LEARN GERMAN AND DISCOVER A NEW WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES! www.german.in The Zentrum Newsletter • Issue 02 | 2019 • October 2019 FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK Dear Readers of Guten Tag!, The month of July recorded some un- Chancellor Angela Merkel made a very bearable hot days in Germany as well. serious speech at the Bundestag on the From 38 degrees the temperatures col- most important challenges Germany has lapsed over night in late July to less than to meet today, namely climate protec- 18 degrees, reminding an autumn day in tion. During the general debate on the the middle of an apparently high-sum- federal budget, the Chancellor warned mer. The highly unpredictable climatic that inaction or less money would only changes affect not only the insect popula- further worsen the situation. “Ignoring tion, but also brought heavy damages to the situation would cost us more money. the crops in many parts of Germany. Doing nothing is not the alternative”, she said while appealing for more and more Looking a bit away from mainland Eu- initiatives and investments in the filed of rope, the incessant fires in the Amazon renewable energy. The climate crisis around the world forests sent shock waves around the has evidently assumed alarming pro- world. Where once 20% of the total Political differences accompanied by even portions over the last few years. The oxygen supply of the blue planet was egoistic attitudes from the leaders of sig- devastating floods Kerala had to suffer produced, the black carbon emissions nificant nations are blocking the forma- during the last two monsoon seasons from the several fires this year seriously tion of a global front against factors that must have also opened the eyes of absorbed the sunlight and blocked outgo- contribute to devastating climate changes many in Kerala, who would never have ing energy, a process that leads to further around the world. Is it not high time for expected such drastic climatic changes global warming. Carbon dioxide released us to fight this together; to protect Kerala to affect us. The shifting monsoon pat- from the burning trees is increasing day and the Amazon forests? terns and the severity with which the by day. The number of global fires -in floods and landslides have destroyed creased by nearly fourfold last month Happy Reading and take care! many lives and places should remind compared to last year. August 2018 saw Sincerely, everyone about the pressing need to 16,632 fires. August 2019? 79,000. The protect the fragile environment we are world is on fire. Against this extreme- Dr. Syed Ibrahim dependent on. ly worrying background, the German Director New German Ambassador Assumes Office Walter J. Lindner, the new German Am- our nation. Guten Tag! welcomes the new bassador to India, presented his creden- German Ambassador and wishes him a tials to the President of India in May and fruitful tenure in India. assumed his office in a country, that he has been keeping deep in his heart since the age of 20, when he had visited India as a young man with a lot of love and fascina- tion for our culutre. »After traveling to India as a 20-year- old with a backpack and a lot of Also known for his passion for music and time, the country and its people diplomatic acumen, Mr. Lindner will have remained close to my heart. certainly be looking forward to further Everything has come full circle and cementing the strong bonds between Ger- now I can intensify the very close re- many and India. He has started learning lations between our two countries.« Hindi even before assuming his office and Walter J. Lindner, German Ambas- his decision to use a red, Ambassador car sador to India as his official vehicle, truly symbolises his adherence to the cultural affinity towards - 1 - EVENTS AT THE ZENTRUM Goethe-Zentrum Gets Reaccreditation Hundreds of pages of standards and in- ing process by the German auditors. The structions starting from the visibility of Goethe- Zentrum Trivandrum and its the signage to the quality of the teach- branch in Kochi once again met the high ing personnel pose a not-so-easy task quality criteria set by the Goethe-Institut for any Goethe-Zentrum. The Goethe- except for the training area. The Zentrum Zentrum in Trivandrum had achieved has now devised an extensive plan to this milestone in 2014 itself and became overcome this shortfall within a span of the first Goethe- Zentrum in South Asia one year. For customer satisfaction, infra- crowned with the Goethe Accreditation structure, teaching and digital services, for quality standards as laid out by the the Zentrum proudly established itself Goethe-Institut. as a benchmark for others. It is indeed a moment of pride and pleasure for the en- This audit takes place once in four years tire team at the Goethe-Zentrum Trivan- and in July this year it