15FRANK The Fulbright Alumni e.V. Newsletterly Ausgabe 2004 Content Letter from the editor Greetings from the President 1 Dear friends of the The Board 2 Fulbright idea, What sets the Fulbright Program apart a warm welcome to all of you By Rolf Hoffmann 4 holding our 15th issue of the 100 Years James William Fulbright 5 FRANKly in hands. Special Feature: Where Continents Meet Fulbright Berlin Conference ‘04 Our special features the Berlin feels well prepared Fulbright Berlin Conference By Klaus Wowereit 6 of 2004, for the first time Redefining a continent: EU-enlargement organized in close coopera- By Joe Kristensen, Steffen Schmuck-Soldan, Jörg Geier 7 tion between the Fulbright Common challenge or internal divide Alumni e.V. and the German- By Sebestyén L. v. Gorka 10 American Fulbright Why is this publication called „FRANKly“? 12 Commission. This is exactly what the Senator had in mind: Impressions of the Berlin PowWow people of different origin and academic backgrounds united By Crister S. Garrett 13 with a goal and despite all diversity summing it up with the Prof. Dr. Gesine Schwan words “Where Continents Meet“. By Jürgen Simon 14 On gravitation and moving targets My Fulbright Conference was held in Chicago in 1988 and By Steffen Schmuck-Soldan 15 I will never forget one girl from Honduras. She set up a tape Fulbright Berlin Conference player one evening and said: “In Honduras, we can dance“. By Monica Steger 16 And she threw off her shoes and began to dance in front of Hanseatic Challenge in Hamburg 2004 approximately 200 Fulbright scholars from all over the world. By Uli Wandel, Uwe Koch, Heike Staffa-Ott, Martina Rauch, Anna A. Meissner 17 That’s what I like about Fulbrighters. They do not only talk but History and Purpose of the Fulbright Alumni e.V. 19 act when it’s necessary.* I love working with them, I am glad Membership application 21 that I can contribute to extending the Fulbright experience to What’s going on in the Regional Chapters 23 others. And I hope I can meet them all. Enterprise Scholars powered by the FAeV. 26 * Thank you all for your excellent cooperation Strategy on the Ammer By Michael Tonke 30 Enjoy and contribute if you wish Behind the Scenes in Ludwigsburg: Winterball ‘04 Silke Wolter By Ulrich Schlecht 31 [email protected] Speak American By Andrea Möller 33 Fulbright Family Fun Weekend Silke Wolter holds a diploma in Visual Communications (FH) from By Knut Mittwollen 34 the Fachhochschule des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz at Mainz. She was a Washington Conferences and Fulbright Prize ‘03 Fulbright scholar from 1987-1989 and studied Design at the University By Uwe Koch 35 of Minnesota, where Silke received a Master of Arts and discovered Welcome Meeting ‘03 her affinity and talent to teaching. In the past she has been working for By Ulrich Hueck 36 German and international advertising and design agencies in Germany Fulbright travelogue Tenerife ‘03 and the Czech Republic. She exhibits her art sporadically and won By Christiane Fertig 37 awards with her graphic work. Silke opened her own business in 2003 Did you know… (designing anything from invitation cards to annual reports) and lives By Silke Wolter 40 close to Frankfurt with her husband and three children. Welcome back By Silke Wolter 41 FRANKly No. 15, Oktober 2004 Editor and Designer Copyright by Fulbright Alumni e.V. FeinDesign Silke Wolter, Bad Soden Photos title page: Postfach 10 08 65 (06196) 643914, Fax 643814 60008 Frankfurt/Main, Germany [email protected] 1) PowWow ‘04 – Where continents meet: One of the five exciting panels 2) Winterball ‘04: Guests and organizers Proofread by the Board Printing and Lettershop by 3) Regional Chapter Stuttgart/Southwest: A canoe trip and Angus McKay Liebeskind Druck, Apolda Greetings from the President Dear members and friends of the German Fulbright Alumni e.V., I am very pleased to introduce to you this 15th edition of our association’s journal, the FRANKly. These pages reflect the effort of the authors and editors of the articles they contain, but also the hard work of those dedicated members who orchestrated the events described. Therefore I would like to thank not only Silke Wolter for her fine work in the production of this edition and all of the authors and contributors, but also all of the energetic individuals who have invested much of their free time to contribute to the richness of this Association by organizing the events which help define it. You will find quite a number of events described in this issue, ranging from the picnics and day- trips of the regional chapters and the Family Weekend in Königstein, to the larger events such as the Pow Wow conference on EU-Enlargement or the annual Winterball. Furthermore, this edition is one of introductions: Dr. Rolf Hoffmann, who became the Executive Director of the German-American Fulbright Commission at the beginning of this year introduces himself and his