Cul_initiative - Fostering Peach Through Cultural Initiatives MOFA

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Conference Report

Fostering Peace through Cultural Initiatives:

Perspectives from Japan & Germany

2009


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ENGLISH

1. Preface: Japan Foundations work onFostering Peace through Cultural Initiatives

2. Foreword to Publication Hans-Georg KNOPP

3. Peacebuilding and Culture Kazuo OGOURA4. Program

5. Presentation Materials by ParticipantsIn order of presentation

1Presented on May 14th , ExpertsWorkshop

MORNING SESSION

Hiroko INOUE

Rita SACHSE-TOUSSAINT

Helena WALDMANN

Yasuhiko SHIRAKATA

Yasunori NAGAOKA

Eberhard JUNKERSDORF

Uli GAULKE

LUNCHEON SPEECH

Ronald GRTZ

AFTERNOON SESSION

Hans-Georg KNOPP

Kazuo OGOURA

Kenichiro HIRANO

Megumi NISHIKAWA

Yasushi WATANABE

2Presented on May 15th, Public Symposium

Hans-Georg KNOPPFareed C. MAJARI

Other presenters based their speeches on the materials presented on the previous day.

/ Appendix

1 Introduction of Participants

2 2009513

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4No. 30, 2009 8/9

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[i][i] "German involvement in Aghanistan - stability and reconstruction", German Federal

Foreign Ofce, 15.02.2006 at

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/en/Aussenpolitik/RegionaleSchwerpunkte/

AghanistanZentralasien/EngagementDeutschlands,navCtx=3D265692.html#t18

(Accessed 020509).


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1 http://www.kilpper-projects.net/the-jenin-horse/gb/description.htm

2 Lucas Einsele: The Many Moments o an M85 - Zenons Arrow Retraced, concept note, 2009

3 Bourriaud, Nicolas (2002) Relational Aesthetics, Dijon: Les presses du rel: p. 14

4 ibid.: 107.

5 Tina Clausmeyer: Engaged Art - How Can Artists Become Mediators in Confict? (unpublished)

6 William Kelly, "Acknowledgements", Violence to Non-Violence: Individual Perspectives, Communal Voices, William Kelly

The Peace Project ,Harwood Academic Publishers, Cratsman House, Sydney, 1994, p.xvi.

7 Der Spiegel Online, Friday, November 20, 2009, http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,541892,00.html retrieved

03/04/2009

8 Ed Vulliamy: "Bridging the Gap, Part Two", The Guardian, 13 July 2008

9

Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 15 January 2009

English edition

10Meir Wigoder: A User's Guide to Photographing the Separation-Barrier-WallVan Leer Institute"Challenging Walls"

11 http://www.goethe.de/ges/prj/mar/lae/enindex.htm

12


78/17677

Organized by the Japan Foundation & the Goethe-Institut

Co-hosted by the Mainichi Newspapers

With cooperation of Aoyamagakuin UniversityJoint Research Institute for International

Peace and Culture

Fostering Peace through Cultural Initiatives:

Perspectives from Japan & Germany


79/17678

Japan Foundations Initiative in Promoting Culture and Peacebuilding

In todays world, one cannot draw the conclusion that peace prevails i there is no warbetween countries. Various ashpoints o conicts still below the threshold o erupting into

war are submerged in relationships among individuals, races and regions.

Taking this into account, the Japan Foundation believes that culture, arts and youth exchange

can play multiaceted roles in building peaceul international and regional relations. From

this standpoint, we reviewed our various cultural exchange programs conducted or the past

ew years and published a booklet in March 2008 titled The Roles o Cultural Initiatives in

Peacebuilding with a ocus on projects that contributed to peace through cultural activities.

From fscal 2008, we launched a series o international symposiums with the Goethe-Institut,

a non-proit German cultural exchange organization, with the aim o developing uture-

oriented programs by sharing and discussing the idea o Fostering Peace through Cultural

Initiatives and reviewing our past projects.

In December 2008, we invited two guests rom the Goethe-Institut, Dr. Hans-Georg Knopp,

Secretary General, and Dr. Christoph Bartmann, the head o Culture and Inormation Department at

its main ofce in Munich, to a preparatory meeting in Tokyo where we held intensive discussions on

our past undertakings. Based on the outcomes, the Japan Foundation and the Goethe-Institut hosted

a joint international symposium titled Fostering Peace through Cultural Initiatives - Perspectives

rom Japan and Germany on May 14th-15th 2009 in Tokyo, which was co-hosted by the Mainichi

Newspapers. This report summarizes presentations and materials o this two-day event - the experts

conerence on the frst day and the public symposium on the ollowing day.

Dr. Knopp and Dr. Bartmann again kindly accepted our invitation to the symposium on both

days, where their regional directors rom conlict areas - Aghanistan and Lebanon - and

artists involved in their cultural initiative programs also participated. From Japan, artists and

eminent persons rom various circles who played an active role in addressing issues o peace

and conicts attended. Participants rom both sides held lively and inormative discussions.

We deeply appreciate Dr. Akiko Fukushima, a senior ellow at the Japan Foundation, or her

assistance in our research and coordination work to publish the aorementioned booklet.

We also would like to thank the Aoyama Gakuin University Joint Research Institute or

International Peace and Culture or helping us organize this event.

We thank all presenters, sponsors and participants or their support and hope this report

becomes a guidebook or uture projects.

The Japan Foundation

December 2009

Preace

Preface


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Fostering Peace through Cultural Initiative

The Goethe-Institut and the Japan Foundation have been closely connected or several years.As sister organizations, they play an important role in the external cultural policy o their

countries, promoting international cultural dialogue and exchange. Both the Goethe-Institut

and the Japan Foundation know that their policies and activities need to be understood and

supported not only by politicians but also by a broader public in our home countries.

We thereore accepted with pleasure the invitation o the Japan Foundation to discuss with

us in Tokyo a subject which has also an important place in the agenda o the Goethe-Institut:

the role o culture in the maintenance o peace. Fostering Peace through Cultural Initiative

was the title o the conerence in May 2009, to which experts rom both countries wereinvited: journalists, academic scholars, and practitioners in cultural exchange. The purpose

o the conerence was to learn about strategies and modes o operation which our countries

employ to oster cultural dialogue in regions which are aected by crisis and conict.

Examples came rom Aghanistan, Palestine, Indonesia and other parts o the world, and

they provided a large number o inspiring examples o how cultural initiatives during or ater

civil wars, natural catastrophes or in situations o crisis or conict can play a useul role. The

opportunities or culture are not unlimited where violence rules, but they certainly should not

be underestimated. Culture, not just in the narrow sense which limits it to the arts, but also

in a more general sense that includes or instance sports or popular arts and crats, helps to

overcome the traumatic consequences o conict and to promote the idea o co-existence in

peace and security.