was again time drum and its branch in Kochi to have for us to undergo this stringent audit- achieved this quality certification. Youth Choir from Ulm A smaller group of the Choir travels every 3-4 years to south India and delights the audiences at many places here with their wonderful songs. The Choir had visited the Goethe-Zentrum in 2015 and early September this year, the Choir came once again to the Goethe-Zentrum to present an evening enriched with lovely songs ranging from religion to pop genre. The Youth Choir from Ulm has a history For the students at the Zentrum, it was of fifty years to present. More than 80 not only an occasion to listen to some singers in the age group of 6 to 25 years good songs, but also an opportunity regulary sing in the churches and events to get themselves trained in some basic under the leadership of Thomas Stang and singing skill with the young choir from his fellow componist Girard Rhoden. Germany. Onam Celebrations The devastating floods in 2018 naturally prompted a cancellation of Onam celebra- tions last year and the repeated floods and landslides leading to the death of around hundred people in north Kerala did dampen the Onam spirit this year as well. However, as we all know that life has to go on, we decided to have a modest Onam celebration this year, so that the message and fervour of this great festival does not get indundated because of the natural calamities. Without being extravagant and losing the universal character of Onam, the students at the Goethe-Zentrum in Trivandrum and Kochi celebrated the festival with songs, music and naturally with a feast on the ba- nana leaf. Z- 2 - EVENTS IN KERALA Creating Leaders for the Environment young environmental leaders. DOT is one India. He is known for founding EFI in such program aimed at identifying young 2011 based in Chennai, which has its leaders from across in India. branches in other cities such as Hyder- abad, Delhi and Coimbatore. The work- Recently, the Goethe-Zentrum partnered shop was divided into the core areas of with EFI to conduct a one-day leader- understanding one’s environment, mobi- ship program and trained a batch of 110 lizing the community, city planning, water students from across 8 schools in Trivan- body restoration, effective communication drum. The theme of the workshop was en- and creating cultural sensitization for the vironment conservation. The focus areas environment. under conservation were Leadership, De- Arun Krishnamurthy was chosen to re- cision Making, Management and Project ceive the prestigious Rolex Awards for en- The Environmentalist Foundation of India, Planning. The workshop was conducted terprise in the year 2012 and he was the EFI is a wildlife conservation and habitat by Arun Krishnamurthy, an Indian envi- youngest to win this award in recognition restoration group and through its dedi- ronmental activist who has initiated the of his work towards lake restoration in cated education programs, it identifies campaign of cleaning various lakes across India. DAAD Seminar in Kochi spective Bachelors, Masters and PhD view of Germany’s vibrant academic and students from around the world. research scenario and also learned about research funding opportunities in Germa- The number Indian students aspiring for ny. The event aimed at preparing students admission at a German university has been for applying to German universities for showing a tremendous growth rate over Masters and PhD, in terms of choosing the the last years. To meet their needs and an- right university, accessing DAAD’s data- swer their questions, the DAAD Informa- base for funding and courses, choosing the tion Centre Bangalore in cooperation with right degree programme, finding scholar- the Goethe-Zentrum Kochi organised an ships and student visa requirements. The Germany’s excellent higher education as event titled “Higher Education and Re- DAAD databases contain internationally well as its research institutions are in- search in Germany” in Kochi this Septem- oriented Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral creasingly drawing the attention of pro- ber. At this event, participants got an over- degree programmes in Germany. Looking for a Career in Germany? The events offered professionals of all Both info sessions, which were con- industries the opportunity to get impor- ducted in cooperation with the Goethe- tant information on the steps required to Zentrum Trivandrum, marked the ex- successfully make it to Germany. While pansion of ProRecognition’s network to looking for a job in Germany, there are Kerala. ProRecognition’s Senior Consul- many aspects candidates have to consider, tant Sapna Bhosle commented: starting from their job chances, neces- “Since beginning of the project, we have sary German level and the recognition been receiving an increasing number of of their professional qualifications.