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German Consul General Onno Hückmann Welcomes Opening of German School Chicago
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German Consul General Onno Hückmann welcomes opening of German School Chicago on September 15, 2009
The German language immersion day school is located in the Ravenswood/Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago. It is a private, non-profit school that will provide a comprehensive education for students of all backgrounds and nationalities. Classes for children ages 3, 4 & 5 (pre-school and kindergarten years) started on September 8, 2009.
Learn more about the German School Chicago
Read Consul General Hückmann's remarks at the opening ceremony:
Sehr geehrte Präsidentin des Schulvorstandes,
sehr geehrte Mitglieder des diplomatischen Corps,
sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
liebe Eltern, liebe Kinder,
Ein herzliches Willkommen in der Deutschen Schule Chicago.
Es ist mir eine große Freude, hier zu diesem Anlass sprechen zu dürfen !
Bildung ist das Schlüsselthema des 21. Jahrhunderts. Die Dimension dieses Themas hat für die Zukunft der Export-Nation Deutschland zentrale Bedeutung. Gut ausgebildete junge Menschen aus anderen Ländern, die mit der deutschen Sprache und Kultur vertraut sind, sind besonders für die weltweit engagierte deutsche Wirtschaft ideale Ansprechpartner im Ausland. Die größten deutschen Unternehmen beschäftigen zwischen einem Viertel und mehr als 90 % ihres Personals im Ausland. Daher ist unser weltweit verzweigtes Partnerschulnetz besonders gut geeignet, weltweit mobile und zugleich mit Deutschland verbundene junge Menschen auszubilden.
Englisch ist ein Muss. Deutsch ist ein Plus.
Let me now continue in English.
The school has opened its doors.
I would like to express my gratitude to all who helped to build up this school. You made possible what has seemed impossible for years. Opening the school’s doors is something you can be very proud of.
I would also like to thank the Mayor and the aldermen for their support.
This school does exist now because of the tireless work of a small group of people who did not give up. We all have to thank you who made this event possible.
You campaigned for the school, you fought with bureaucracy, you kept asking for money, and you were not afraid of even cleaning the school’s rooms in order to save money. And this is only the beginning! The effort you put into this project is immense. Building a multilingual and multicultural school requires multifunctional people – people who are versatile and capable of taking on to a wide variety of tasks, people who do not give up! The transatlantic bridges are built by people like you. If you want to think globally, you have to act locally!
You are those globally thinking people and without you there would be no school! Let me again express my thanks for your commitment and the considerable work you have done. I want to thank you – personally and in the name of the German Government.
Let me please also forward the congratulations from the German “Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen”, the German organisation responsible for the development of German schools in the Northern American area. They offered to provide free assistance in the future development process of the school. Take advantage of this offer.
Germany has a reputation as a land of scholars and as the country of thinkers and poets. Therefore I believe it is very important that the German language is taught in Chicago and the Midwest.
The German school is a school not only for German speaking children but also for children who do not speak German yet but who want to learn it.
The German language is an important language – both from a statistical and from a cultural point of view.
To give a few numbers: German is spoken by 200 Million people worldwide, half of them native speakers. German is the most commonly spoken language in the European Union and the second most commonly used scientific language. 18 % of the world’s books are published in German. Learning German is a great advantage for anybody – it is a win-win situation.
The German school is an important step towards the strengthening and the promotion of the German language in the Chicago area. To understand a culture, one must understand the language. Therefore the German language is a bridge between the American and the German culture.
I am sure that there is no need to explain the great opportunities a German school also offers the Chicago community. Linguistic and cultural diversity is an inescapable fact of modern American society. About 15 % of the total population of the United States speak a language other than English at home. Chicago is a truly international city. A German school is essential in such an international and open minded city, especially if it is as much linked to the German culture as Chicago. A German school providing good education is an enormous enrichment for the city and for the German families living in Chicago.
The school has opened its doors. However, there is still a lot of work to be done. It is an ongoing process to build up a German school which leads to the International Baccalaureate. A lot of money, much work and many supporters are needed. I hope that the German school becomes a great success and continues growing – with the ongoing help of all of us. It is our common purpose to have this school in Chicago! Let us hope that the children attending this year’s kindergarten will have the opportunity to pass their International Baccalaureate 2022 in this school we opened today!
Thank you for your kind attention.