Although the basic objectives seemed similar, dierences in methods became visible. It

seemed just about possible to identiy something like a Japanese and a German style in the

way that peace is ostered through cultural initiatives. The Japanese examples were more

down-to-earth, they were based on traditional and popular cultural orms, they underlined

the importance o social interaction, while the German examples were more orientated on

contemporary art-orms and demonstrated an impetus to social change. So the conerence

also provided an invitation to learn rom the style o the other partner. And that led to the

question whether and when the Japan Foundation and the Goethe-Institut should put their

skills together into the same basket and merge some o their activities in an area o crisis and

conict. The question ound a positive answer, a new round o talks will ollow and hopeully

pave the way or common projects aimed to oster peace through cultural initiatives.

Hans-Georg Knopp

Secretary-General, The Goethe-Institut

December 2009

Foreword to Publication

Foreword


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1. Relationship between Peace and Culture

Is it right to assume that cultural dierences are the cause o conicts? This is the frst pointto be addressed when discussing the relationship between peace and culture. Needless to

say, there have been many societies in history peaceully coexisting with others despite

ethnic or regional dierences, and we should avoid attributing conlicts and rictions to

dierences in culture. Yet, we cannot deny that culture intensifes such conrontations when

ethnic or cultural dierences are combined with economic or political interests.

Thereore, we must consider how such situations can be prevented in order to deine

conditions or co-existence and co-prosperity. This problem o co-existence o dierent ethnic

or social groups is important even at the local or national level, but it has a more diicultdimension in the international arena, because unlike the national level, the international

society inds it much more diicult to oster a sense o global community and unity,

compared to individual nations, ethnic groups or communities. Thereore, the role o inter-

cultural exchanges needs to be emphasized particularity at the international level.

To this end, we must accept the premise that it is essential or all human beings to share a

common ethos and sensibility, to be aware o the signifcance o mutual understanding and

dierences in sensibility, and to tolerate dierences in the interests o building up a sense o

global unity.

2. Conict Prevention and Cultural Exchange

Given that cultural exchange is defned as activities that enhance mutual understanding and

oster the appreciation o mutual identities, we can say that it is a process o assimilation,

absorption and integration. At the same time, it unctions as a process and medium or

independence, resistance and isolation. Because o these contradictory aspects, we must

fnd an answer to this question: under what conditions will cultural activities have a lasting

impact? In terms o conict prevention, mutual understanding -- namely developing a sense

o unity that can be shared by all human beings -- will be o great signifcance. We might, or

instance, study the example o a cultural activity that raises common awareness about the

need to eliminate nuclear weapons such as the amous antiwar tale Bareoot Gen. This

tale captures the devastating eect o an atomic bomb and is played in Pakistan, which is in

conict with India over the possession o nuclear weapons, in the orm o drama by Japanese

learners o Urdu language.

3. Cultural Exchange or Prevention o Escalation o Conicts

In regions suering rom long-lasting conicts, cultural exchange helps prevent the conicts

rom escalating urther by allowing local people to redefne their own and their opponents

cultural identities which have been distorted by warare. Hatreds on both sides skew and

Peacebuilding and Culture

Peacebuilding and CultureKazuo Ogoura


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negatively exaggerate the identities o both parties, ueling the escalation o an existing

conict. Cultural exchange contributes to correcting such distortions. Here, we might think

o the case o peace kids soccer program under which young boys rom Israel and Palestine

are invited to Hiroshima and play soccer together aterwards.

When a conict is prolonged, local people become isolated rom the outside world, and their

true lives and images become obscure in the eyes o the outsiders. Conict itsel rather than

their suering is presented to the world. Thus, the conict and violence serve as the only

medium or connecting the area o conicts with the rest o the world, and the peoples at the

area and their everyday lives, mindsets and emotions are not communicated well. One o the

objectives o cultural exchange is to protect such people against psychological and cultural

isolation, that is, to provide links between these citizens in the area o conict and outside

societies. Inviting a Baghdad citizens drama group to Japan and have them present a playcan be cited as an example o such eorts to bridge the people o Iraq with the Japanese

citizens.

4. The Role o Cultural Exchange ater the End o Conict

(1) Mental Healing

When a mil itary or polit ical conl ict is near its end, we need to consider how cultural

exchange can help heal psychological wounds. Victims on both sides will remain severely

distressed, but it must be especially traumatic to be separated rom ellow members o

the same village or group and orced to fght against them. To help such people heal their

psychological damage, cultural exchange activities oering both parties an opportunity

to bilaterally express their eelings will be o help in redeining their identities. A good

example is a joint drama workshop held to bridge the gap between people who were on the

government and rebel sides in Aceh, Indonesia, by oering an opportunity to converse with

each other and to lessen the pain o those who had no choice but to battle against people

sharing similar ethnic origins.

(2) Passing down the Memory o Conicts and Anguish

Physical damage is easily discovered and drawn to everybodys attention, but mental

anguish does not surace unless those who suer open up their hearts. In many cases, those

suering are reluctant to talk about their agony. Providing such people with an opportunity

to express themselves and keeping a record o their psychological wounds will ease the

process o reconciliation and uture conlict. This can be done through cultural activities.

For instance, in order to record and pass down rom generation to generation the torment o

Vietnamese victims o the Vietnam War, various opportunities can be created in the orms o

literature, dramas, and international symposia.

(3) Restoring cultural and ethnic pride

Conicts oten destroy or distort sel-identity and demolish cultural traditions in which ethnic

identity is expressed. Hence, a post-conict peacebuilding process should include activities



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or restoring and reestablishing a symbol o ethnic cultural identity, whether it is tangible

(or instance a historical monument) or intangible (or instance perorming art.) Inviting

an Aghan cratsman to Japan to restore ceramic art destroyed during the civil war is one

example o such endeavors.

5. Problems to be Addressed when Engaging in Cultural Activities or Peacebuilding

When conducting cultural activi ties or peacebuilding, we ace practical problems and

difculties. Such issues include how to grasp the needs and intentions o local people and

how to prioritize projects. In case where there are many possible options, it is not easy to

determine when, what or how to launch and carry out such activities, or to judge priority o

possible endeavors.

To put it dierently, getting the best out o these cultural exchanges means giving careul

thought to our methods, approach and degree o involvement.

The second point is risk taking. Cultural activists may run the risk o being involved in

conict. We have to ask ourselves, thereore, who is going to be responsible or reducing

such risk. What can be done to avoid risks? One approach is to invite the people rom both

sides o conict areas to an outside world, have them take part in cultural workshops. In such

a method, however, our support will be indirect. An alternative will be to create protected

spaces which enable us to saely conduct cultural activities in conict zones. Yet, numerous

issues beyond our control will arise, including how and by whom such a space should be

actually constructed. There may, however, be a possibility that areas where cultural activities

take place come to be considered and serve as protected spaces, i managed with the ull

cooperation o the citizens o the area.

Third, we need to deal with political risk. Can cultural exchanges remain neutral without

being biased towards either side? This is a constant political problem and one we must

ind ways to avoid. Furthermore, organizers o cultural exchanges in conlict regions,

especially government-related organizations, must consider how they should avoid the risk

o getting involved inadvertently in conlicts and ensure the saety o activists. Failing to

take appropriate measures will likely set o political risks in the country o origin o those

organizations.

