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• October 2003
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October 2003 Newsletter
 
Forthcoming Events - October

Language Courses 2003-2004

Monday, 6th October – First day German language classes for adults in Malta & Gozo
Wednesday, 8th October – First day Maltese language classes for foreigners
Saturday, 11th October – First day German language classes for schoolchildren

Regular attendance is essential for success in these courses. Students are informed that no one will be allowed to sit for the end-of-course examinations should his/her attendance during the year be less than 60%. The recommended textbooks are available from the Circle’s Library. Two Scholarships consisting of a 4-week German language course at a Goethe Institute in Germany will be awarded to the best two students in the adult courses.

Saturday, 4th October 2003

Franco-German Cultural Project: 40-Jahre Elysée-Vertrag 

Half-Day Seminar "Local Councils and Twinning” with the participation of Bernd Schiffarth (Mayor of Adenau) and Jacques Douadi (Mayor of Sillery) organised by the German-Maltese Circle and the Alliance Française de Malte with the assistance of the Local Council of Mellieha.Venue: Pergola Club Hotel – Mellieha – from 9.00a.m.

Wednesday, 15th October 2003

Opening of an Exhibition of collagraphies by Cronjé Lemmer & Erhardt Grobbelaar ”A Glimpse of Africa” Open till the 31st October.

Collagraph is a printing technique. A collage is coloured in oils and embossed onto cotton paper by running through an etching press. This very interesting and inspiring exhibition is co-ordinated by Ms Ingrid Kidder.

The opening ceremony led by Mr Norman Mifsud, Honorary Consul for South Africa in Malta will take place at 19.00hours. Dr Joseph Paul Cassar will deliver a short appreciation of the exhibits while Renzo Spiteri will give a performance on African drums.Venue: Messina Palace, Valletta

Concerts by the Dinslakener Bach-Chor e.V. conducted by Klaus Danzeglocke

Friday, 24th October at 7.00p.m. at St Mary's Church in Birkirkara
Tuesday, 28th October at 7.15p.m. at Our Lady of Victory Parish Church in Naxxar

Both Concerts are being organised with the cooperation of the respective Local Councils

The Dinslakener Bach-Chor e.V. is a mixed choir made up of 95 singers and was founded in 1970 by Heinz Nowak at that time music director in the municipality of Dinslaken.

Dinslaken situated in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, is the name of a small industrial town in Germany, situated at the northwestern margin of the Ruhr area near Duisberg. It has about 73,000 inhabitants and is well known for its trotting racetrack, the Trabrennbahn Dinslaken. The medieval parish church, St.Vincentius was partially destroyed during World War II but was rebuilt in 1951-1952.

The Choir sings mostly spiritual works from the early baroque up to modern times. The Choir’s repertoire includes Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Vivaldi, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Beethoven but, as the name of the Choir itself indicates, their favourites are choral works composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. The Choir has rendered with great success many masses and oratorios both with orchestra as well as a-cappella.

Wednesday, 29th October 2003
Annual General Meeting
Venue: Messina Palace, Valletta at 18.30 hours

FORTY YEARS SINCE THE SIGNING OF THE ELYSÉE TREATY

Having fought three times, including in two World Wars, in just 70 years, Germany and France signed in 1963 a Treaty of Friendship. Concluded by Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle, the Elysée Treaty ended centuries of rivalry and sealed the reconciliation between the two countries committing them to consult on foreign policy, to meet regularly and to implement a host of defense, cultural and other initiatives aimed at profoundly transforming the relations between the two peoples.

The Elysée Treaty created the institutional framework for a close coordination between both Governments: the Heads of State of Germany and France and their Government meet at least twice annually, while their Foreign Ministers meet at regular intervals during the year. The two countries coordinate their positions on all important political questions, particulary with regard to European policy where one can single out the European Security and Defence Policy and the single European currency, both of which being the result of Franco-German initiatives.

Today, Germany and France are presenting to the European Convention common proposals on central questions relating to Eastern enlargement of the European Union and the reform of European Union institutions.

