NEWS | Special Events
„WUNDERBAR TOGETHER“ – DEUTSCHLANDJAHR IN AMERIKA
“WUNDERBAR TOGETHER” – THE YEAR OF GERMANAMERICAN FRIENDSHIP Beginning October 2018 and lasting through the end of 2019, the year of German-American Friendship will take place across the U.S. The campaign will feature over 1,000 events to convey a multifaceted image of Germany in the U.S. and to strengthen German-American ties. “Wunderbar together” is the motto of the Year of German-American Friendship which is organized by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Goethe-Institut and the Federation of German Industries (BDI). Numerous events and projects in the fields of economics, politics, education, culture and science will be held all across the country. The initiative aims to raise people’s awareness about the importance of the continued transatlantic friendship between the U.S. and Germany. Especially in the face of the current politically charged time, marked by isolationism and protectionism and growing nationalism on both sides of the Atlantic,
20 | HEIMAT abroad | FALL 2018
it is necessary to highlight the strong ties. “We can feel that the U.S. and Europe are drifting apart. The nearly complete overlap of our values and interest that defined the transatlantic relationship for more than two generations is waning,” announces the organizer of the Year of German-American Friendship. Therefore, it is high time to reassess the partnership, not to leave it behind, but to renew and preserve it. By organizing diverse events the campaign intends to focus together on transatlantic issues and to provide opportunities for people to experience how close Germany and America actually still are. “We want to have new conversations with Americans about the nature of our relations, and what we could make of them” explain the event organizers on their website. Furthermore, their ambition is not only to reach people in big cities as New York, Washington or Los Angeles, but also those in other parts of the country, where the coasts are far away and Europe is even further. In conclusion the event organizer adds: “If we can achieve this, then we will, indeed, be wunderbar together.”
Von Oktober 2018 bis Ende 2019 findet in den USA das Deutschlandjahr statt. Mit über 1.000 Veranstaltungen soll es den Amerikanern ein facettenreiches Bild der Bundesrepublik zeigen und die deutsch-amerikanische Freundschaft stärken. „Wunderbar together“ – das ist das Motto des Deutschlandjahres in den USA, das das Auswärtige Amt, das Goethe-Institut und der Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI) gemeinsam organisieren. Quer durch die Vereinigten Staaten finden Projekte und Events aus den Bereichen Wirtschaft, Politik, Bildung, Kultur und Wissenschaft statt. Das Ziel: Die seit Jahrzehnten bestehende transatlantische Freundschaft wieder stärker ins Bewusstsein der Menschen zu rufen. In der heutigen, politisch aufgeladenen Zeit, in der die amerikanische Politik von Isolationismus und Protektionismus geprägt ist und der Nationalismus auf beiden Seiten des Atlantiks an Aufwind gewinnt, erscheint das nötiger denn je. „Wir spüren, dass die USA und Europa auseinanderdriften. Eine fast vollständige Überschneidung von Werten und Interessen, wie sie das