Finally, there is an issue o evaluation. It is very difcult to assess the eectiveness o cultural

exchange or peacebuilding, and that requires a long-term perspective. The higher the

military or political risk, the more signifcant this issue becomes in relation to accountability.



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Program

Fostering Peace through Cultural Initiatives - Perspectives from Japan & Germany

Organized by the Japan Foundation and the Goethe-Insitut,

Co-hosted by the Mainichi NewspapersWith cooperation of Aoyamagakuin University Joint Research Institute for International Peace

and Culture

1. Overview

In the twenty-irst century, peace means more than the absence o war. Facing more

diversiied threats, the world has taken up an active stance to ight against poverty, to

minimize disparity, and to oster minds that recognize people rom dierent backgrounds as

equal counterparts and that pursue peace with uture-oriented perspectives.

The role o cultural initiatives that aim toward more peaceul international/inter-regional

relations today is thus diversiied and multi-tasked, covering a wide range o topics rom

conidence building beore the actual conlict to recovering mutual trust in post-conlict

areas. The project types also vary rom collaborative art projects to youth exchange or peace-

building.

By looking at several case presentations rom artists who have gained rich experience

working abroad in conict ridden places and rom receiving communities, this conerence

will discuss the role o cultural initiatives or ostering peace, the types o projects expected

in order to gain most eective impact, and the difculties or those institutions in conducting

cultural initiatives.

2. Schedule

Thursday, May 14th, 2009 9:30-17:00 Closed Workshop

17:00-18:00 Reception

Friday, May 15th, 2009 15:00-18:00 Public Symposium


19:30- Film Screening hosted by the Goethe - Iustitut

3. Venue

Thursday, May 14th, 2009 JFIC SAKURA Hall, The Japan Foundation

4-4-1 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0004 JAPAN

Friday, May 15th, 2009 Goethe-Institut Japan in Tokyo

7-5-56, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052, JAPAN

Program


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4. Program

(1) DAY 1: Thursday, May 14th, 2009 One-day closed workshop

(Japanese-English simultaneous translation)

9:30-9:45 Opening Remarks

Amb. Kazuo Ogoura, The Japan Foundation

Dr. Hans-Georg Knopp, The Goethe-Institut

Amb. Hans-Joachim Daerr, German Embassy in Tokyo

9:45-13:00 Session 1: Case Presentations by Artists & Evaluations

Four case presentations will be made by artists who have worked with the Japan

Foundation or the Goethe-Insititut in the past ew years. Evaluation comments by

receiving communities or organizers o the projects will ollow each case presentation.The aim o this session is to share an overview o actual projects conducted by the two

organizations and to acilitate discussions around them.

Co-acilitators:

Dr. Christoph Bartmann, The Goethe-Institut (Case 2)

Dr. Uwe Schmelter, The Goethe-Institut Japan in Tokyo (Case 4)

Mr. Tsuyoshi Takahashi, The Japan Foundation (Case 1 & 3)

Presentations:

1. Japanese case:

Hiroko Inoue, Formative artist

Inside-Out: Realities and Expressions ound rom Fieldworks around the World

2. German case:

Helena Waldmann, Choreographer

Burka Bondage

Rita Sachse-Toussaint, Director o Goethe-Institut in Kabul

Cultural Development in Aghanistan: International Documentary & Short Film

Festival Kabul and National Theatre Festival

3. Japanese case:

Yasuhiko Shirakata, Ceramic artist

Meeting with Istali and Our Future

Yasunori Nagaoka, Ceramic artist

Guiding Istali rom Traditional Wood-fred Kiln to Gas-fred Kiln

4. German case:

Eberhard Junkersdor, President o the German Film Board, Film Producer and Oscar

Program


86/17685Program

Awardee:

The Global Film Cooperation as a Tool or Film-Project Cooperation between

Germany, South- and North-Korea

Uli Gaulke, Film director

Comrades in Dream -The First Film Coproduction among Germany, South- and North-

Korea, its Development and International Reception

13:00-14:30 Lunch: Luncheon speeches

Mr. Ronald Grtz, Secretary General o the Institute or Foreign Relations (ia) in

Stuttgart

Mr. Kenjiro Monji, Director-General, Public Diplomacy Department, Ministry o

Foreign Aairs, Japan

14:30-17:00 Session 2: Missions and Roles o Cultural Initiatives or Fostering Peace

Facilitator: Tsuyoshi Takahashi

Keynote Speeches

Amb. Kazuo Ogoura, The Japan Foundation

Dr. Hans-Georg Knopp, The Goethe-Insititut

Panel Discussion

Panelists

Mr. Ronald Grtz, Secretary General o ia (Institute or Foreign Relations, Stuttgart)

Pro. Kenichiro Hirano, Proessor Emeritus at University o Tokyo


Megumi Nishikawa, The Mainichi Newspapers

Proessor Kazuo Ogoura, The Japan Foundation

Pro. Yasushi Watanabe, Keio University


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(2) DAY 2: Friday, May 15th, 2009 Public Symposium

(English-Japanese simultaneous translation)

15:00-15:45 Opening SessionWelcome remarks

Fumio Matsunaga, Ministry o Foreign Aairs

Dr. Uwe Schmelter, Goethe-Institut Japan in Tokyo

Keynote Speeches

Kazuo Ogoura, The Japan Foundation


15:45-16:45 Session 1: Presentation by artists and receiving communities

Moderator: Dr. Uwe SchmelterHiroko Inoue, Formative artist


Fareed C. Majari, Director o Goethe-Institut in Beirut

When Everything Else Fails - The Role o the Arts in Conlict Resolutions-Cultural

Cooperation between Palestine, Israel and Lebanon

Yasuhiko Shirakata, Ceramic artist


Yasunori Nagaoka, Ceramic artist

Guiding Istali rom Traditional Wood-fred Kiln to Gas-fred Kiln

16:45-18:00 Session 2: Panel Discussion

Moderator: Megumi Nishikawa, The Mainichi Newspapers

[Panelists]

Pro. Kenichiro Hirano, Proessor Emeritus o University o Tokyo

Dr. Hans-Georg Knopp, Secretany General The Goethe-Insititut

Fareed C. Majari, Director o Goethe-Institut in Beirut

Amb. Kazuo Ogoura, President, The Japan Foundation

Helena Waldmann, Choreographer

Pro. Yasushi Watanabe, Proessor o Keio University

18:00 Closure


19:30 Film Screening hosted by the Goethe-Institut

Comrades in Dream by Uli Gaulke and documentary flm My Kabul rom Aghanistan in

the Goethe-Institut Hall

Program


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(1) Presented on May 14th, Experts Workshop

MORNING SESSION


Hiroko Inoue

Since 1992, I have been active in producing and presenting works o contemporary art. In

1998, I received a special award in sculpture in the Osaka Triennale, and with assistance rom

the Goethe-Institut went to Germany in 1999 to produce and present my works. Currently, I

continue to work as an artist, dividing my time between Japan and Germany.