From the early stages of the Elysée Treaty, exchanges at civil society level came to form the second pillar of Franco-German partnership. Public officers from both countries are free to work within the civil service of each other and twinnings between German and French municipalities are not only abundant but have developed into sophisticated areas of development and cooperation. Long term and ongoing youth, culture, education, media and language initiatives continue to foster the emergence of a Franco-German public opinion which bears lots of importance for Europe as well.

Dual Citizenship
If evidence was still needed that the Franco-German motor is roaring along, then it emerged with the recent proposal for dual citizenship between the two countries. The revolutionary initiative – part of a programme to intensify bilateral relations resulting from the Elysée Treaty – would allow German and French citizens resident in each other’s country to hold the passports of both states and to vote in each other’s national elections. This plan was officially declared in January of this year when 577 French MP’s and 603 German MP’s came together in Versailles for their first joint session of Parliament to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Franco-German co-operation.

Other plans on the agenda of both states include the co-ordination of bilateral policy, the harmonisation of laws and the holding of joint cabinet meetings. This vision of close co-operation formulated between President Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has accelerated at a speed that has perhaps startled the rest of Europe.

Shortly, France and Germany will announce that they would be nominating common candidates for posts in international bodies, including sports organisations and could even hold joint sports events such as the soccer World Cup and the Olympic Games. Since the Elysée Treaty signed in Versailles forty years ago, one can safely state that Franco-German cooperation has gone a considerable way to healing relations between the former enemies.

The Elysée Treaty has withstood the test of time. It provides an adequate foundation for further development even in a reunified Germany and an enlarged European Union. This special and well-functioning bilateral relationship is also taken to be a partnership which is in the interest of all Europeans. 

Many of our readers and members will know Ingrid Kidder. She is a member of the committee of the German-Maltese Circle and a regular contributor to our Newsletter. Ingrid is also Vice President of the German-Maltese Association in Adenau – Germany. The Circle’s Librarian, Mr Olaf Rieck interviewed Frau Ingrid Kidder for our readers:


Ingrid, how long have you been living in Malta and why?
I was looking for a sunny, Anglophone country, geographically in the middle between South Africa where my daughter lives, and Norway where my son lives. So Malta was a pleasant option. I started coming on holiday and gradually spending more and more time here; I have been doing that for more than a dozen of years now.
Why? Well, I like it here! The sun is shining most of the time (I only flourish with sunlight). The sea is at my doorstep, so I swim daily at least once, also in the evening and at night. And in winter long walks along the promenade are most enjoyable. I found many dear friends here, mostly Maltese, whose company I enjoy greatly and would not like to miss.

How did your work for the German-Maltese Circle and the German-Maltese Association (DMG) start? What was / is your motivation? What are your aims?
I joined the DMG immediately (weeks) after its foundation in 1991, was elected to the Präsidium as Hon. Secretary in 1992, and I have been serving as Vice-President since 1995. Simultaneously I joined the GMC here in Malta and was elected to the Committee in 2001.

Primarily, in this context my motivation and aims were getting to know the typical characteristics of a new country – which Malta was for me in the beginning. I also like to support cultural exchanges and to promote Maltese artists in Germany, and, to some degree, also German art in Malta. Where my advice is asked for and whenever I can, I enjoy being of assistance as far as the teaching of the German language in Malta is concerned.

The main work of the German-Maltese Circle is in the field of teaching German as a Foreign Language. You yourself are teaching German as guest lecturer at the University of Malta. What do you like / dislike of the German language?
 Rich in possibilities of expression, very often you have two or three ways to call a spade a spade. I utterly dislike the increasing (and usually unnecessary) use of Anglicisms: Nobody goes to a Besprechung anymore: he has a meeeeting.

German has the reputation of being very difficult. If you compare German to other European languages, what’s your opinion?
I can only compare with English, French, Norwegian and Afrikaans, and feel every language has a certain number of particular aspects which some learners may consider more complicated than others.

Can you give students of German an advice for their studies?
Try to speak and expose yourself to the language as much as you can - if possible 24 hours a day! Trying to memorise three to five words a day may also yield good results.

You lived not only in Germany but also in South Africa and Norway. What were your first impressions of these countries?
Due to the fact that my late husband was called to work as a physicist for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria the first move was to South Africa. There I was overwhelmed by the spacious landscapes of what is often called the ‘sub-continent’. On the other hand mountainous Norway has a very special ‘wintry’ beauty.

