Youth Culture in Music and Film
May 19, 2009. U.S. professors Dr. David James and Dr. Murray Forman caught the attention of over 60 American Studies and high school students as well as professors and teachers by giving insights into current U.S. youth culture. David James, film historian from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, spoke about the struggle of minorities in Los Angeles to represent themselves in Hollywood films, how Latino youth create visual vocabulary and representations and how they are shown in films. Murray Forman from Northeastern University in Boston addressed the developments in hip hop as a major part of youth culture in the U.S. and about a generational dissonance between the three generations within the hip hop community. Forman also emphazised the involvement of the hip hop movement in the U.S. in the recent presidential elections and that the hip hop community encouraged their audience to participate in the elections. Both speaker will also participate in the U.S. Embassy Fachleiter Conference in Bonn from May 20-23.

Consul General Jo Ellen Powell at opening of Blickachsen 7
May 17, 2009. Together with Hessen Minister President, Roland Koch, Consul General Jo Ellen Powell attended the opening of Blickachsen 7 in the historical parks of Bad Homburg v.d. Höhe. This years' Blickachsen, a bi-annual exhibition of contemporary sculptures and installations by leading as well as promising international artists, collaborates with the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Organized by Bad Homburg gallerist Dr. Christian Scheffel, Blickachsen places modern works in the classical setting of Bad Homburg Kurpark, and offers new perspectives on both the works themselves and on the original “Blickachsen”, or “lines of vision”, designed for the gardens by the celebrated nineteenth-century landscape artist Peter Joseph Lenné.  Participating American artists in Blickachsen 7 are Donald Baechler, Jonathan Borofsky, Michele Oka Doner, Dennis Oppenheim, Tom Otterness, Beverly Pepper, and George Rickey. “Blickachsen 7” will be shown until October 4, 2009.

America a hit at Baden-Wuerttemberg Tag in Reutlingen
May 17, 2008. The U.S. Consulate General joined the four German-American Institutes located in Baden-Wuerttemberg (Heidelberg, Tuebingen, Freiburg, Stuttgart) at the fourth Baden-Wuerttemberg Tag. The institutes and the Consulate presented their programs and services and EducationUSA Frankfurt provided information on studying and working in the United States. Hundreds of visitors checked their knowledge about America by taking a USA quiz. They also picked up information on the United States, enjoyed American-style salted popcorn and tried their skill at basketball. Thousnads of visitors enjoyed the Baden-Wuerttemberg Tag, with more than 80 exhibitors showcasing services and organizations in Baden-Wuerttemberg. | Photogallery

USA Booth draws crowd at "Berufsinfomesse" (BIM) in Offenburg
May 15./16, 2009. Information on exchange opportunities with the U.S. was in great demand at the two day career fair “Berufsinfomesse” (BIM) in Offenburg. Hundreds of high school students visited the EducationUSA/U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt booth. More than 200 visitors received individual advice, with the majority asking about studying in the United States, internships and Au Pair. The CD-ROM "About the USA" and information on the services of the U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt were also popular. More than 20,000 visitors attended the BIM.

Charge d'affaires John Koenig at Heidelberg Sicherheitsforum
May 15, 2009. Charge d’affaires John Koenig spoke on “Regional Crises – Global Risks” at the Heidelberg SicherheitsFORUM on May 15.  The seminar, at which Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung also spoke, focused on changes in defense industry and procurement.  The audience included senior German military officers, defense policy analysts from a variety of think tanks and representatives from the defense industry.  

Roundtable at the Hesse State Chancellery
May 15, 2009. The U.S. Consulate General co-sponsored a roundtable at the Hesse State Chancellery in Wiesbaden on “The Obama Strategy on Stimulus, Monetary Policy and Financial Reform in a Global Context” with Dr. Kent Hughes, Director of the Science, Technology, America and the Global Economy Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C. Dr. Hughes participated in a discussion with fifteen members of the state chancellery and offered an in-depth analysis of the origins and manifold effects of the economic crisis and of the intricacies of President Obama’s economic policy.

60 Years Berlin Airlift Commemorated
May 12, 2009. The City of Frankfurt, Frankfurt International Airport, the U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt, U.S. Airforce together with Luftbrücke Chapter celebrated the end of the Berlin blockade and the success of the Berlin Airlift 60 years ago in a May 12 ceremony in honor of those who had given their lives during the Airlift. Consul Ann Meceda laid a wreath at the Airlift Memorial on the premises of Frankfurt International Airport. Speakers emphasized that the Berlin Airlift helped to change the face of Europe and laid the foundation for German-American friendship.

Consul General Powell Discusses German-American Relations and New U.S. Administration
May 11, 2009. In an assessment of the performance of the U.S. administration’s first 100 days, Consul General Jo Ellen Powell, Tagesspiegel Washington correspondent Dr. Christoph von Marschall and Matthias Borst, the Managing Director Germany of Becton & Dickinson, analyzed current transatlantic trends and developments in the financial crisis in a May 11 event in Heidelberg sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce.  More then 30 businessmen of the Rhein-Neckar Triangle region used the opportunity to discuss the second G-20 conference in London, the future of free trade and the Doha round. The panel discussion, moderated by Internation Herald Tribune’s Carter Dougherty, is part of AmCham Germany’s Political Talks series, organized by AmCham Germany Rhein-Neckar Triangle and supported by the International Herald Tribune and Becton & Dickinson.

Visaapplication 101: Heidelberg and Mannheim Students on their way to the U.S.
May 11, 2009. On May 11th, EducationUSA visited the University of Heidelberg to brief exchange students from Heidelberg and Mannheim on the visa application process. More than 60 students who will spent an academic year or do an internship in the United States had their questions answered. Heidelberg University cooperates with a large number of U.S. universities, including Arizona State University, California State University Sacramento and Harvard University. The University of Applied Sciences Mannheim cooperates with six U.S. universities, including the University of Connecticut in Storrs, the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Consul General Powell Opens Musikfestspiele Saar
May 9, 2009. U.S. Consul General Jo Ellen Powell joined Saarland’s Minister President Peter Müller and festival director Prof. Robert Leonardy at the Industriekathedrale Alte Schmelz in St. Ingbert on May 9 in opening the Musikfestspiele Saar. The music festival, which runs until July 25 features American music under the motto ‘Welcome America!'. The extensive program under the artistic direction of Prof. Robert Leonardy is testament to the diversity and breadth of classical and modern American music. Tzimon Barto, one of America’s leading pianists of his generation, opened the evening with a performance of Gershwin's piano concert in F. It was followed by Bernstein’s “Kaddish” symphony, never heard in the Saarland before, interpreted by the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern under the direction of Christoph Poppen together with the National Chorus of Korea, the Ulsan Metropolitan Chorus, the Gwacheon Metropolitan Children’s Choir, soprano Juliane Banse and narrator August Zirner. The opening concert was broadcast live on SR2 KulturRadio and will be shown on ARTE on November 8, 2009. | Photo Gallery

American Days: Panel Discussion about Obama's First 100 Days
May 8, 2009. Public Affairs Officer Jeanine Collins joined SPD’s Bundestag Defense spokesman Rainer Arnold and Denise O’Donohue in a panel discussion on the “First 100 Days of President Barack Obama.” The discussion, organized by the Europa Zentrum and Friederich Ebert Stiftung, took place in the Stuttgart Town Hall, before a hundred-strong audience. The ensuing discussion allowed the audience to raise questions from Africa-policy to climate change.