Programs and Events

December 9, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky attended the opening of the photo exhibit "Stars 'n' Stripes" at the neighboring Academy of Visual Arts, Leipzig. The exhibit running through December 19 features pictures of urban America, National Parks in Utah and images of the American flag.

December 8, 2004
Cultural Assistant Birgit Kämmer, Consulate General Leipzig, attended this year's Day of Languages at the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences. While representatives from other Leipzig institutions spoke about educational opportunities in various Eastern European states, Spain, France, Great Britain and Australia, Kämmer informed the students about the U.S. higher system of higher education, opportunities to study abroad, internship programs and visa regulations.

December 6, 2004
Guy Peters, Maurice Falk Professor of American Government at the University of Pittsburgh, met with representatives of Leipzig's chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce to analyze and discuss the American Welfare State. The discussion included health care, old age pensions, but also education.

December 3, 2004
Consulate General Leipzig staff represented the consulate at the final day of the Central Language Seminar Saxony at the Leibniz Gymnasium in Leipzig. Students with special language talents from Saxony high schools gave presentations in 8 foreign languages, using English for the introductions.

December 1 and 2, 2004
60 students from Magdeburg University and the Technical University Ilmenau gathered for Consulate General Leipzig arranged counseling sessions on academic education. Representatives from the Consulate, the Fulbright Commission, the German Academic Exchange Organization, the Berlin Embassy Visa Services section and freelance educational advisor Dr. Vera Christoph provided up-to-date information about U.S. educational opportunities.

December 1, 2004
A U.S. Government poster show on American children’s literature opened at the Görlitz public library. The poster show 'Once Upon a Time' was the Consulate General Leipzig's contribution to Görlitz’s ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ events, calling attention to the use of Görlitz as scenesetter in the movie with Jackie Chan, which will open in Berlin in December.

December 1, 2004
Citizens of the city of Glauchau (Saxony) founded the “Friends of Lynchburg” – a circle aimed at developing closer ties with the citizens of Lynchburg, VA. Delegations from both cities visited each other in May and September of this year. Consulate General Leipzig staffer Beate Renker represented the Consulate at the event.

November 30, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky welcomed the head of the department of student affairs and 32 library professionals and trainees from the Leipzig public school library system to an orientation at the Consulate. The staff of the Consulate's Information Resource Center introduced the group to the Consulate’s activities and services and presented US-related information on the Internet.

November 26, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky represented the Consulate and delivered remarks at a ceremony honoring the 400th birthday of Johann Bach (1604-1673), a cousin of the Johann Sebastian line and the ancestor of Bachs who emigrated to the United States. The event took place in Wechmar, Thuringia, the ancestral home of the Bach family.

November 24, 2004
Consul General Fletcher Burton and Consulate General Leipzig staff met with a group of students from the Leipzig University radio station Mephisto which recently returned from a U.S. study tour in cooperation with the Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. The trip took the students to the swing state Ohio at the height of the election campaign and on to San Francisco where they visited Stanford, Berkeley and the University of San Francisco.

November 22, 2004
Professor Dr. Jason Hackworth, an American urban planner teaching at the University of Toronto, met with experts of Leipzig's Environmental Research Center (UFZ) to discuss trends, problems and perspectives in neighborhood development and public housing. Hackworth presented examples from New York City, Chicago and Seattle, while his German counterparts took him on a tour of one of Leipzig's more recent 'satellite' towns and a neighborhood shaped by old industries in decline.

November 18, 2004
U.S. speaker Prof. Alan Wolfe, Director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College and currently George Herbert Walker Bush Fellow at the American Academy Berlin, analyzed for about 300 students and staff members of Jena University the 2004 Presidential Elections. Wolfe also discussed changing values and the role of religion and churches in American society.

November 16, 2004
As part of the International Education Week, U.S. Consulate General Leipzig staffer Birgit Kämmer traveled to Jena to address educational opportunities in the U.S. The 35, mostly undergraduate, students received up-to-date information about the U.S. system of higher education, grant programs and current visa regulations. In addition to the general overview, Prof. Dr. Jörg Nagler, Fulbright representative at the Friedrich-Schiller-University, elaborated on the Fulbright exchange program and encouraged students to take advantage of this excellent study program.

November 16, 2004
Consul General Fletcher Burton and Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky welcomed a group of teachers from Saxony for a Blues workshop. Reinhard Lorenz, International Jazz Archive Eisenach, introduced them to the history and research facilities at the Archive. The Information Resource Center (IRC) of the Consulate General Leipzig presented web pages featuring teaching materials on the topic, showed the IRC as a source of information on the U.S., and showed clips from the PBS film series "The Blues".