In 1995, a huge earthquake shook Hyogo preecture, in the center o mainland Japan. This

was the Kobe Earthquake that instantly took the precious lives o about 5,000 people, and

I saw its devastating consequences. I saw the deep emotional scars let unhealed and theisolation o people dying alone in temporary housing, and took an interest in the social

systems governing the atermath o the earthquake. I have since worked on projects touching

on these social issues, using motis such as inside and outside views in mental hospitals and

juvenile reormatories, German concentration camps, and children I met in various countries

around the world.

Though I have never set oot in actual war zones, I have been to remote regions in Asia,

Europe, North America, and Arab nations. Though the world is supposedly becoming more

globalized, there are no dierences in the social issues that arise in every part o the globe,

be it in modern cities or the remotest o regions. In the ollowing, I would like to tell you the

details o my stays abroad, my eelings as an artist, and how my experiences came to ruition

as works o art.

1992 First one-man exhibition, started out as a textile artist at the time.

1995 The Kobe Earthquake

Though the city was reconstructed, the shock o the incident traumatized many people, and

its eects were particularly damaging to children. This realization made me turn to taking

photographs rom both inside and outside the windows o mental hospitals. For the 13 past

years, I have been producing works using the windows o isolated acilities in various parts

o the globe as motis. By portraying the gaps in peoples views when looking outside rom

the inside o a window as opposed to looking inside rom the outside, I want to question what

position the viewer takes in terms o the boundary created by this single window, and how

we can connect with others.

1997 Art Forum Yanaka / Exhibition in Tokyo

Works using windows in mental hospitals (Light box)

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1999 One-man exhibition in Dsseldor, Germany

Works on windows o mental hospitals (Light Box)

Print photographs on abric, which are then

placed on canvasses and incorporated into the lightboxes.

Since 1999 I have owned a studio in Germany, and I also started visiting ormer sites o

concentration camps the same year. This is a view rom a window ound in the Czech

Republic concentration camp in Theresienstadt. It was a hot summer day when I pointed my

camera at this particular window, with a vast blue sky stretching beyond the window rame.The people who had once lived here were never able to leave. I elt that countless people had

once stood at the place where I was standing, and that they were connected to the person I

am now. The terrible reality did not only belong to the past, it continues to be an issue now.

2000 Hyogo Preectural Museum o Art A Memorial or the people who died in

isolation

As o July 25th, 1998, there have been 220 deaths in

isolation o people who may have had jobs, amilies,

and homes had the earthquake not stripped them o

everything. I produced this work because I wanted

to say to those who became addicted to alcohol, lost all contact with the outside world, and

ended up dying alone, that they will never be orgotten.

2002 I took a plane to Nome, Alaska, a city acing the Bering Sea that is two and a hal

hours northwest o Anchorage, USA to visit the Inuits. The time was late summer, and the

winds blew all day. In this vast land, harsh climate, and with little work available, the young

escape to alcohol in desperation. During my one-month stay, there were two murders among

drunken young people.

The most requent crime in this remote city was domestic violence, and I was shocked to

learn how the socially vulnerable people, including children, were being sacrifced. All the

issues aced by modern society today were being imposed on the children, the elderly, and

other socially disadvantaged people. The situation is the same or Japan, where many young

people are isolating themselves rom society or struggling with depression. It was during

my stay here that I thought or the frst time that I would like to use children as motis or

my work. By portraying a child with his eyes closed, I am asking the viewer: what do we as

a human race want? Where do we want to go? And what are you going to do in this chaotic

situation?

Hiroko Inoue


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2003 Goethe-Institut Tokyo / Tokyo

2003 Chukyo University C Square / Nagoya

2003 Kunstmuseum Alten Post, Mlheim an der Ruhr 2003 Mseum Kunst Palast / Dsseldor, Germany

2003 I stayed or one month in Yemen, located at the southwestern tip o the Arabian

Peninsula

In Yemen, civil war waged between the northern and southern parts o the country over a

decade ago, and people were still overshadowed by this war at the time o my visit. I stayed

in a city called Marib, roughly 300km southeast o the capital, Sanaa, where conicts among

tribes remain to this day. Trading once lourished here during the era o the Queen o

Sheba, with huge temples, vast green felds, and owing rivers, but has now turned entirelyinto desert. The devastating scene with the remains o temples and cemeteries in ruins,

scattered with bones and trash, made me ear that this scene may overlap with the uture o

Tokyo.

2005 I stayed or one year in Austria as Special

Advisor or Cultural Exchange or the Agency or

Cultural Aairs, Japan. During this time, I held an

exhibition at the Jugendstiltheater in the Otto Wagner

Spital, which is located in the suburbs o Vienna. This

hospital is where approximately 470 Austrian or Roma

children with physical disabilities ell victim to human

experimentation during the World War II. I attempted

to juxtapose the present with the past in this place by placing portrait photographs o 18

Austrian and Japanese high school students with their eyes closed in a circle with a diameter

o 7 meters. I also presented a light box on the oor, made rom color photographs o various

windows in this old mental hospital, which dates back to 1902.

2007 I was invited to stay or one month at Clemson University in South Carolina, USA,

or a project to create sculptures using organic materials within campus with students o

sculpture and spatial design. The site o the university had ormerly been used as a plantation

arm, close to Charleston Bay, where black people arrived ater being shipped rom Arica.

Ater thoroughly researching the areas history with students and holding numerous

meetings, it was decided that a place or would be created, where various ethnic

groups can come together. About 1,000 wild bamboo stems growing on campus were cut

down, and a sculpture roughly 17 meters in length was completed. It is located in a quiet area

where you can observe the shadows o the bamboo parts moving in synch with the rising and

setting o the sun.

2009 I stayed in Montana, USA, rom beginning to end o April: more speciically, in a

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town called Libby, located in northwest Montana. The entire population o the town suered

rom asbestos pollution; about 300 o its residents had died rom cancer, and roughly 1,000

still suer rom this disease. Since the soil is polluted, locals cannot grow plants and children

cannot swim in the nearby rivers.

I was able to see the current reality aced by the earth by staying in various remote regions,

as well as overall social structures and issues and the lives o people. I believe that what is

happening now in remote regions is also happening in other parts o the globe. On the other

hand, in Japan, where it is difcult to eel the joy o lie and which is in a time o instability

and uncertainty about the uture, many are fghting against despair and utility. This, I think,

is also a orm o conict.

I believe that art has the power to express dreams and despairs, extract the reality o the

world, and convey messages. My aim is to create art that looks into how people commit to

memory the chaotic modern society today, how they overcome these times, and what they

are trying to pass on to uture generations.

I hope that my works will serve to trigger in viewers the question o why

Hiroko Inoue


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Cultural Development in Aghanistan: International Documentary & Short Film

Festival Kabul and National Theatre Festival

Rita Sachse-Toussaint

President Ogoura,

Excellencies,

Secretary General Mr. Knopp,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I presume that most o you have never been to Aghanistan beore and might not have the

opportunity to do so in the uture.

So, I would like to show you some pictures o Aghanistan, mainly rom Kabul. There will be

no comment on the pictures.

