S. Consulate General Leipzig Supports U.S. Team in “Model World Cup”
April 28, 2006 Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig and consulate staff member Ms. Beate Renker attended a presentation about the U.S. at the Middle School in the town of Bad Düben. The event was part of the school’s participation in a “Model World Cup” championship tournament to be held on May 5th in Leipzig for soccer teams representing area schools. The presentation, performed before a school assembly, included the playing of the U.S. national anthem, square dancing, readings, and videos about the U.S. The mayor of Bad Düben also attended.(more)

Focus on Journalism and Politics: Terry Michael Speaks in Dresden, Leipzig and Eisenach
April 26 - April 27, 2006 Terry Michael, Director of the Washington Center for Politics and Journalism and Professor of Media and Public Affairs, engaged students, journalists and teachers in Dresden and Leipzig on strategic communication and Affirmative Action. At the Technical University Dresden, Mr. Michael addressed a group of communications students. In Leipzig, he lectured to seventy American studies majors and participated in a press breakfast with five local journalists.(more)

New Sister City Exchange: Glauchau, Saxony
April 19, 2006 From April 13 to 25, the city of Glauchau in Saxony hosted American students and two mothers from its future U.S. sister city, Lynchburg, VA. Leipzig Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig and Consulate General staff met with Glauchau's lord mayor and the American and local students for a roundtable discussion to hear more about the positive impact of this visit. All participants agreed that the program had contributed to eliminating stereotypes, and to strengthening the sister city partnership.(more)

America Day in Hohenstein-Ernstthal
April 5, 2006 Leipzig Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig opened a Department of State poster show entitled, "A Nation of Immigrants," at Hohenstein-Ernstthal's city hall. The city of Hohenstein-Ernstthal is the birthplace a well-known German author on American west themes, Karl May. The show was supplemented with archival material from the first wave of immigrants who left the Hohenstein region for St. Louis in the 19th century. Lord Mayor Erich Homilius and the head of the cultural office addressed the audience, which also included the Mayor of Niederfrohna, Lothar Philipp, representatives from the rural district of Chemnitz and 40 high school students from the nearby Lessing Gymnasium.(more)

Ann Symons, Former President of the American Library Association, Visits Leipzig
April 3, 2006 Ann Symons, past president of the American Library Association (ALA) and current Library Director of the International School in Moscow, addressed students, librarians and faculty from the University of Applied Sciences in Leipzig on the changing role of modern information professionals. Emphasizing the importance of cooperation between all types of libraries, Mrs. Symons engaged her interlocutors in a lively discussion about varying working conditions, and common interests of librarians throughout the international community.(more)

Ambassador Timken Engages German Ethnic Minority
April 1, 2006 The Sorbs, Germany’s only native ethnic minority, were a highlight of the first visit of Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr., his wife Sue and daughter Fran to Bautzen. After a warm welcome by Lord Mayor Schramm and a city tour, Ambassador Timken and his family, Leipzig Consul General Mark Scheland, Vice Consul Michael Rousek, and Consulate General staff members discussed the situation of Sorbs and the city with state and federal parliamentarians from the region, three of them of Sorb origin.(more)

Ambassador Timken Visits Dresden and Freiberg
March 31, 2006 Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr., Mrs. Sue Timken and daughter Fran Karsh met with an American delegation from Dresden's sister city, Columbus, Ohio, headed by Mayor Michael B. Coleman, on the occasion of festivities marking the city of Dresden's 800th anniversary. The main ceremony of the celebration took place at the Semper Opera, as the Timkens, Consul General Mark Scheland and Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig listened to remarks about the city’s past and present, with musical interludes from the Sächsische Staatkapelle and Dresdner Philharmonie Orchestras. The city of Dresden had invited representatives from all of its sister cities to join the celebrations.(more)

Ambassador Timken's First Visit to Altenburg
March 30, 2006 As the first U.S. ambassador to visit Altenburg in the state of Thuringia, Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr. and his familiy attracted considerable local media attention. Teacher Jeannine Kämpfer, an alumna of the Eastern German Teachers Visitor Program, hosted Mrs. Timken, daughter Fran Karsh, Leipzig Consul General Mark Scheland and Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig, who fielded questions on a variety of U.S. related topics from local high school students. The discussion was also good preparation for some of the students who will soon be visiting Altenburg’s sister city, Hickory, North Carolina. In addition, city representatives engaged Ambassador Timken in a dialog on how to raise private funding to showcase Altenburg’s unique cultural treasures, which Mayor Michael Wolf proudly presented during a city tour.(more)

Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr. Visits Magdeburg
March 29, 2006 Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr. visited Magdeburg for his first meeting with Saxony-Anhalt Minister-President Wolfgang Böhmer and a full day of appointments at various institutions. Accompanied by his wife, daughter as well as the Leipzig Consul General Mark Scheland and Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig, the Ambassador got together with members of the German-American Dialog Center. Led by Bundestag deputy Uwe Küster, the group outlined the center’s five-year contributions to bolstering U.S.-German partnerships. The meeting took place at Magdeburg's newest architectural attraction, the avant-garde "Green Citadel" designed by Friedrich Hundertwasser. Ambassador Timken then met with students at the Otto-von-Guericke-University. He presented the university president a letter announcing the granting of an U.S. English Language Fellow (ELF). The ELF for Magdeburg is the only such stipend awarded to a German university this year as a result of concerted effort by the Leipzig Consulate General. After a visit and tour of the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operations and Automation with Deputy Director Dr. Gerhard Müller, the Ambassador participated in a roundtable with the editor-in-chief and journalists of Volksstimme Magdeburg.(more)

U.S. Embassy and Consulate General Services Presented at Dresden Annual Library Conference
March 24, 2006 Information Resource Center Coordinator Nancy Rajczak, U.S. Embassy Berlin, and Thea Bohse-Ziganke, Director of the Information Resource Center, U.S. Consulate General Leipzig, talked about services and products for libraries on the occasion of the 95th Annual German Library Conference in Dresden. The conference was attended by about 3 000 librarians, among them 200 from foreign countries. The librarians and information professionals discussed current topics in the area of information society and its upcoming challenges. The new America@your library partnership between the U.S. Embassy and German public libraries also met strong interest of academic and research libraries.(more)

U.S. Presence at the Leipzig Book Fair
March 16 - 19, 2006 Consulate General Leipzig participated in the annual Leipzig Book Fair, which attracted a record number 126,000 visitors (a 17% increase) as well as more than 2,100 exhibitors from 36 countries; among them were 400 exhibiters offering programs for young readers and 453 events specifically targeting young audiences. Consulate General Leipzig has been exhibiting at this event since 2004. The U.S. booth, supported by the U.S. Embassy Berlin, has become a central meeting point for consulate contacts, among them former participants of International Visitor Programs, and has become a venue to establish new contacts for the Information Resource Center (IRC) of the consulate. The exhibit was also a good platform for highlighting Leipzig’s “School Outreach Program” and the “America@YourLibrary” initiative. Publications on a variety of U. S. topics, provided by the State Department's Bureau of International Information Programs and Germany’s “About the USA” CD Rom were once again hugely popular at the Consulate’s booth. On March 17, Consul General Mark Scheland and Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig welcomed visitors. Holly Murten from the U.S. Embassy Berlin and colleagues from Foreign Commercial Service in Hamburg and Leipzig joined the staff at the booth. Elizabeth Scheland, spouse of the Consul General, and American intern Adam Rahal gave a presentation on teaching materials offered by the U.S. National Archives, which attracted a number of highly interested teachers and information professionals. On March 18, American author Dave King introduced his first novel “The Ha-Ha” and signed copies of the German edition, "Homecoming."(more)

American Voice at Leipzig Book Fair
March 17 -18, 2006 Best-selling author Dave King, currently teaching English at Baruch College at the City University of New York, participated in a program marathon during the Leipzig Book Fair. Consulate General Leipzig and German publisher Aufbau organized numerous interviews and a major reading featuring King, and Aufbau selected King’s book as its featured spring selection. King presented his first novel, “The Ha-Ha” (in German, "Homecoming") to an audience of 450 literary enthusiasts in Leipzig's historic “Deutsche Bücherei”, part of German National Library system. The turnout was even more remarkable considering it competed with some 132 other readings taking place the same evening all over Leipzig. The bilingual, almost theatrical reading involved the moving story on the costs of war and the infinite worth of human inter-relationships. The event also featured well-known actor Jan Josef Liefers as the German voice. After reading excerpts, the author and actor engaged in a vivid discussion of the writer's craft.(more)

Consul General Mark Scheland Welcomes U.S. Librarians at the Consulate
March 16, 2006 Leipzig Consul General Mark Scheland and Leipzig Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig welcomed a group of ten U.S. librarians, jointly accompanied by Library Director Jens Lazarus of Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, Goethe Institute - Regional Coordinator Marilen Daum and WESS-Coordinator Thea Lindquist (Western European Studies Section). The group's visit to the Consulate General launched the program, “Leipzig, Dresden, Weimar: Exploring a Library Landscape.” The U.S. Embassy Berlin, which supported this program, was represented by Information Resource Officer Holly Murten and Information Resource Center Coordinator Nancy Rajczak. The group also participated in the Leipzig Book Fair and joined the annual national library conference in Dresden, March 21-24. Consul General Scheland addressed the group on consulate services and responsibilities, and the librarians, many of whom specialize in this region, left with a clearer understanding of what the United States is doing publicly in the German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.(more)