How did you manage the cultural varieties of the countries of your residence? What differences did you experience?
After a very strict upbringing in Germany, I got to know and learned to appreciate the meaning of the word ‘tolerance’ in multi-cultural South Africa. In Norway it was ‘endurance’, and in Malta I can still get pleasantly surprised by what is termed “the Mediterranean way of life”.

Do you remember some interesting / funny incidents which happened because of intercultural misunderstandings?
“Zweiter” Weihnachtstag (= Boxing Day) - a phrase which does not exist in English. For my first Christmas in South Africa I had invited friends over for dinner on the ‘second Christmas Day’ . Obviously nobody knew what that was supposed to mean, until my (American) husband arrived on the scene and gently clarified the matter.

You lived most of your life outside Germany. Was there something “German” you missed while living abroad?
No, not really, as I adapted quite easily to the new environments and what they offered.

What does the word home-country mean to you?
Home is where my handbag is.

As we all know you are contributing to our newsletter in English…
In addition I write in German for the German-Maltese Association mostly on Maltese subjects, events, and customs.

Your favourite authors are Wilbur Smith and Theodor Storm. Why do you like their writings?
Both love and describe in detail their very different surroundings. Wilbur Smith takes me back to Africa, while Theodor Storm makes the German part of me tingle.

As you said you are also very involved in art. What does art mean to you?
It is the expression of inner beauty – or the lack of it …, in which case I am not so much interested anymore.

Tell us something about your work regarding promoting Maltese artists in Germany.
My aim is to help Maltese artists gain exposure in Germany, which due to language difficulties is often quite difficult for them to achieve without assistance. All exhibitions were arranged in cooperation with the German-Maltese Association.

Favourite painter?
Do not have one. I like a painting or I don’t, no matter who might have painted it.

I would like to thank you for the interview. How do I say that in Afrikaans and in Norwegian?
“Baie dankie” and “tusen takk” respectively.
“Die Macke” von Guenter Schlichte

Haben wir nicht alle eine Macke? Ist das vielleicht eine Beleidung? Wenn ja bitte ich den verehrten Leser/in, mir die unpassende Frage zu verzeihen. Andererseits, und das könnte man auch in Betracht ziehen, muss man sich ja nicht selbst angesprochen fühlen. Man steht eben über den Dingen.

Und was versteht man unter einer “Macke”? Der Duden hält einige Auslegungen bereit, so z.B. Spleen, Fehler, absonderliches Verhalten. Vielleicht könnte auch eine kleine Verrücktheit dazu gezählt werden, etwas, was nicht in die Norm passt. Wenn man sagt, dass jemand “wohl eine Macke habe” ist es immer ein wenig abfällig, die Macke ist daher etwas Negatives, Provokateure können das schon mal anders sehen, sie wollen bewusst anders sein, die Macke wird dann zum Selbstzweck!

Es käme kaum jemand auf die Idee, bei sich selbst “eine Macke” zu finden, es sei denn er hätte viel Humor oder die Fähigkeit, selbstkritisch zu sein. Eine Macke muss nicht ein Fehler sein, Fehler macht man seltener selbst, auffallen tun sie einem meistens nur bei anderen. Wir glauben zu wissen, was man braucht, um glaubwürdig durchs Leben zu kommen. Wer könnte da widersprechen – Es gibt Menschen die sich darin gefallen, eine Macke zu haben. Von den einen werden sie verspottet, von anderen bewundert weil sie ihr Umfeld amüsieren und ein paar Farbtupfer in den tristen Alltag bringen können. Sie dürfen es nur nicht übertreiben.

Man könnte sich selbst ohne Gesichtsverlust eingestehen, dass wir alle Fehler machen und auch haben, und dass wir irgendwie auch eine Macke haben. Die Macke kann auch eine Marotte sein. Wie groß oder klein die Akzeptanz von Fehlern und Macken sind, hängt von ihren Auswirkungen ab. Dieses Kriterium, hat maßgeblichen Einfluss auf die Art der Reaktion bei unseren Mitmenschen. Eine “Macke” zu haben, kann interessant sein, keine Fehler zu haben ist eher langweilig und unglaubwürdig.  
  

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