Ater that I will present two examples o cultural development that aim towards the rebuilding

o a civil society.

(Pictures)

Following these impressions rom Aghanistan let us frst examine the ramework conditions

underlying our cultural work in Aghanistan. Next we shall examine cultural activities o

the Goethe Institute in Kabul. Then I will point out the tasks ahead or Aghanistan and the

supporting countries to enable the country to master the immense challenges. Finally we

ocus on the development o the international flm estival and the national theatre estival.

Let us start with the ramework conditions:

Aghanistan has a high potential o young interested and motivated people. The Goethe -Institut

Kabul supports young artists, university teachers, school teachers and students.

We fnd more participation and interest in social issues such as the Sharia law and more

individual initiatives like the establishment o a company or a small shop.

You all know the disastrous economic situation in Aghanistan, characterized by

unemployment that leads to corruption and a severe increase o criminality.

Public order is still not established.

As to the security situation, I already mentioned the increase o criminality. In addition,

politically motivated crime has risen. As a consequence the reaction o Aghan police and

international military has become unpredictable.

The elite have let the country.

Society aces a conlict between tradition and modernity and a strict hierarchic social

structure.

Most women have either no access or restricted access to public lie.



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Ater all, the political situation is not stable.

In 2003, the Goethe-Institut Kabul celebrated its reopening. Since then we have had to ace

these conditions.

In the irst year we identiied the areas or our cultural initiatives as ilm, theatre,

photography and literature. We provided technical support to the Faculty o Fine Arts at

University Kabul, to the National Theatre and to other partners. Furthermore, we organized

workshops or artists and students at the Faculty o Fine Arts.

It is important to take into account the individual situation o an artist and to pay appropriate

attention to him or her so that we are able to support the artist according to his or her needs,

e.g. an actress who has been threatened with murder or being an actress.

Our cultural activities such as the ilm estival provide the artists with a national and

international platorm or exchange.

We still are in the process o developing a estival structure. The ocus in our projects is on

quality management and sustainability.

It would be too early to transer some o our programs to Aghan ownership, e.g. the flm

estival. This transer depends on a sufcient qualifcation o artists and cultural managers.

Once this step completed the Goethe Institute in Kabul will reorient its cultural work.

Our activities contribute to rebuilding the cultural area, an area as important or Aghan

society as every other social area. In other words, hospitals, schools, road construction,

employment and so orth are not more important than the rebuilding o the cultural feld.

Only then Aghanistan will be capable to ace its challenges

- redefnition o society

- defnition o values

- national identity

- building up a stable civil society

Let us ocus now on two o our activities, the International Documentary and Short Film

Festival and the National Theatre Festival.

We decided to promote the development o short and documentary flms or two reasons.

1. this media is appropriate to reect history as well as the actual situation,

2. documentary flms can be realized with relatively modest means.

Our aims are to oer ilmmakers a platorm or national and international exchange, to



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provide them access to international estivals, to increase step-by-step the quality o ilm

productions, and to establish a estival structure.

In 2006, there were three participating countries: Aghanistan, Germany, and France. TheGoethe-Institut and the French Cultural Centre were supporters and the main organizers.

Our cooperating partners were ARTE, Aghan Film, and the Ministry o Inormation and

Culture. We began to establish public relations. We had to set up an organisation structure

and to defne the regulations and criteria or participation and selection.

The Goethe-Institut organized workshops during the estival with experts rom abroad.

Sustainability is one o the most important criteria or our activities. Thereore we organize

additional workshops or young ilmmakers throughout the year, in particular workshops

with our French partners and Atelier Varan in Paris. The recent production Children oKabul had been admitted to this years flm estival in Cannes.

In 2009 there are three supporters the Goethe-Institut, the French Cultural Centre, and the

British Council and nine participating countries. The quality o Aghan flm productions is

increasing rom year to year. Also, the organisational structure has improved.

Does the flm estival in Kabul need a red carpet? - Yes, it does and there should be no doubt.

We are more active in sponsoring, and we obtained more transparency or criteria and

regulations. Accordingly, the estival has become more proessional.

The development o the national theatre estival with theatre groups rom the provinces

is similar to that o the flm estival. Let me point out only a ew additional aspects:

- It oers actors and directors a national platorm, the only opportunity or exchange,

- The quality o productions increases through intercultural exchange, e.g. in 2007 the

Goethe Institute invited Helena Waldmann or a guest perormance,

- In 2009 we oer our workshops in Kabul and three in the provinces beore the estival,

- We also support guest programs in Germany or directors and actors, e.g. in 2009 a

puppet theatre player had the opportunity to attend a workshop at the Ernst Busch

Drama School in Berlin. In September 2009 he is invited to study or a year in Berlin.

As a result o these initiatives fve young puppet theatre players established Aghanistans

frst puppet theatre ensemble, Parwaz.

I could not ind a better example to demonstrate the importance o cultural initiatives to

provide a perspective to young talented people and to encourage them to contribute to the

rebuilding o their society.

Thank you or your attention.



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Burka Bondage

Helena Waldmann

Ladies and Gentleman,

First I would like to thank the Japan Foundation and the Goethe-Institut or this kind

invitation and or the interest in my theater work. Since 1990, ater inishing my theater

studies at university and working with amous authors like Heiner Mller and directors like

George Tabori, I was inspired to question the matter o reality on an already real stage.

Today, working as a reelance theater director and choreographer, I have been living in

Berlin since 2000 but most o the time I am directing in an international context:

such as in Salvador de Bahia/Brazil were I produced apiece called Headhunters, which won the UNESCO prize;

with the Dra matic Art Center in

Tehran/Iran were I produced a piece

called Letters rom Tentland;

and, in 2005, with Mr. Majari,who is among us today, who ran the

Goethe- Institut in Palestine at the

time.

We worked with a dance company

based in Ramallah and a theater company based in Gaza

creating a dance movie called Emotional Rescue. The subject o all these theater works,

which were enormously supported by the Goethe-Institut, stuck closely to the realities o the

people we met. Although, it was never my intention to question all these big words like the

suppression o human rights, or the oppression o women.

It always became a REALITY on stage. My concerns were not really into those political

debates, who are gaining or lobbies or trying to evaluate arguments, which are, at least,

obvious: You shall not kill. You shall not oppress.

All that stu is happening - and I am not a lawyer, but a director. As a director, I like to ask,

how all circumstances o REALITY are to be represented on a stage, which is a REALITY in

itsel.

First o all, European concerns are: I am exotic, since I am interested in people, who are

living not only, in Berlin, but also in Tokyo, Kabul, Tehran, Ramallah, Salvador de Bahia.

For Europeans: it's elsewhere. For me: it's reality. The story I would like to tell you today

is perhaps much more common or you than or European people. It's a story I ound in

Helena Waldmann


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two countries, which cannot be more dierent. Japan and

Aghanistan.

In Aghanistan in 2001 the nearly 2000 years-old Buddhas oBamiyan were destroyed by the Taliban.