November 15, 2004
Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Eleanore Fox spoke to a group of 28 American Executive MBA students from the University of Illinois at the Handelshochschule in Leipzig about the political and economic situation in the new German states.

November 12, 2004
Two groups of 12th graders from the Seckendorff Gymnasium in Meuselwitz, Saxony-Anhalt spent the day at the Leipzig Consulate General. The students talked to Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky about the outcome of the U.S. elections and explored the IRC’s resources doing individual research on various issues.

November 11, 2004
The Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig celebrated its 25th anniversary with special Food Art exhibit. Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky represented the Consulate and gave opening remarks. The exhibit featured also works by American artists such as Cindy Sherman, Martha Roseler (“Semiotics of the Kitchen”) and Paul McCarthy.

November 11, 2004
American author Valerie Wilson Wesley presented her latest novels “Off-Road-Kids” and “Dying in the Dark” to an audience of 120 mainly younger literary enthusiasts in Leipzig's House of Books. The bilingual reading, with Wesley’s Berlin-based translator Gertraude Krueger as moderator and German voice, ended with a long and vivid discussion on writing, African Americans and American society.

November 10, 2004
American author Sara Paretsky read from her latest novel “Blacklist” at Dresden's City Library. The bilingual and almost scenic reading, with Frank Heibert as moderator and Julia Henke as her German voice, impressed the audience with its intensity and Paretsky’s artistic ability to closely link her writing to social and political trends in past and present America.

November 8, 2004
Leipzig's Music School 'Johann Sebastian Bach' staged its annual concert of the Popular Music Department. Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky greeted the audience of about 50 students and guests and opened the poster shows 'Jazz' and 'Louis Armstrong - King of Jazz'.

November 4-5, 2004
Professor E.M. Warlick, University of Denver, took her audience on a magical journey from medieval times to the 20th century, when she delivered her keynote lecture on mystical objects in fine arts. The interdisciplinary conference on literature, culture and science took place at Leipzig University.

November 2-3, 2004
Presidential elections celebrated at MDR. More than 500 guests from the Leipzig Consular district –among them Saxony Economics Minister Gillo, Leipzig Lord Mayor Tiefensee, state parliamentarians, business and academic representatives – flocked to the headquarter of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) to celebrate election night with the Leipzig Consulate General. The event on the 13th floor of regional public broadcaster MDR provided – aside from of a stunning view over the city – entertainment and substance including Dixieland music, a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party by a local high school drama group, a video presentation about a recent U.S. trip by Leipzig university students, food, drinks, and a quiz.

October 31, 2004
Ambassador Daniel R. and Mrs. Coats attended one of the Reformation Day services in Wittenberg. Several Americans participated in the worship services and hundreds more celebrated the day in Wittenberg. The previous evening Mrs. Coats, with her husband, visited the newly renovated offices of the Luther Center of which she has served as an honorary member.
On the afternoon, Ambassador and Mrs. Coats, with Leipzig Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky, took part in a program honoring the agreement between the state of Saxony-Anhalt and the University of Delaware to provide intensive English study in the United States for English language teachers.

October 28 - 29, 2004
Professor Barnett Rubin, Director of Studies at the Center on International Cooperation of New York University and considered one of the world's foremost experts on Afghanistan, explained to the public, students and staff of Dresden and Leipzig universities recent developments in Afghanistan. Dr. Rubin spoke about „What is Being Reconstructed in Afghanistan? Security, Elections, and the State“ and analyzed the elections and their effects on the reconstruction of the Afghani state and its constitution.

October 28, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky, Consulate General Leipzig, gave welcoming remarks to about 80 people at the Polish Institute Leipzig at the opening of an exhibit by Polish-American artist Elzbieta Sikorska.

October 28, 2004
Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Eleanore Fox gave a presentation on the U.S. electoral system to approximately 100 11th and 12th-grade students at the Martin Rinckart Gymnasium in Eilenburg.

October 26, 2004
Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Eleanore Fox spoke about the upcoming elections and discussed the election process with teachers of English at Magdeburg Public Library.

October 25, 2004
"Präsident Bush oder Präsident Kerry? Amerika hat die Wahl".
In cooperation with the City of Leipzig, Consulate General Leipzig organized a forum on the U.S. elections in the Leipzig Town Hall. Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Eleanore Fox and Political and Economic Specialist Andreas Fuerst participated on the panel.

