(The banner above is an advertisement brought to you by Fortune City)
(held in Heidelberg, 2-9 April 1999)
This report was sent by the Cambridge-Heidelberg Partnership Association to the European Commission, whose grant towards the costs of the exchange is acknowledged with gratitude. (As such, it deals with the formal aspects of the exchange, rather than the fun and companionship that occurred between hosts and guests.)
At the first joint committee meeting, held immediately on arrival, an informal presentation of the commemorative English 1998 50p coin, with a reverse celebrating the first 25 years of the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union, and the United Kingdom's Presidency of the Council of Ministers, was made by the Chairman of the Cambridge-Heidelberg Partnership Association to the Vorzitsender of the Heidelberg Stadtjugendring.
The local M.E.P. Diemut Teato had accepted an invitation to the Opening Ceremony, but in the event was unfortunately unable to attend. After the Opening Ceremony, Peter Cowell (Mayor of Cambridge and Chairman of the Cambridge-Heidelberg Partnership Association) was presented with the Dalia-Keha-Lachat medal for outstanding merit in the field of international understanding, referring to his work in this area since he had first been Mayor of Cambridge in 1983.
The programme of the week meant that the groups comprising the exchange spent the most of the time with the host groups, and so the nature of discussions and activities varied from group to group.
Two members of a political party joined the Easter exchange. For one, it was her first visit to Germany. The other member was lead candidate for her party in the English Eastern Region in the forthcoming European Parliamentary Election. The visit provided an opportunity to meet Germans involved in politics at all levels, and to discuss European affairs, with particular interest in the changes the election might bring. Arranged events included a working breakfast on Easter Sunday with M.P. Angelika Koesterlossack, and a meeting with regional M.P. Dietrich Hildebrandt, when views on the balance of power in Europe were discussed, in particular, the French/German axis. One meeting was attended by someone just back from three weeks in Kosovo with the OCSE, who needed to talk about her traumatic experience. As well, the visitors attended a large meeting about Yugoslavia in the city's library.
(Events in Europe meant that Kosovo was an unplanned discussion topic within many of the groups during the week. It was a joint concern to both sides of the exchange.)
The Table Tennis group discussed taxation within the European Union, with particular reference to the United Kingdom and Germany as member states.
The group of young gymnasts trained during the week on a joint display, with a theme of "Together we are strong" as a reference to the political union demonstrated in the European Parliament. At the display in a sports hall, and again when they entertained the whole exchange at the Farewell Evening, which itself was attended by two local M.P.s, the coach spoke of the week that the young people had passed, working and living together. She said that if all the young people and adults of Europe could act as they had, there would be peace in Europe, and in the world.
The Friendship Group and the Tourist Guides visited Strasbourg, and saw the 'European Window' in the cathedral, with the twelve stars of the Council of Europe, now used by the Community. They had a tour of the city to see the Palais d'Europe and the new Parliament building, thus gaining an awareness of the practical reality of the European Parliament. The different bodies such as the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, and the European Parliament and its plenary sessions were discussed.
All members of the English side of the exchange were asked to consider points of differences and of similarity between the cultures of the two cities - as an exercise designed to consider why a European Parliament has relevance to different nationalities. The results of the consideration were collated into a report submitted to each of the constituent English groups. Points of difference noticed varied from types of Easter Eggs to land use for homes and recreation; points of similarity noticed were patterns of meal-times to the practice of democracy.
The general consensus was that it had been an enjoyable, but also informative, week.