These Buddhas were, at55 and 38 meters, the tallest standing Buddha statues in the

world. In the Ancient World the region o the Buddhas, called

Gandhara, located on the Silk

Road, used to be a melting

pot o cultures, connecting

Asia and Europe, East andWest. This historical landscape in today's Aghanistan gave

rise to a very remarkable mix o cultures. The history o the

exceptional adventure o this mix is a story o liberation,

adaptation, transormation and

change. The burst o the Buddhas was the beginning o an almost

global war against the Taliban, who were actually, only fnishing

a process which had started with the beginning o the Muslim

control over that region and had

lasted or more than 400 years.

Already by the sixteenth century the Buddha's aces and

hands were destroyed;

300 years ago the Buddhas losttheir eet and any signs o sexual

organs.

From the point o view o the Taliban,

namely Omar Mullah, who destroyed

the Buddhas within three days using

several tons o dynamite, he achieved

what his ancestors had tried over

generations: the destruction o the

Buddhas o Bamiyan.

Fanatic Aghans tried to eliminate a sign o history, they considered it was not their history.

The world was stunned, shocked and even amazed, when these Buddhas were destroyed.

Amazed, since the video artist, Acci Baba rom Japan told me a German research team

ound a very old scroll in the remains o the Buddhas indicating the words: Nothing is

eternal. Nothing is eternal tells us those generations building the Buddhas in the caves

were pretty much aware o the fnite nature o their doing. It doesn't mean they believed in

Helena Waldmann


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an end o their religion, but in an end to the material equivalent o all their physical eorts.

They believed, their hard labor would be in vain one day. The day has been marked through

three tons o dynamite and in consequence, through thousands o victims, especially rom

Aghanistan. The fnite nature o the physical eorts - nothing better could express the worko dancers, nothing better could express the work o soldiers alike. The fnite nature o the

nature o dance - means a belie in movement, which is fnite rom its frst step on. Nothing is

eternal.

My irst touchdown in Kabul, was during the 4thNational Theatre Festival in summer 2007.

I n on ly ou r year s , t h e

Taliban had lost ground andpower. I was invited to the

estival with the ollow-up

production o Letters rom Tentland.

Letters rom Tentland was a grand collaboration between

the Goethe Institute Munich and the Dramatic Art Center in

Tehran/Iran. Back in 2004, I was invited to give a workshop

in Tehran with Iranian actresses only, in order to create a

piece o dancing tents, a so called 'dance under cover'.

Letters rom Tentland

became a strong and international touring dance production

rom a country, Iran, where dance is orbidden and

censorship is most common. Letters rom Tentland was a

piece, which oered amous actresses rom Iran to talk and

dance hidden behind tents.

The word or tent also symbolizes the Tschador, the

Persian veil.

A yea r l a t e r , wh en t h e

piece became recognised

as too critical against the

Iranian state, and had been

orbidden, I called in some Iranian actresses, who are living

in exile, to continue the touring. We called their answer, to

the orbidden orerunner: Return to sender

Women in exile answered in their own Letters to the Iranian actresses who were no longer

allowed to act in the piece and who were strongly warned to stop any urther contact with me.

Helena Waldmann


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I tell you these past activities, because they triggered o the invitation

to Kabul to show Return to sender to an Aghan audience. Here

again, with the support o the Goethe Institut in Kabul,

a workshop showed how touchedthe Aghans were, and how eager to

talk reely about their situation on

the most eective platorm o ree

speech, which is, to Aghan people,

the stage. These mere acts made me curious to learn more

about Aghanistan. I returned to Kabul to work with young

actresses, who taught me, they would consider themselves The Generation Rain What does

it mean? Generation Rain It is a generation stuck in the mud o a history, very much tight toundamentalism, although the Taliban are not ruling at the moment.

It is an Islamic country and reedom inside the boundaries o this religion can be seen alike

the crucial defnitions by the Taliban, but also alike the more liberal defnitions in Pakistan.

Which is, by irony, a hide-away or most o the Taliban. The Generation Rain, in one word,

has -thereore - lost orientation. In the same year, in 2008, I was invited by the Association

o Japanese Theatre Directors and the Goethe-Institut, to present workshops and symposia

in Osaka and Tokyo, where I was able to meet some o the great masters o contemporary

criticism in Japan, amongst them Mr. Hiroshi Tsutsumi. Here I heard or the irst time

the word Generation Lost describing young Japanese Artists who do not consider to

have a uture, but to express - maybe a coincidence - the behavior o a generation ater the

destruction o the Buddhas o Bamiyan. Maybe it is only a coincidence, but suddenly I elt a

neighboring sharing o experiences between the Generation Rain in Aghanistan and the

Generation Lost in Japan.

Both desperate, both eagerly looking or another uture, both

resistant to their indings in the present, both looking or

something, you may call a: RESET BUTTON.

You may judg e, i I am wrong or

not, but the longer the discussion

became between my Japanese riends Yui Kawaguchi and

Acci Baba, and the longer I discussed with

Aghan women, able to use the internet as

a communication tool, I suggested, that

both sides, Japanese and Aghans, may chat on the internet without any

visiblity to censors, commentators or critics to see, how many dierences

and similarities they share. A starting point or the talks was the blowing

up, that is to say, the vanishing o the Buddhas o Bamiyan.

Helena Waldmann


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I hope, my contribution can be ruitul to our orthcoming

discussion.

Thank you or listening to me.

Helena Waldmann


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Yasuhiko Shirakata

Thank you or including Istali pottery in todays program. And thank you or giving me, amere potter o Tobe ware, the opportunity to participate in this Japan Foundation project and

experience Istali pottery. But perhaps Istali pottery was luckier than I am. Now allow me to

tell you a little about this crat.

Despite a history o 300 years, the crat has had little interaction with the outside world. A

90-year-old elder o the village, Noor Ahmad s/o Abdul Samad (Photo 1), welcomed me,

saying that I was the frst potter to visit them since a French ceramic artist came more than

40 years ago. This was how my experience with Istali pottery began.

The village where the kilns are located is spread over the steep side o a mountain. Few roads

allow cars to enter and the lack o inrastructure seemed to weigh on peoples daily lives.

(Photo 2) This is a photo taken in 2003 o Ando-san and the main street where the bazaar

is held. In a 2006 photo (Photo 3) provided by the Japanese embassy in Aghanistan, I

was surprised to see telegraph poles. Although the people now have access to electricity,

its supply reportedly oten stops. Lie in Aghanistan is still harsh but it is important that

the Japan Foundation is supporting Istali pottery just when lie there is about to change

signifcantly.

Now I will move on to the production process o low-fred Istali pottery.

This is a site where clay is dug and sieved (Photo 4) located about 1 km rom the village.

The clay is put in bags and carried to the village. The task is reportedly exhausting, so I

suggested they adopt a division o labor since pottery may not suit everyone born in Istali. I

heard that they are ollowing my advice now.

Since the wedging o the clay involves stamping it with their eet and turning it once in a

while with a spade, people complained that their heels split and bleed causing severe pain.