October 19 - 24, 2004
The 47th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary Film ( www.dokfestival-leipzig.de) attracted a mostly younger audience of more than 24.000 this year. Several U.S. films among the 354 international contributions from 47 countries opened a window into the world for eastern German and international audiences. The animation film "And Thereafter" by Korean-American director Hosup Lee was awarded the "Silver Dove."

October 15, 2004
Consul General Fletcher Burton gave an introductory speech at the opening of a photography exhibit at a restored mill in the town of Barby along the Elbe River. Among those attending was a group of some 40 U.S. veterans of the “Timberwolf” unit, which liberated Halle and pushed forward to Barby at the end of World War II.

October 13 - 16, 2004
The Leipzig jazz club (www.jazzclub.de) hosted its 28th international festival (“Leipziger Jazztage”) from , which – as in previous years - proved to be the most important forum for contemporary jazz and world music in the five new German states. The 63 musicians attracted a total of more than 5,200 jazz enthusiasts: many young in addition to those who have stayed young. The concerts took place in smaller clubs, as well as in Leipzig’s large Opera House, and featured newcomers as well as U.S. legends James Carter and McCoy Tyner.

October 14, 2004
In a Consulate General Leipzig arranged one-hour interview and backgrounder with four staffers from Thüringer Allgemeine Zeitung, U.S. political analyst Dr. Andrew Denison outlined current campaign trends and topics as well as U.S. foreign policy objectives.

October 13, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky joined other board members of the German-American Dialogue Center in Magdeburg for their annual press conference. Bonkowsky delivered remarks about the Consulate’s support for the high school exchange program and welcomed the other exchanges taking place under the umbrella of the Magdeburg-Nashville sister city program.

October 12, 2004
At the invitation of the Evangelische Akademie Wittenberg (Protestant Academy) , Ambassador Daniel R. Coats led a public discussion in Wittenberg on politics and religion in the United States before an audience of about 100.

October 7, 2004
The Mayor of Meerane in Saxony welcomed more than 100 guests - students, teachers and general public – to a two-hour USA program "American Night" at the city public library. After handing over a 1000 Euro check for the English language collection, Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky spoke about the Consulate's responsibilities and activities. Leipzig's IRC director introduced reference resources and services while the students presented projects on U.S. literature and history compiled during previous research at the IRC.

October 1, 2004
Ambassador and Mrs. Coats - long-time residents of Fort Wayne (IN) - were honoured guests at the annual Gera-Fort Wayne sister city party. The festive occasion included videos of previous visits, rock music, and an American western-style buffet. Among the guests were representatives from the Fort Wayne police department and sister city organization.

September 29/30, 2004
U.S. political analyst Andrew Denison explained recent developments in transatlantic security policy to highschool students and staff of the Lessing-Gymnasium as well as the public in Kamenz (September 29) and Bautzen (September 30). Denison pointed out that the U.S. was seeking cooperation if possible, but not at any cost, and discussed the importance of foreign policy issues for the upcoming Presidential elections. On September 30, Denison also conducted a backgrounder on U.S. foreign policy with two political editors from Sächsische Zeitung.

September 29, 2004
Jeffrey Garrett, Assistant University Librarian for Collection Management at Northwestern University, Evanstone, Illinois, held a presentation on German literature collections in the U.S. at the University Library of Leipzig.

September 29, 2004
International trade specialist Gregory Principato discussed various aspects of American trade with a group of 15 faculty members and students from the Jena University Economics Department. In his lecture and discussion on issues such as GATT, steel tariffs, aviation, trade barriers and outsourcing, Principato highlighted in particular the political dimensions of U.S. trade.

September 27, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky represented the Consulate at a Bar-B-Que sponsored by the Dresden Arizona Club and the German-American Society. At the event, which was held at the Karl May museum in Radebeul, Dr. Bonkowsky focused her remarks on the new National Museum of the American Indian and displayed a booklet of photos from the opening day.

September 22, 2004
Consulate General Leipzig added a U.S. program element to the Saxony-Anhalt festival "Altmärkisches Musikfest." Actor Martin Hahnemann and cellsit Ralf Werner fascinated their audience in the city library with an unusual combination of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall of The House of Usher" and atmospheric jazz.

September 21, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky represented the Consulate General at the inauguration of Dr. Klaus Dicke, new rector of the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena.

September 20, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky represented the Consulate at the opening of the Leipzig Intercultural Weeks at the Nikolai church. The annual event included an Anglo-American choir, which took part in the ecumenical service.