Explaining the Native American Experience
March 8 - 9, 2006 American author Debra Magpie Earling read from her book “Perma Red” at the Magdeburg's city library on March 8 and at the renowned high school "Philanthropinum" in Dessau on March 9. She spoke about her experiences as a Native American and discussed her own path in becoming a writer. Both readings sparked extended and vivid discussions on the role of Native Americans in past and contemporary American society, as well as on writing strategies and the importance of education for minorities. The attentive audience at Dessau's "Philanthropinum" once again demonstrated the school’s impressive role, originally founded by the physician K. A. von Basedow in the 18th century, in the history of the humanities. Ms. Earling added an important facet to the image of multicultural America, and further, managed to encourage her young East German listeners to develop a sense of self-confidence and personal engagement.(more)

Consul General Mark Scheland Opens “America@yourlibrary” Partnership in Magdeburg
March 8, 2006 Consul General Mark D. Scheland officially inaugurated the Consulate’s enhanced library partnership with the Magdeburg Public Library. In 1992, the library opened a new section called the “Internationale Bibliothek Magdeburg,” funded by several donations, among them one from the U.S. military base library in Neckarsulm. In the ensuing years, the Consulate and library have conducted several joint programs. The America@your library initiative signals an intensification of the cooperation. It includes donations of information materials, books and support for further relevant programs and workshops. The official ceremony topped off a series of inaugural events that included a reading and discussion by Native-American writer Debra Magpie Earling and a press conference. Mrs. Elizabeth Scheland and American intern Adam Rahal also made a presentation for two third grade classes in the children's library, in which they gave a brief history of Native Americans and worked alongside the children in a craft workshop. Also in attendance from U.S. Embassy Berlin were Information Resource Officer (IRO) Holly Murten and Information Resource Center (IRC) Coordinator Nancy Rajczak. Magdeburg Library Director, Peter Petsch, praised the America@your library initiative for its recognition of the importance of libraries as agents of social change.(more)

African-American History Month Workshop
February 24, 2006 U. S. Consulate General Leipzig held a workshop for English teachers to celebrate African-American History Month. Originally established as Negro History Week in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a noted African-American author and scholar, this event evolved into the establishment in 1976 of February as "Black History Month." This commemoration has increasingly been referred to as "African-American History Month," although both names are currently in use. After welcoming remarks by Consul for Public Affairs Mark L. Wenig, speakers Dr. Catrin Gersdorf and Ms. Paula Ross introduced the group to contemporary African-American art. Dr. Gersdorf, who currently holds a teaching and research position at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin spoke about "Neo-Slave Narratives", focusing on Sherley Anne Williams’ Dessa Rose. Paula Ross, an American artist currently working and living in Berlin, introduced the teachers to two African-American artists - "Bad Boys, Sad Boys: Painting, Living, and Dying with Bob Thompson (1937-1966) and Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988)". Concluding the event, the teachers acquainted themselves with the Information Resource Center.(more)

Ambassador Timken Guest of Honor at Feininger Celebration in Weimar
February 18, 2006 Exactly one hundred years to the day after American artist Lyonel Feininger visited the city of Weimar for the first time, Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr., his wife Sue and daughter Fran Karsh took part in a series of events in the painter’s honor. Feininger, who was born to German parents in New York City, spent a large part of his life in Berlin, Weimar and Dessau, painting famous motifs of the region and teaching as the first professor at the Bauhaus. After meeting with the mayor and city representatives, Ambassador Timken toured Bauhaus University and spoke as the guest of honor at the opening of a major Feininger exhibit, which drew a substantial crowd. Later in the day, he gave remarks at the dedication of the “Lyonel Feininger” suite at the Hotel Elephant.(more)

Consul General Mark Scheland Meets the Grantees of the 2006/2007 Student Exchange Program of Magdeburg's German-American Dialog Center
February 3, 2006 After a competitive selection process for the 2006/2007 Student Exchange Program of the German-American Dialog Center in Magdeburg, three grantees were selected: Matthias Hilpert from Eisleben, Dana Lange from Calbe and Grit Otte from Schönebeck. The new grantees were presented to the public at a press conference attended by Bundestag Deputy and Dialog Center Chairman Dr. Uwe Küster and U.S. Consul General Mark D. Scheland in the Tower Room of the "Green Citadel." Since it was founded in 2000, the Dialog Center has enabled a total of 19 grantees each to spend ten months in the USA.(more)