Last December I sent pairs o tabi socks we use or rice planting in Japan. The villagers

were very happy and I eel like sending many more o those socks to them.

This is a potters kick-wheel (Photo 5). This is Noor Ahmad s/o Abdul Samad (Photo 6).

They are skilled in the potters wheel and when I told them about the tombo, a tool we

oten use in Japan to measure the opening and depth o a piece o ceramic at the same time,

they surprised me by saying that they dont need such a tool because they use their hands to

measure.

Since this kick wheel is an important traditional technique o Istali, I strongly recommended

that they keep it and do not install electric wheels.

Yasuhiko Shirakata


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It is not easy to prepare the glaze. Although they buy the ingredients at a specialized store in

Kabul, the procedures that ollow require hard work as they have to break the stone up by

hand using millstones and holes made in the stones. This procedure needs to be mechanizedquickly. Another problem is the lead that comes rom burnt glaze. Regulations against

lead are tightening globally and it might become harder to sell Istali pottery as tableware.

Although the glaze is a big problem, we are unable to help them in this respect at the

moment.

The kiln is wood-fred and angular on the outside and round inside (Photo 7). The ceramics

are stacked in the kiln (Photos 8 and 9). Since this is a really efcient way o stacking, I told

them to keep the method even i they switch to gas-fred kilns.

These are tripod stilts that are essential when stacking the ceramics inside the kiln. Since

about 1,000 pieces o ceramics go into a kiln at the same time, the same number o these

tools is needed. The tips o the legs break easily and the stilts are hard to make. It also leaves

marks on each piece. Since this mark is like a trademark o Istali pottery, it should remain

on the pieces.

Yet improvements must be made. When potters rom Istali trained in Japan in 2005, I asked

them to take home 1,700 porcelain-clay tochi boards to place on the three legs o the stilts.

The boards can be used repeatedly and they make the marks smaller. Although it is a small

tool, I think its introduction was an epoch-making event during the 300 year-history o Istali

pottery. But 1,000 or 2,000 are simply not enough. I want to send them 100 kg o clay rom

Tobe.

Istali has a acility that is like a vocational training center or women (Photo 10). The British

have installed a small gas-fred kiln there and they would be able to make tochi boards i

only they had the clay. But is not possible just yet.

Aghanistan is a large nation and there may be clay more resistant to heat somewhere.

Unortunately, it is not possible to look or it now.

Here (Photo 11) Mr. Mohammad Farouq Asef is fring the ceramics in the kiln. He watches

the color o the fre rom a small hole above the entrance o the kiln and decides when to

extinguish the ire based on experience and hunch. Although the results are somewhat

uneven, he is proud to be able to see the colors o the ame.

It seems that the soaring price o frewood is making the fring o the ceramics difcult. Istali

ware is sot ceramic that is fred at about 900 degrees Celsius. Its fre-resistant temperature is

about 1,100 degrees Celsius so that when they are fred at more than 1,250 degrees Celsius

like the Tobe ware, they melt and lose orm. But i they are fred at 1,100 degrees Celsius,

the problem o the harmul eects o lead will be solved and they will increase in strength.

Yasuhiko Shirakata


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Thereore, the villagers strongly wish to install gas-fred kilns. Unortunately, they probably

have to wait a while or this to happen.

Making ceramics is difcult in many aspects but selling them is even harder. Yet Istali hasa strong advantage in terms o name recognition and long-established sales channels. The

potters also have a air or business. It made us laugh when we ound out that a bowl, which

we bought at the village or two dollars, was being sold or 75 cents in Kabul.

In 2005, 13 potters rom Istali received training in Japan. Hopeully it was a valuable

experience or them. Since I have a list o episodes but cannot introduce them today, please

look at a report by Mohammad Farouq Asef.

Also please take a look at the matenals distributed or the training oered to Abdul Mtin s/o Abdul Salam and Noor Ahmad s/o Abdul Samad who were able to visit Japan again in

December 2008.

In Istali, there is a custom o making small hand-ormed ware. I wanted to show them how

to make larger pieces so they can create new specialties such as sculptures and ornaments

based on their own aesthetics. So with the cooperation o the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural

Park, the two trainees experienced the joy o making large pieces (Photo 12, 13). They were

also able to make plaster casts that are useul when making the same pieces. I hope their

experience will slowly take root in Istali.

Making ceramic is a job that makes sense when pursued or a lietime. Please give them

time. I think their uture is bright. I would like to fnish my speech by wishing that peace will

prevail in Aghanistan soon. Thank you.

Yasuhiko Shirakata


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photo 2

photo 4

photo 1

photo 3

photo 5

photo 6 photo 7

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photo 8

photo 10

photo 12

photo 9

photo 11

photo 13

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Guiding Istali rom Traditional Wood-red Kiln to Gas-red Kiln

Yasunori Nagaoka

My name is Yasunori Nagaoka and I make ceramics in Giu Preecture in central Japan. I

have heard that ater they returned home rom their irst training in Japan the cratsmen

o Istali in Aghanistan began producing a gas kiln experimentally. Until then, they had

used traditional wood-ired kilns, which are not environment-riendly since they require a

large quantity o wood. Although the gas-ired kiln is commonly used in Japan, it is more

complicated than it looks. Thereore, I eared the villagers would have a hard time producing

it experimentally. For this reason, I asked the Japan Foundation to organize a training

program to help them. Last December, the plan became a reality and two young cratsmen

arrived in Japan and began training at my workshop. Although it was early winter and cold,they completed a gas kiln under the guidance o a proessional kiln builder and through

the help o an interpreter. They asked questions and made sketches. The two cratsmen

said they wanted to build a communal kiln when they returned to Istali. Since Istali ware

will be fred at a higher temperature than beore when they were fred in wood-fred kilns,

the cratsmen will ace the same problems as their counterparts in Japan, such as how to

improve the clay and glaze to withstand higher temperatures, and maintain the gas-fred kiln.

Thereore I think advice rom experts in kiln building, clays and glazing will be important.

Receiving Git

Training in Shigaraki

Practicing

Yasunori Nagaoka


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German Film Cooperation Crossing Borders in Korea

Eberhard Junkersdor

First o all I would like to apologize that I was unable to come personally to today's

conerence due to a health problem which is not severe, but strong enough to make my trip

to Tokyo impossible. I am very grateul to the Goethe-Institut Japan in Tokyo and the Japan

Foundation or having invited me.

Peace in my understanding is not the result o governmental command or victory o a mighty

person or country against a weaker one. Peace very rarely has a fnal target line or a reliable

inal result. Peace is always an ongoing process and the result o many single decisions.

Every situation requires the proper decision so as not to interrupt the peace-making process.

It is o course culture that can and has to play an important role in a peace-ostering process.

This applies or Europe as well, where in nearly all countries the undamental base o a

modern constitutional state is implemented and accepted. As a mediator or German culture,

Goethe-Instituts worldwide are playing an important part in the peace-ostering process.

This role is especially valid or regions and countries where a normal process o enhancing

dialogue and mutual understanding has yet to be developed.