September 19, 2004
The "Life in the South" exhibit from the Huffmann Collection in Hickory, SC, consisting of works by self-taught southern artists, opened at the Lindenau-Museum in Altenburg. Leipzig Consul General Fletcher M. Burton delivered a welcome address.

September 18, 2004
Leipzig Consul General Fletcher M. Burton attended the first Steuben parade in Magdeburg, which was organized by the German-American Dialog Center and followed by a conference on transatlantic relations.

September 16, 2004
Ten teachers from Saxony, who area headed for the U.S. in October 2004 in the framework of the eastern German teachers' visitor program, met with Consul General Fletcher M. Burton, Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky, Berlin Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer Kim Sonn and consulate staff members. The teachers were thoroughly prepared for their upcoming visit.

September 14, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky delivered remarks at the Finissage of the poster show 'Industrial Design' at Leipzig's Chamber of Commerce. The show has been on display for 6 weeks.

September 14, 2004
Dr. Horst Saalbach, Festo, and Mrs. Saalbach visited Leipzig and talked to students from Herder school.

September 13 - 14, 2004
Ambassador Daniel R. Coats, U.S. Embassy Berlin, and Dr. Horst Saalbach, Festo, and Mrs. Saalbach visited Leipzig and talked to students from the Kant and List High Schools in Leipzig.

September 9, 2004 Artists from Houston and northern Saxony-Anhalt teamed up for an unusual collection of artwork featuring Frank Zappa in Salzwedel. The Americans were welcomed at the exhibit hall by Leipzig's Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky for the opening.

September 9, 2004 Leipzig Consul General Fletcher Burton and Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky attended the re-opening of the Grüne Gewölbe - the "green vaulting" spectacular collection of ornamental art - in the Dresden royal palace. The keynote speaker was Dr. Barry Munitz, former chancellor of the California State University system and now chief executive officer of the J. Paul Getty Trust.

September 3, 2004 Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky delivered remarks at the opening of the poster show "Louis Armstrong - King of Jazz" in Löbau, Saxony. Bettina Kutsche, Foreign Commercial Service Leipzig, also introduced the Foreign Commercial Service at the event with an overview of U.S.-German economic relations and investments.

August 31, 2004Consul for Political and Economic Affairs, Eleanore Fox, discussed German-American relations with students from List-Gymnasium Leipzig. Information Resource Center staff provided information materials and introduced the IRC as a resource of in-depth US-related information.

August 25, 2004 Consulate General Leipzig staff members represented the Consulate at a concert organized and conducted by American professor Arturo Sergi from San Marcos, TX. Among the guests of honor were the county commissioner of Altenburg, which maintains relations with Hickory, NC, and Heiner Model, the German Consul General from Houston, Leipzig’s sister city.

August 9, 2004
"Shri," a blues band from Arizona, gave a free-of-charge-concert in front of Leipzig's Thomas Church. Acting Consul Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky welcomed the band members at the Consulate General for an orientation on August 10.

August 5, 2004
Acting Consul Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky hosted a bagel lunch for 15 young people from the Minneapolis area and their German hosts. Leipzig's youth pastor had organized a first trip to Minneapolis in 2003 and now welcomed the U.S. group for a return visit. The program, entitled "Possibilities for Peace," includes visits to social projects such as shelters for the homeless and institutions for the handicapped.

July 30, 2004
Acting Consul Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky addressed a gathering of Fulbright seconday-school exchange teachers at the Leucorea in Wittenberg. The teachers are exchanging teaching places as well as living quarters for the 2004-2005 school year. Dr. Bonkowsky talked about the current challenges in U.S.-German relations, stereotypes, and public opinion during the U.S. presidential election year.

July 28, 2004
On July 28, Acting Consul General Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky welcomed a group from Ellrich, Thuringia, and introduced them to the work of the Consulate. The 33 young people participate in a project called "Großer Grenzverkehr" which brings together students from Germany, the USA and the UK. The Americans and British mediate between youth from the East and West of Germany.

July 16 - August 5, 2004
The fourth International Summer Music Academy Leipzig, a joint project of the Leipzig conservatory and the New York Juilliard School of Music took place between July 16 and August 5. The academy offers music instruction to professionally advanced students and graduates, among them 35 Americans or international students studying at American colleges. The group was invited to a welcome reception at the Consulate on July 19, at which the students were greeted by the Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky.

July 14-17, 2004
American Consulate General Leipzig sent a representative to a conference organized at the University of Halle on the different approaches of the EU and the United States toward foreign trade. Problems with the WTO were high on the list of issues. The symposium, a program of the Transnational Economic Law Research Center and the German Marshall Fund, brought together knowledgeable participants from Germany and the United States.

