“ The current refugee situation in Germany and how Germans handle it“

Heike Papenthin photo: Doris Evans

The situation of refugees in Germany was certainly a topic that drew a lot of interest. Around 50 people joined us to listen to Heike Papenthin's presentation. She gave us an insight to stories behind news headlines and some critical thoughts on the media coverage. As an active Couchsurfing host and supporter of teaching and learning German in NZ, she has had many encounters with young Germans who have shared their stories with her about their and their friends´ involvement. Some of these stories were really touching. Video clips from German television about how the integration is handled and how children of refugees learn German added value. In her detailed presentation, Heike also took a deeper look at the linguistic changes around words such as refugee, asylant seeker or migrant. It was a memorable evening.  Doris Evans

Astrid Wolter, Heike Papenthin and guest photo: Doris Evans

@Doris Evans

Student Lunch at University of Auckland

@Anna Bauer

@Anna Bauer

@Anna Bauer

On Wednesday 16 March, the AGS treated the students of German at University of Auckland to a free lunch. 
We had organised fantastic and very authentic Laugenzöpfe (lye sticks) and Apfelkuchen (apple cake) from Brotzeit Bakery in Rosedale, and Zwiebelbrot (onion bread) from Bread&Butter in Ponsonby, accompanied by some other delicious but more international things. Put together, that resulted in a very nice German-style Brotzeit (cold lunch/supper), which we enjoyed while having a very nice time chatting and laughing. 
Over 40 students attended the event, heard about the AGS and what we do, and over a third of them signed up on the spot to become members. Herzlich Willkommen!

Anna Bauer

Sylvia's Bakery - German Bread Demonstration

@At Sylvia's bakery

Hi all,

@Auckland Goethe Society

we've had a great time at Sylvia's Bakery this evening. Sylvia is from Berlin. She opened this bakery in October 2014 at 598 Remuera Road, Auckland. More Info here: http://www.sylviasbakery.co.nz/ 
With the help of her assistant, Magdalena, they demonstrated how to make "Roggenbrot". We tasted some Sonnenblumenbrot and some Kuchenbrot, too.

Mahi
President, Auckland Goethe Society

First Caféklatsch 2016

Dear members and friends of the Auckland Goethe Society!

Our first Caféklatsch on 13.1.16 was great! 
11 lovely people joined the group:
Heike from Germany, Anna from Germany, Ulli from Germany, Mahi from Greece, Nicole from Canada, Chen from China, Kate from China, Amber from NZ, Anthony from NZ, John from England, Waidi from Iraq.

Machi Christidou

Heike Papenthin

Dr. Anna Bauer

Thank you all for your participation.We had a great time!
We hope to see you and more members and friends  again next month.

Liebe Mitglieder und Freunde!
 
Unser erster Caféklatsch am 13.1.16 war super! 11 nette Leute waren dabei:
Heike aus Deutschland, Anna aus Deutschland, Ulli aus Deutschland, Mahi aus Griechenland, Nicole aus Kanada, Chen aus China, Kate aus China, Amber aus Neuseeland, Anthony aus Neuseeland, John aus England, Waidi aus dem Irak.
Wir danken allen für die schöne Zeit.
Wir hoffen, Sie und andere Mitglieder und Freunde nächsten Monat wiederzusehen!

Machi Christidou

Birkenstock meets Jandals

Life Swap creators @Heike Papenthin

The creators of Life Swap were in Auckland for our last event of 2015 on December 3rd. They shared some insider informations about Jörg, 27, from Münster, Germany and Duncan, 27, from Wellington, New Zealand, which are the main characters of the endearing cultural exchange animation series.

How to Succeed on the Globalised Job Market

Students with Dr. Anna Bauer photo: Astrid Wolter

German companies are everywhere, so we decided to the make the most of our good connections again this year. Working together with the New Zealand German Business Association, the German Embassy, the University of Auckland, and the DAAD, the Auckland Goethe Society invited three representatives of German-owned and globally active companies to University of Auckland's City Campus on October 7, 2015: Holger Detje (Managing Director of Bayer NZ), Mark Harrison (Director of DB Schenker NZ) and Mark Robinson (National Business Development Manager of Kärcher NZ). 

Holger Detje, Managing Director of Bayer NZ. photo: Astrid Wolter

The event was targeted at students, undergrads and postgrads alike, who are aiming for an international career, and a crowd of about 60 came out to have their questions answered during this busy time of the academic year.

Interested students photo: Astrid Wolter

Brief welcomes started the evening off, on behalf of the organisers by Anna Bauer (AGS, UoA, DAAD) and Monique Surges (CEO of the NZGBA), who also moderated the event. During their following presentations, the three representatives didn't just introduce their companies, but also related to the audience how they personally had got where they were, working in high positions with global players. This sparked a good many questions from students during the Q&A session, touching on topics such as the importance of good grades as well as language proficiency and how to get an application picked out for interview. The Q&A continued less formally over drinks and nibbles for over an hour, and a good many business card changed hands during the course of the evening.

We would like to thank the NZGBA, the German Embassy, the DAAD, and the University for making this event possible for the third year in a row.

Anna Bauer

NZ artists in Berlin - Linda Tyler

Many New Zealand artists have chosen to live and work in Berlin as a congenial city in which to launch an international career while still retaining links back to their home country. 

Linda Tyler

Associate Professor Linda Tyler is Director of the Centre for Art Studies at The University of Auckland. On 28 October 2015 at the Gus Fisher Gallery in central Auckland, Linda presented an informative and fascinating look into several such artists and their work and examined what it is that Berlin offers that makes that city so attractive to these young artists.  

The evening was attended by society members, academics, artists and many professionals in the art scene of Auckland. Next time we will know to invite members of the Auckland Council to such an interesting evening!

Wendy Thomson

Film screening "Aschenputtel (Cinderella)"

Aschenputtel © ARD Degeto

The previous week saw our talk on fairy tales and how they were adapted to the region the Grimm brothers collected them from, and this week, on September 24, we screened a recent German TV adaption of Aschenputtel (Cinderella). In this version, Aschenputtel is a feisty young woman stuck in a situation going from bad to worse with a malicious stepmother and a jealous stepsister. Not losing her courage, though, Aschenputtel makes the impossible possible, attends the prince's ball and thereby finds a way out of her miserable situation. After the film, the dozen people in the audience indulged in story time, and Anna Bauer read out one of the versions of Aschenputtel in German, as recorded by the Grimm brothers. The screening of the film was made possible thanks to the support of the Goethe-Institut.

Auckland Goethe Society