New Year's Reception of the U.S. Consulate General
January 24, 2006 200 guests from Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, including several state ministers and lord mayors from the Leipzig consular district, gathered at the Marriott Hotel for Leipzig Consulate General’s first ever New Year’s reception. Consul General Mark D. Scheland took the opportunity to introduce to a larger public the other new American Consuls, Consul for Public Affairs Mark L. Wenig and Vice Consul/Political & Economic Affairs Michael R. Rousek, – all of whom arrived at Post within the past six months – and underscored the Consulate’s presence in the region. The turnout of economic, political, business and academic representatives reflected the Consulate’s wide variety of contacts and activities in the new Länder.(more)

Lutherstadt Wittenberg Students Meet Leipzig's Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig
January 23, 2006 Consul for Public Affairs Mark Wenig and the director of the Information Resource Center (IRC) traveled to Lutherstadt Wittenberg to meet with 25 11th grade students and their English teacher from the Melanchthon Gymnasium at the American Library of Leucorea Foundation. Wenig lectured on a variety of U.S. related topics, among them a history of his home state of Alaska, U.S. Foreign Policy and the current state of international affairs. A Question & Answer session followed. IRC director also discussed U.S. resources and provided books, broschures and CDs “About the USA.” A positive and receptive student audience welcomed Consul Wenig with a lively discussion and thoughtful questions, and the students plan a follow-up visit to the Leipzig Consulate.(more)

Magdeburg Students Visit U.S. Consulate General Leipzig for Research on the Model United Nation World-Competition
January 19, 2006 The Magdeburg University Model United Nations team came to the Consulate General in Leipzig to get a first hand look at world diplomacy. The team of about 25 students met with the American Vice Consul for Political and Economic Affairs, Mike Rousek, and discussed a wide range of topics, ranging from the role that the Leipzig Consulate and its diplomats play in Mission Germany, to current issues American foreign policy and trans-Atlantic partnership. The students will be representing Chile at the competition in New York City in the spring, and Vice Consul Rousek presented the team not only some great insights into US-Chile relations, but a packet of research to bolster their knowledge as well. The discussion was such a success that afterwards the students met the Vice Consul in a café to continue talking over lunch.(more)

New Year's Reception of the American Chamber of Commerce Thuringia
January 17, 2006 With the generous cooperation of Minister-President Dieter Althaus, the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Thuringia Chapter hosted its New Year's reception at the Thuringia State Chancellery in Erfurt. After opening remarks by Mr. Klaus Krah, AmCham President Fred Irwin, Minister-President Althaus, and Consul General Mark Scheland addressed the guests. Mr. Irwin concentrated on the importance of entrepreneurship for economic and political development in Germany. He asserted "the will to win is more important than to win." Minister-President Althaus and Mr. Scheland agreed in their speeches on the importance of transatlantic relations for economic progress in the U.S., in Germany, and in Europe. Both emphasized the common values that motivate national policy-making in our respective countries.(more)

Panel on the Future of German-American Relations
January 11, 2006 Consul General Mark Scheland, U.S. Consulate General Leipzig, was one of the panelists in a discussion of "The Future of German-American Relations" organized by Advocates for Informed Democracy. Other panelists were Manfred Kolbe (CDU MdB and IV Alumnus 2001), Prof. Crister Garrett from the Institute for American Studies of Leipzig University, and Dr. Hinrich Lehmann-Grube, SPD, former lord mayor of Leipzig. Political columnist Dr. Anita Kecke (Leipziger Volkszeitung and IV Alumna 1995) was the moderator of a lively and, between the Germans, partisan discussion. The event drew a crowd of ca. 120 people.(more)

Vice Consul Michael Rousek Attends Schleusingen New Year’s Reception
January 10, 2006 Vice Consul Michael R. Rousek was warmly received as a guest of honor at the Schleusingen New Year’s Reception hosted by Mayor Klaus Brodführer. In his New Year’s message to the 280 guests in attendance, Mayor Brodführer discussed his positive but challenging outlook for the upcoming year, and announced he would run again for Mayor. Following his speech and a kind greeting from Thüringen Justice Minister Harald Schliemann, Vice Consul Rousek talked about the many levels of successful contact between the United States and Germany, with special attention to the state of Thüringen. He presented a calendar and a World Almanac to the Mayor as thanks for a successful evening, which ended in great cheer and many songs.(more)

Consul General Mark Scheland and His Family Visit Annaberg-Buchholz
December 18, 2005 Consul General Mark D. Scheland and his family visited Annaberg-Buchholz to see the famous “Mountain Parade” put on by Saxon’s miners’ guilds. The colorful parade entailed almost 1200 participants from across the mining regions of Germany, and who were all dressed in traditional garb. The procession marks the end of the city’s traditional Christmas Market. Consul General Scheland joined Annaberg-Buchholz’s Lord Mayor Barbara Klepsch and Deputy Mayor Thomas Proksch, as well as Saxony’s Minister of Economics and Labor Thomas Jurk and Saxony’s District Administrator for the county of Annaberg, Jürgen Föster, on the reviewing stand.(more)