July 14, 2004
A group of 23 American and Russian teachers of German, sponsored by the Herder foundation, visited the Consulate General Leipzig and were welcomed by Consulate staff. The Consul General led a discussion on the work of the Consulate and German-American relations.

July 4, 2004
On the occasion of Independence Day, Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky delivered remarks at the Magdeburg German-American Dialogue Center's annual outdoor party along the Elbe river. A country music combo, dance groups, donations of food from local firms with U.S. ties, and representatives of the Nashville sister-city program made the event festive.

June 28 - June 30, 2004
Lee Anne Wilson - Hartwick College and presently Fulbright Professor in Graz, Austria - continued Consulate General Leipzig's Fulbright Lecture Series in Dresden (June 28), Leipzig (June 29) and Chemnitz (June 30). In lectures, seminars and consulatations she discussed the works of contemporary American artists and writers.

June 24, 2004
American Consulate General, the Academy of Visual Arts, the German Literature Institute, the Gallery for Contemporary Art, the University Library and the College of Music and Theater stage a neighborhood festival. Consul General Fletcher M. Burton, Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky and Consulate staff meet employees and students from the adjacent institutions. The Consulate's Information Resource Center provides materials about the U.S.

June 23, 2004
Consul General Fletcher Burton, Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky and Consul Eleanore Fox welcome a delegation of students from Gymnasium Wolfen-Stadt and the Daniel High School in Clemson (SC). The new school partnership was initiated with the help of Consul Fox. The Wolfen students went to South Carolina in March 2004.

June 21, 2004
Consul General Fletcher M. Burton and Professsor Dr. Erwin Tschirner, Herder-Institute, University of Leipzig, host a group of students of the Universities of Arizona and Leipzig at the U.S. Consulate. Guest of honor, Rector Professor Dr. iur. Franz Häuser, University of Leipzig, addresses the American-German student group.

June 17, 2004
Consul General Fletcher Burton hosts 10 post-graduates from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, who visit Leipzig's Consulate General as part of their study tour on “Exploring Post-Wall Germany in the New Europe.” The graduates discuss German-American relations and current political and social conditions in eastern Germany with the Consul General.

June 17, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky visits the east Saxon town of Niesky where she opens a poster show on immigration and participates in a wreath-laying to commemorate the June 17, 1953 uprising against the former DDR government.

June 14 - 16, 2004
Frank Schubert -- historian in the Department of Defense until June 2003 and presently Fulbright Professor in Romania -- continues Consulate General Leipzig's Fulbright Lecture Series in Dresden (June 14), Leipzig (June 15) and Jena (June 16). In lectures, seminars and consultations at universities he discusses the history and mythology of the Buffalo Soldiers, black soldiers who served in the Regular Army between the Civil War and WWI.

June 8, 2004
Ambassador Daniel R. Coats and Mrs. Coats as well as seven American officers from the U.S. Embassy Berlin and the Consulate General Leipzig travel on the 'Magic Bus' through Magdeburg where they meet with large student groups at eight different high schools and explain U.S. policy and the American way of life.

June 8, 2004
American author Richard Powers presents his latest novel “Time of Our Singing”. The bilingual reading, with Leipzig-based actor Matthias Hummitzsch as the German voice, takes place in Leipzig's House of Books.

June 7-8, 2004
Michael Steiner -- Professor of American Studies from California State University, Fullerton, and presently Fulbright Professor in Lublin, Poland -- continues Leipzig's Fulbright Lecture Series. In Dresden (June 7) and Leipzig (June 8) he discusses in lectures, seminars and consultations at universities the impact of American landscape and culture on architecture, and vice versa.

June 7, 2004
Consul General Fletcher Burton hosts 15 Columbia University journalism graduates, who visit the Leipzig Consulate as part of their Atlantik-Brücke sponsored Germany program. The graduates discuss consular work and the status of transatlantic relations with the Consul General and they also meet communication majors from Leipzig’s University radio station Mephisto for an informal exchange.

June 3, 2004
David Leege – professor emeritus of political science at the University of Notre Dame and adjunct professor at the University of Arizona – speaks about the upcoming presidential elections and analyzes the campaign strategies, with special focus on those aimed at various American religious groups.

June 3, 2004
Patrice McDermott, Deputy Director of the Office of Government Relations at the American Library Association Washington Office, lectures at Leipzig’s College of Applied Sciences (HTWK) on “Issues Confronting Information Professionals in the Digital Environment”. She covers issues ranging from copyright to the U.S. Patriot Act and talks about herr work at the ALA.