In the heyday o the Cold War, it was mainly culture and its representatives who were able

to penetrate at least occasionally the iron curtain to make inter-human connections possible.

These connections brought people closer together by way o a learning process that resulted

in a better understanding o each other and reduced prejudice.

In a divided Germany, appearances by West German artists in the ormer GDR have always

been something like a sensation or the population o East Germany. The West German rock

singer Udo Lindenberg or example became a kind o pathfnder with his concert tour There

is a special train going to Pankow. He soon became a symbol or a young generation o East

Germans, who later dared to listen to music rom the western hemisphere. Western music

was ofcially called decadent and was or East German rock singers a kind o guarantee to

perorm their music without being araid o repression.

When I went to South Korea and North Korea or the frst time in my lie on the invitation

o the Goethe-Institut in Seoul, I thought that as a Berliner who had experienced in 1961 the

construction and in 1989 the all o the Berlin wall, I would be very well mentally prepared

or the encounter with this divided country. I was tense and curious when I started the trip. I

had a ew o my flms in my personal luggage, which I wanted to show in both the South and

the North. First, I went to Seoul, a rather Americanised city ull o vitality and activities. The

people on the streets and in the shops and markets conveyed immediately an impression

o diligence and eiciency. In the discussions I had with students and their teachers in

ilm schools, I was surprised about the precise knowledge they had o German ilms and

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their ilmmakers. Their huge interest and their extensive knowledge o the international

ilm culture were really impressive. They admired the German governmental system o

flm subsidies and thought it would help the South Korean flm industry a lot i they could

have similar conditions. I visited a theatre in Seoul that had sold out tickets every eveningor a long time. I was shown the German musical Line Number One by Volker Ludwig

rom GRIPS-Theater in Berlin, o which I had produced a very successul flm directed by

Reinhard Hau. I was very surprised to learn that this typical German musical had been

shown there or more than 3000 times already and that it was so well transormed to another

cultural hemisphere and another language. When I later talked to the actors, I understood

that there were similar problems young people in every country were conronted with and

that was the reason why this stage piece was so successul in Korea.

Talks became more complicated when I careully asked about their assessment o thepossibility o reunifcation o the two Koreas. There were answers like, We are araid o thepolitical leadership, which has been claimed by the North Koreans, and The reunifcationwill wreck the good economical situation o the South i we were to reconstruct the missing

inrastructure in North Korea. These answers gave me the impression that the time or

reunifcation was not yet mature, but hopeully is still to come.

With a lot o impressions rom South Korea, I was very eager to go to Pyongyang to see the

North Korean capital and to meet the people there. The journey rom the South to the North

was more complicated, as one would have imagined, because there is no easy transition

rom one part to the other. One has to y rom Seoul to Beijing and then take an airplane,

which ies almost the same way back in order to bring you to Pyongyang. This ight showed

me the actual status o the development o relations between the North and the South.

The welcome at the airport in Pyongyang, with its intensive passport and customs control,

corresponded to the amiliar proceedings on arrival to ormer communist countries. My

frst impressions o the country were - in contrast to my expectations - surprisingly positive.

Wide reeways leading rom the airport to the city, though more used by pedestrians than

cars, brought me into a busy and clean city o people transporting all kinds o goods on very

simple handcarts and bikes. There were no traic lights, but the traic was regulated by

very charming and good-looking young emale police ofcers who did their job with great

efciency.

The dierence between Seoul and Pyongyang was or me a kind o a clash o dierent

civilisations, and it was not easy to imagine that one could come into a dialogue concerning

cultural aspects. But shortly ater the irst meetings with the responsible people, I was

sure that we would rather quickly come to an understanding about cultural exchange. This

understanding would have to become an important element in order to establish a base o

confdence. Personal contacts there were very important and had a vital role, because at that

time, there were very ew chances o communicating with oreigners.

The days in Pyongyang were particularly planned to fnd out what kind o possibilities might

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exist or co-operation and/or services or the production o animation flms. The responsible

governmental institution gave me all kind o opportunities to visit the state run SEK

animation studios. At these studios, I had the chance to meet and to talk to animators and

other artists and studio executives, all o whom gave me the impression o being seriouslyinterested in cooperating with Germany.

The artists were all perectly well-trained, especially the animators and background painters.

The difculty was the lack o English, as most o them only speak Korean. Furthermore, they

lacked the bases o computer animation, such as up-to-date high-tech equipment and reliable

electrical inrastructure.

I was very surprised by the many possibilities the government is submitting in order to

educate kids in dierent kinds o culture. Governmental institutions develop musicallytalented children. These children, most o whom were not older than ten years old,

perormed very proudly and showed how they could already play their instruments with

virtuosity. A proessional education is given to painters, artists, singers, writers, acrobats,

and actors. These individuals are trained in special schools that oer an excellent chance to

become frst-class educated artists.

A masterpiece o cultural diplomacy had been realised by the Goethe-Institut in establishing

a so-called reading room. I could take a look at this room even though it was still under

construction. Opened in 2004, this inormation center received strong and positive

recognition worldwide. It was, until today, the only oreign cultural acility in a country where

so ar the consumption o oreign media, especially rom Western countries, is prohibited or

most o the people.

I let Pyongyang with the certainty that my visit had helped the parties involved to approach

each other and to build up confdence and trust. To start this process, I oered three talented

Korean flm technicians six-month scholarships in Munich to learn the language and learn

about technical equipment used in German flms. This cooperation was arranged with the

world-amous Arri-Company in Munich and the Bavarian Radio and TV station Bayerischer

Rundunk or the production o a televised animation series or children. In return, the

Koreans invited me to take over the presidency o the jury in their next International Film

Festival in Pyongyang. I considered that to be a great honor and a gesture o rapprochement

and trust-building .

In September 2006, I accepted this invitation. I was looking orward to seeing old riends I

had met during their 2004 visit to the Berlin Film Festival. At that estival, these riends had

cooperated with the Goethe-Institut in Seoul to premiere some o their flms to a very critical

international audience. Yes, the flm cooperation between Germany, South Korea, and North

Korea seemed to work.

The motto o the estival, Independence, peace, and riendship, was rather surprising or a

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country that is hardly demonstrating any one o these terms. Not very much less surprising

to me was the selection o German flms in competition. All these flms were recommended

by the Goethe Institut and were accepted by the estival. The ilms dealt exclusively with

issues o reedom, dictatorships, and conict.

Already present in 2004, ilms such as Rosa Luxemburg were accusations o abuse o

power. The lost honour o Katharina Blum showed how violence comes into being andwhere it can lead to. The contest-winning ilm, The Promise by Margarete von Trottashows the escape o our young people rom a repressed East Germany to a ree West

Germany. Three reugees succeed, but one boy is caught and arrested so that his girlriend

can make it to West Berlin. The relationship between the two is destroyed or years. ThePromise was awarded with the Grand Prix at the estival in Pyongyang. The flm makes a

clear analogy to the situation in North Korea.

The estival jury consisted o a Chinese il

Cul_initiative - Fostering Peach Through Cultural Initiatives MOFA

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