Beijing's Goethe Institute continues 25-year tradition

Strindberg's classic tragedy drama Miss Julie will tour Beijing and Tianjin at the end of this month.

Stories that sing

All the world's a stage

Last year, 20 writers from Germany and China, including Marcel Beyer, Jia Pingwa and Zhang Yueran, were invited to talk about the power of literature in a series of five discussions.

"Learning a new language will offer a new perspective and even transform a person's life," Anders says, adding that nearly 3,000 people came to the institute to learn German last year.

Anders also points out that there are important events to be commemorated in 2014, such as the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the World War I in 1914 and the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

"The general situation at the beginning of the 20th century proved to be as explosive as it was dynamic, a field of tension between cultural preservation and dynamic events," he says.

"In 2014, we hope for active debates, a lively exchange of ideas and the realization that history endows us with an insight into a global responsibility, one which will overcome what separates us without losing respect for the discernment of others."

Like China's Confucius Institutes and France's Alliance Francaise, the Goethe-Institut plays a key role in cultural communication, with 149 branch offices in more than 90 countries.

In 1988, the Goethe-Institut opened a small office inside Beijing Foreign Studies University, which was the first foreign cultural center in China. In the beginning, it only aimed at promoting German language but later it expanded to other cultural programs.

"It is really exciting for us to be here in China for 25 years," says Anders. "Looking back, we have held many successful cultural events and bridged conversations between people from China and Germany.

"A successful event for us means continuous and impressive. It may not be headliner but it should influence people for a long time," he adds.

In 2003, the Goethe-Institut China moved to their new office in Zhongguancun, one of the business centers in downtown Beijing. According to Feng Shuo from the Goethe-Institute China, the cultural programs not only cater to students but also people of various working fields, who are eager to get access to Germany and information about the country.

"The curiosity for a different culture brings unexpected rewards. We want to let people know that in a world which is full of material temptations, it's very necessary to be interested in art and creativity," Anders says.

"Cultural dialogue is important. We want to display different ideas and offer a platform to discuss. That's what we want to do."