May 28, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky and the Information Resource Center of the Consulate support the Nashville Day at the Magdeburg Municipal Library. This event is organized by the German-American Dialog Center on the occasion of the first anniversary of the signing of a Sister Cities agreement. An information stand provides background on the Sister Cities relationship, as well as about the U.S. Consulate Leipzig and educational exchanges.

May 25-26, 2004
Maryland University Sociology Professor (and current Fulbrighter in Lund) Lory Dance lectures on the impact of street culture on schooling in the U.S. The lectures take place in Leipzig (May 25) and Jena (May 26) and are part of Leipzig's Fulbright Lecture Series.

May 25, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky meets with a group of adult English learners from Glauchau (Saxony) at the Consulate to discuss the upcoming presidential elections.

May 19, 2004
Andrew J. Bacevich -- George H. W. Bush Fellow at the American Academy Berlin and professor of international relations at Boston University -- analyzes the role of the American military in U.S. foreign policy at Jena University. Himself a graduate of the U. S. Military Academy, former soldier and West Point teacher, Bacevich looks at the current contending approaches, strategies, and doctrines for post-Cold War-Third Millennium American foreign policy.

May 18, 2004
Professor Darrell West, Director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University, lectures at the Dresden University Communications Department on the current status of the Bush-Kerry election campaign and analyzes the U.S. electoral system and how the elections are won.

May 12 - 14, 2004
Edwina Campbell, Professor of National Security Studies at Air University Maxwell AFB (AL), addresses the use of military force, strategic partnerships and the future of transatlantic relations during several events in Consulate General Leipzig's district. She lectures to students, Bundeswehr officers and general public in Dresden (May 12) and Chemnitz (May 13). Campbell also talks about the impact of foreign/security policy decisions on elections.

May 11- 12, 2004
Professor Susan Burch, historian from Gallaudet University, lectures on "Disability in American History" at the University of Leipzig. Expressing herself in American sign language, her husband vocalizes the program, which is part of Leipzig's Fulbright Lecture Series. In addition, Professor Burch visits Germany's largest school for deaf students - which is located in Leipzig - and meet with disability activists, politicians, and German sign language interpreters.

May 11, 2004
Fulbright students, teaching assistants, professors and teachers visit the Consulate General Leipzig and discuss their Germany experiences with Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky. Afterwards the group attends the Fulbright Lecture Series, featuring Professor Susan Burch on Disability in American History.

May 7, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky and Public Affairs Exchanges staff from U.S. Embassy Berlin and Consulate General Leipzig meet with teachers who participated in the first Eastern German Teachers Visitors’ Program to the U.S.

May 6, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky introduces adult students of English and the teacher to the Consulate and speaks about U.S. society. Shanna Campbell, Bosh fellow and volunteer teacher of the Consulate's conversation group, speaks to the students about the U.S. and her home state of Alabama.

May 5, 2004
Consulate General Leipzig hosts journalism trainees from Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), the public TV/radio broadcaster in eastern Germany, for an all-day workshop on the Consulate’s activities, U.S. information resources and the upcoming elections. The program includes a Digital Video Conference (DVC) with Professor Darrell West from Brown University, who analyzes the role of the U.S. media in the current election campaign.

April 30, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky and the director of the Consulate's Information Resource Center (IRC) participates in a librarian's conference for delegates from the three-country corner of Saxony (Germany, Poland, Czech Republic) in Zittau to mark the expansion of the EU. Dr. Bonkowsky delivers remarks and opens a poster show on the U.S. experience with immigration in the Zittau public library and the IRC director presents books to coordinating librarians from each of the three countries.

April 30, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky presents a grant to the Rector of the Zittau technical college at the new library of the Neisse University. The grant will be used for updating the American collection which serves students from the three countries of Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany.

April 28, 2004
Consulate General Leipzig staffs a booth at the “Day of Foreign Languages” of the Berufliches Schulzentrum 3, a vocational/high school center training and educating 1,700 students. Information materials on studying in and traveling to the USA will be distributed and CD-ROMs “About the USA”, USA-maps and a variety of relevant brochures and pamphlets for students.

April 27, 2004
Leipzig Consul General Fletcher Burton joins the lord mayor of Gotha, Volker Doenitz, in welcoming a delegation from Gotha's sister city Gastonia in North Carolina. Mayor Jennie Stulz headed the 10-member U.S. delegation. Consul Burton delivers a speech and provides a grant.

