Every year, from September to November, eleven Belarusian cities hold “German Weeks”. German Embassy in the Republic of Belarus, Goethe-Institut and representatives of German cultural organizations and their Belarusian partners organize this event. On October 5-28, Polotsk and Novopolotsk, Polotsk State University in particular, hosted the project “German Weeks”.
The “German Weeks” program started with the “Collegium Musicum” orchestra and a chamber choir of St. Michael's Church (Jena, Germany) concert at Saint Sophia Cathedral. All the rest of the program events took place at Polotsk State University.
On October 8 – 9, a short film festival “Shorts at Moonlight” took place in the concert hall of Polotsk College. The festival was supported by the Mainz-Minsk Friendship Club. The best films from the program of the same festival in Mainz were presented to the audience.
On October 10, a traditional Lunch-concert took place in the lobby of the new PSU campus. The students of Novopolotsk State Musical College presented masterpieces of German classical music to the listeners.
A new interesting event was organized at the concert hall of Polotsk College for German culture lovers. It was an evening screening of two feature films: a film for family viewing “Timm Thaler” and a fiction thriller “Who am I”.
The main event of the “German Weeks” was a seminar “Open Germany for Yourself” (“Deutschland entdecken”) on October 25 – 28. Students from Belarusian universities, their Ukrainian peers from Lutsk and the lecturers of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) came to Polotsk State University to participate in the seminar.
The participation of Mr. Peter Dettmar, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Belarus, is a sign of a special importance of the event. Our honored guest gave a welcoming speech, presented the report “Belarus-Germany Relations in the Cultural and Educational Spheres” and answered the students’ questions.
A busy program of “Deutschland entdecken” included many seminars provided by the DAAD, Minsk and Lutsk lecturers and native speakers from Leipzig and Chemnitz. PSU students and the university guests had an opportunity to improve their language skills, learn more about the politics, economics, geography and culture of Germany.
Besides communicating, the guests went on an excursion around Polotsk College and Polotsk city. The highlight of the program “Deutschland entdecken” was the concert of a German musical group “Solche” at Novopolotsk club “Plastilin”.
Now, the “German Weeks” leave PSU to return here in a year and bring positive emotions to the citizens of Polotsk and Novopolotsk and PSU students and lecturers.
Vladimir Filipenko
Photos: Vladimir Krivoborodenko, Polina Kosarevskaya, Polina Yevstratova, Yekaterina Lushnevskaya
