Welcome to Germany!
In Germany, the "Land of Ideas", we place major emphasis on education, science, research and development. This makes Germany one of the most popular countries in which to study, as well as a site for state-of-the art research and patent development. With ist high quality of life, good infrastructure and central location in Europe, Germany is one of the world's most attractive bases for business. Its beautiful urban and rural landscapes, combining age-old traditions and experimental modern culture, make a trip to Germany a unique experience.
Germany has something for everyone, so why not pay us a visit?
Guido Westerwelle, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs
As a bulwark of concrete and barrier fences the Wall cut through Berlin for a length of over 43 kilometres – dividing the city and the whole of Germany. Now, 20 years after the fall of the wall on 9 November 1989, the symbol of almost three decades of German division will fall again on the same date, but this time it will be purely symbolic.
“Festival of Freedom”
Herta Mueller wins 2009 Nobel prize for literature
Romanian-born Herta Mueller of Germany has won this year's Nobel prize for literature, the Swedish Academy announced in Stockholm on Thursday 8 October. The Academy's citation said that "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, (she) depicts the landscape of the dispossessed." Mueller's parents belonged to the German-speaking minority in Romania. Her mother was deported in 1945, a fate she shared with many others from the same minority group, and spent five years in what is today Ukraine, the Academy said.
4th Executive Seminar for Diplomats from Latin America and the Caribbean in Germany
In the end it was hard to say goodbye. From 7 September to 7 October 2009, 21 young diplomats from 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean had the opportunity to forge contacts with experts in Germany, make friends and form professional networks.
Disaster Preparedness in the Caribbean
2008 was the second most destructive hurricane season on record in the Caribbean. The region is also prone to earthquakes, volcanic activity, flooding and other natural disasters. Knowledge of First Aid and how to respond during emergencies (disaster preparedness) is becoming increasingly vital for Caribbean communities which are regularly affected by such events.
Germany’s candidature for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the period 2011/2012
As globally engaged country, as an important actor in the United Nations and as the organization's third-largest contributor, Germany belongs on the United Nations Security Council. Because the Security Council is the centrepiece of the international peace order. Our candidature for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the period 2011/2012 is the logical consequence of our global engagement.
When the representatives from over 190 countries meet in December 2009 in Copenhagen at the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15), they will be focusing on the future of our planet. In the Danish capital the delegates will negotiate a new, binding international agreement on climate protection designed to succeed the present Kyoto Protocol in 2013. Many of the data used by the experts come from Bonn.
climate crisis
Michael Ende, one of Germany’s most popular post-war writers of children’s books, would have turned 80 this year. The son of the Surrealist painter Edgar Ende was born in Garmisch-Patenkirchen on 12 November 1929 and died on 28 August 1995. His books, which include “Die unendliche Geschichte” (The Neverending Story), “Momo” and “Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer” (Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver), have been translated into 45 languages and have sold over 20 million copies worldwide.
Michael Ende
Merkel warns of "hard work" ahead of climate change talks in Denmark
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned there was still "a lot of hard work ahead" before December's conference on climate change in Copenhagen, after talks on Wednesday (10 June) with Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen in Berlin.
Merkel said the two leaders agreed that a new US focus on climate change needed to be coupled with European goals, so as to jointly set long-term emissions targets with the developing world.
In six months' time, Denmark is due to host an international climate change summit in Copenhagen, at which countries hope to formalize a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol. Current negotiations in Bonn mark the first of a series of UN talks, at which a post-2012 deal is to be fine-tuned.
Grenada signed IRENA´s Statute and became its 88th Member State
IRENA is gaining momentum as more and more states join. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was officially established in Bonn on 26 January 2009. Up-to-date, 92 States have signed the Statute of the Agency, amongst them 35 African, 29 European, 19 Asian and 9 Latin-American countries. On 5 June, the Statute was signed by the Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Grenada to the United Nations, H.E. Dessima M. Williams at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in Bonn. Ms. Michaela Spaeth, Desk Officer in the Division for International Energy Policy at the German Federal Foreign Office, was present for the signing. Grenada therefore became IRENA’s 88th Signatory State.
Prize for "European Inventor of the Year" goes to German solar energy pioneer
German researcher Adolf Goetzberger (80) has dedicated his life to the sun. At the end of the 1970s he founded the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Freiburg.
Comprehensive German commitment to the United Nations
Germany plays a major role in shaping the work of the United Nations in almost all fields. This is the message of the Federal Government's new report on its cooperation with the UN.
OECD – Germany is one of the world's major aid donors
Germany is one of the world's major donors of development assistance, ranking second only to the USA. This marks excellent progress according to Federal Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, but there is still a lot to be done if Germany is to meet the ambitious goals it has set itself. According to statistics of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Germany's Official Development Assistance (ODA) totalled some 12.3 billion US dollars (8.96 billion euros) in 2007, up from 10.4 billion US dollars (8.31 billion euros) in 2006.
Living Together in Germany
Diversity enriches a society; it also causes friction. Many efforts are currently being undertaken to improve the integration of immigrants. Language and education are key factors.
German foreign policy for more education, science and research
Many serious problems of our time – whether in the economic sphere or regarding energy or climate issues – will only be solved with the help of science. Another consideration is that because Germany lacks natural resources it has to invest in its population's intellectual abilities and capacities.
For these reasons, exchanging ideas with academics from other countries is extremely important. On Monday, 19 January, Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier opened a conference on research and academic relations policy, the focus of German cultural relations and education policy in 2009.
From Trinidad & Tobago, Professor Harold Ramkissoon, President of the Humboldt Association of Central America and the Caribbean has been invited to participate in the conference.
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