April 27, 2004
Cultural Affairs Officer Roy Weatherston, U.S. Embassy Berlin, and Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky attend the closing session of the seminar for Saxony-Anhalt high school history teachers held at Leucorea in Wittenberg. Berlin America House provides a grant for the seminar and Consulate General Leipzig supplies research materials on American studies and the upcoming elections.

April 23, 2004
Leipzig Consul General Fletcher Burton is the guest of honor at the 2nd graduation reception of American Studies majors at Leipzig University. The American Studies Alumni Association organizes a festive farewell for the 30 graduates of the classes 2003 and 2004.

April 21, 2004
Invited by the transatlantic organization Atlantik Brücke and the Bergakademie, Ambassador Daniel R. Coats addresses an audience of opinion leaders in Freiberg, near the Polish border in Germany’s eastern state of Saxony. The Ambassador speaks near the spot where EU enlargement ceremonies will take place on May 1, highlighting peace in the Balkans, international trade, democracy in the Middle East, and the fight against terrorism and HIV/AIDS as major joint U.S.-EU political challenges.

April 21, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky joins the opening of the paper show 'Louis Armstrong - King of Jazz' in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, University Library, and delivers the introductory remarks.

April 20, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky welcomes librarians from Leipzig, Magdeburg, and Zwickau at the Leipzig Consulate General for an overview of the 2004 election campaign. Information Resource Center (IRC) staff presents “Portals to the U.S. elections on the Internet” and distributes pamphlets, posters, bibliographies, and articles for exhibitions at local libraries.

April 20, 2004
Award-winning historian Ellen Du Bois of UCLA and Bologna University launches a Leipzig lecture series on U.S. history, policy, and culture, which will bring American Fulbright Professors from European universities to the eastern German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. Sparked through an initiative by Leipzig University, the Consulate General Leipzig expanded the series into a total of 21 lectures at various eastern universities. Guest of honor at the opening is Dr. Rolf Hoffmann, the new Executive Director of the German Fulbright Commission. for Public Affairs.

April 15, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky participates in the opening of an exhibition on the protection of bio-diversity in Leipzig. Dr. Bonkowsky presents copies of the State Department’s 2004 Earth Day poster to the director of a children’s chorus and to the Princess of Saxony, the patroness of the Saxon State Foundation for Nature and the Environment.

April 7, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky visits the Mulda Middle School near Freiberg and meets the school principal and the mayor of Mulda. She joins U.S. related activities of students from grades 5 - 10 at Mulda Middle School.

April 1, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky discusses with students of the Schleiermacher Gymnasium in Niesky, Saxony.

March 31, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky joins the opening of the paper show 'Louis Armstrong - King of Jazz' in Rothenburg on the Neisse, Saxony, and delivers the keynote speech.

March 26 - 27, 2004
Norman Manea -- Francis Flournoy Professor, Writer in Residence at Bard College, and current American Academy Berlin Fellow – participates in the Leipzig Book Fair. The U.S. Consulate General Leipzig and German publisher Hanser organize numerous interviews and readings: Norman Manea reads from his book "The Return of the Hooligan", March 26, Alte Nikolaischule. (Series "Jewish Ways of Living”);
Norman Manea participates in a discussion on 'Disposing of the Past or Remembrances for the Future?'
Participants: Rafael Seligman, Julius H. Schoeps, Susan Neiman, Rolf Hochhuth, Norman Manea. Moderation: Tina Mendelsohn
March, 26, Federal Administration Court Leipzig.

March 26, 2004
American author Holly-Jane Rahlens, winner of the Jugendbuchpreis 2003 (prize for the best book for young people), performs a 'Meet the Author' event at the booth of the US Consulate General at the Leipzig Book Fair, March 25 - 28, 2004.

March 23, 2004
Dr. Michael Seadle, Michigan State University Libraries, East Lansing, Michigan, participates in a panel at Leipzig's Library Congress 'Information - Power - Education' and speaks about 'Long-term Archiving and Availability of Digital Documents'.

March 18 - 20, 2004
US Consulate General Leipzig hosts Thuringian teachers of English at an in-service training conference in Eisenach. The conference centers on trans-Atlantic relations, the 2004 U.S. presidential elections, globalization, as well as cultural identity and misunderstandings. Featured U.S. speakers include Professors Christer Garrett, University of Wisconsin, Jeff Peck, American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AGCIS) and Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky.

March 13, 2004
1,000 language teachers from Saxony-Anhalt meet in Magdeburg for their annual conference on how to teach foreign languages. Fulbright Professor Christer Garrett, University of Wisconsin, delivers the keynote address on the upcoming U.S. presidential elections and their competing visions for American politics and society.

