Fulbright Alumni Association: National Events in 2007
- Fulbright Alumni Winterball 2007: Dancing …
At the end of January, the German Fulbright Alumni e.V. celebrated its first national event of the year in Munich, a weekend which traditionally combines the annual general meeting of the association and a festive “Winter Ball”. On Saturday evening, close to 160 guests did not want to miss the weekend’s highlight and spent a memorable ball night at the Künstlerhaus right in the centre of Munich; the American consul general for Bavaria, Eric G. Nelson, and the Director of the Fulbright Commission, Dr. Rolf Hoffmann, also attended the ball as guests of honor.
- … and socializing
While listening to live music played by the band The Marbles, the “Fullis” enthusiastically took advantage of the opportunity for ballroom dancing – some Fulbright Alumni regional groups had even organized crash courses in ballroom dancing in advance so that their members could learn new skills or reactivate (almost) forgotten ones.
In September, the regional chapter Cologne/Bonn organized a PowWow - as conferences of the Fulbright Alumni e.V. are called - on the topic of “Right Livelihood Award (RLA)/Sustainability“ in Bonn. The RLA, also known as the Alternative Nobel Price, honors people or institutions “offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today”, such as oppression, war, poverty or the destruction of our environment. Fulbright alumni and students from developing countries supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) had the opportunity to listen to a talk by the Director of the Right Livelihood Foundation, Ole van Uexkull.
- PowWow speakers at the reception
In addition, the conference also featured a panel discussion between three award recipients, Felicia Langer, Raúl Montenegro and Ledum Mitee, from Israel, Argentina, and Nigeria, respectively. The traditional Fulbright Alumni get-together on Friday night, a reception at City Hall on Saturday evening and brunch on Sunday morning completed the program. All in all, the PowWow offered the participants plenty of opportunities to engage in discussion with each other as well as the speakers and award recipients and to enjoy the very international atmosphere of the event.
- Fulbrighters, international students and speakers enjoying brunch
There are two additional national events on this year’s agenda of the Fulbright Alumni e.V., the traditional Welcome Meeting in Frankfurt am Main, where we welcome American Fulbrighters in Germany as well as returning German grantees, and a conference on climate change in Erlangen. We would love to see you there!
Nov 9 – Nov 11, 2007 Welcome Meeting, Frankfurt
Nov 30 – Dec 2, 2007 “Climate Change and Renewable Energy”, Erlangen
Check out our website www.fulbright-alumni.de to find out more!
Barbara Weiten
Fulbright Alumni e. V.
Vice President Communications