ideas for future collaboration between the Fulbright Alumni and the Commission. Four out of the five "Enterprise Scholars", Fulbrighters who received travel grants sponsored by our association, take the opportunity to describe their experiences and share their enthusiasm about their year abroad. Finally, the interview with the members of the board of directors gives some insight into the leadership of the association. These contents illustrate the broad spectrum of our events and our individuals, showing the diversity and the desire for diversity among the over 1200 members. I find the faceted nature of the association’s activities to be extremely important: The German Fulbright Alumni association is a social gathering place, a helpful institution for returning grantees and Americans currently in Germany, an information source for the public about the Fulbright Program, a forum for addressing current topics from academia, politics, and professional life, and a great place to develop professional and leadership skills. Any one of these facets alone could not keep the association alive. Together, however, they make the association as dynamic and eclectic as a typical Fulbrighter. Enjoy this edition of the FRANKly! Born in Rochester, New York, in 1972, Joe received a Fulbright Teaching Assistant Grant for the school year of 1995-96 in Königs-Wusterhausen, near Berlin. Joe lives with his wife Sidse Joseph Kristensen in Berlin, and works as a commercial project manager for the Berlin, October 2004 Transportation Systems division of Siemens AG. Question: How do you envision the FAeV's future? see something that we have failed to see, or may see it more I have always been impressed with the eclectic and dynamic accurately." I think that Fulbright Alumni, as academics and pro- nature of the individual members of the FAeV, as well as the fessionals by definition and hooked on the empathy gained opportunities for developing leadership and professional skills through their experience, have had a particularly difficult time which the association offers to those members who become accepting the current Bush Administration, which has defined active and/or take office. Great individuals combined with itself through the use of simple dichotomies and resolute opportunities for learning build the strong foundation of the actions. Many see "freedom fries" and the Fox News Channel NTERVIEW association. First and foremost, I envision this foundation being as the antithesis of what Senator Fulbright and the Fulbright I fortified with a steadily growing membership, and continued Program stood and stand for. activation of members for leadership positions within the To avoid being a hypocrite, however, a Fulbrighter on either side association. of any political fence must engage in discourse, "to allow for the possibility that others…" (see above). Question: What is your comment on the German-American As emotions ran high during the outbreak of the war in Iraq, a Relationship from the standpoint of the FAeV? group of our members did just that: a digest of articles and per- I feel that the standpoint of all Fulbrighters, individually and sonal statements representing a full range of opinions was cre- collectively, should be one of tolerance, even celebration of ated, for which subscribers were encouraged to submit further ideas and viewpoints contrary to their own. In Senator content for intelligent and respectful discussion of current Fulbright's own words, "The essence of intercultural education affairs. This, I feel, is a commendable example of the coopera- is the acquisition of empathy – the ability to see the world as tion and tolerance which the Fulbright Program is meant to others see it, and to allow for the possibility that others may develop, and the Fulbright Alumni e.V. stands for. 1 The Board Andrea Möller - Vice President Communications Born in Frankfurt/Main in 1974, Andrea studied English and Biology at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. After a TA-year in Great Britain she spent her Fulbright year studying Biology in the Masters program of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff in 96/97. Currently she is working on her PhD in Biology, trying to find out how migrating animals sense the earth’s magnetic field for orientation. Question: How do you envision the FAeV’s future? In the past 18 years our association has grown continuously, bringing together internationally-oriented students and pro- fessionals by organizing more than 50 events, some of them From the top left, clockwise: Petra Steinmetz, Andrea Möller, Uwe Koch, even on an international scale. Undoubtedly our future contin- Joe Kristensen, Ursula Mich. ues to lie in our lively and broad-based pool of members, from which our active regional or national boards are recruited. Uwe Koch - Treasurer But while our potential increases with becoming larger, our responsibilities increase as well.