March 2, 2004
Information Resource Center Berlin's staffer speaks to students at a German Department of Labor Career Center, Leipzig, on Germany’s new Educational Information Services and provides a presentation on studying and interning in the U.S.

February 28, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky represents the Consulate at the "Happy Birthday Händel" festival concert in Halle. A mass choir of some 300 participants from 11 countries, including the United States, performs the entire oratorio The Messiah.

February 28, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky visits the Moritzburg museum Halle, which displays a photography exhibit "Portraits of Americans", accompanied by a local "Big Band" playing American swing. Dr. Bonkowsky tours the exhibit with the museum director and German-born New York photographer Reiner Leist.

February 27, 2004
Charge d'Affaires John Cloud speaks in Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt, at the opening of the 12th annual "Kurt Weill festival" and premiere of Weill's opera "Street Scene."

February 27, 2004
Consul General Fletcher Burton joins the opening of the Dresden exhibit "The Glory of Baroque" in Jackson, MS. The opening is also attended by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Saxony Minister-President Georg Milbradt.

February 26, 2004
Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Eleanore Fox speaks to students at the Königin-Luise-Gymnasium, Erfurt, about the U.S. electoral system and upcoming presidential elections.

February 21, 2004
Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs Richard Schmierer, U.S. Embassy Berlin, presents the top honor at the German-American Country Music Foundation's annual awards program in Erfurt to American country singer Wanda Jackson. Jackson was inducted into the German Country Music Hall of Fame.

February 14 - 22, 2004
American Consulate General Leipzig supports a Houston booth at the "House, Garden, Leisure Time Fair" in Leipzig. Houston,TX, is the sister city of Leipzig. The Consulate recruits cheerleader teams from local American football clubs, arranges performances of Native American dances and war rituals. Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky and Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Eleonore Fox speak at the fair and answer questions from the public.

February 5, 2004
U.S. analyst Dr. Andrew Denison speaks to an audience of 150 politicians, academics and Bundeswehr officers about how to export the “pax atlantica” to the Middle East and the future of NATO and global security at a Halle-based conference about transatlantic partnership and security.

February 4, 2004
U.S. Embassy representative Greg Stein meets with high school students in Limbach-Oberfrohnau and speaks about topics ranging from U.S. policy in Iraq to environmental issues and school violence.

February 4, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky delivers a keynote speech on the occasion of the opening of the poster show "Louis Armstrong - The King of Jazz" at Reichenbach/Oberlausitz municipal library. The Consulate provided the poster show which will be on display until March 16, 2004.

February 3-4, 2004
Consulate staff gives presentations in two daily seminars in Bad Blankenburg organized by the Thuringia Community/City Association. The participants come from 40 cities and communities throughout Thuringia.

February 2-3, 2004
Congressional Researcher Francis Miko explains to students and staff of the School of Public Policy in Erfurt and a roundtable of seven journalists in Leipzig the US Congress’ diverse perspectives on EU integration and enlargement.

January 27- 28, 2004
Professor Mohamed Rabie, visiting Professor at Al Akhawayn University (Morocco), discusses reasons for failure and forces for progress in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as well as other Arab countries at Leipzig’s Oriental Institute on January 27 and Technical University Dresden's School for International Studies on January 28.

January 27, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky represents the Consulate at a performance of "To Broadway and Back" for public school students. The series was put together by students of the Leipzig music conservatory, who staged melodies from "Hair", "West Side Story", "Grease" etc

January 26, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky addresses 300 students of the Peter-Breuer-Gymnasium in Zwickau. She presents material on a typical American high school day to the younger group and discusses the implications of the Electoral College for the U.S. elections.

January 22, 2004
Consul General Fletcher M. Burton attends “Magdeburger of the Year” event on January 22, which was sponsored by the Magdeburger Volksstimme. One of those honored is Nashville Sister City representative Douglas Berry who speaks to the gathering about the success of the relationship, which has brought groups with various interests together.

January 21, 2004
Dr. Mohammed Shadid, Deputy Director-General for Operations at the Welfare Association (WA) in Jerusalem, discusses the role of NGOs for economic development in Palestine with students and faculty of TU Dresden's School for International Studies.

January 15, 2004
Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky joins elementary-school students at a puppet performance of a German folk tale, which will be conducted completely in English.

January 14, 2004
Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Eleonore Fox and Consul for Public Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bonkowsky brief a visiting group of German university students from Canitz Gesellschaft, a student association originally formed in 1875 in Leipzig and re-established after WW II in West-Berlin, on U.S. foreign policy.