“Schools: Partners for the Future” Initiative – A Success Story
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- The participating schools received their PASCH plaques
- (© germany.info)
On March 31st at German House New York, Consul General Dr. Horst Freitag greeted representatives from German schools located within the Consulate General’s administrative district which covers New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut (Fairfield County) and Bermuda.
Dr. Freitag informed them about the success story that the partner school initiative "Schools: Partners for the Future" (PASCH) has become. The program was founded by Federal Foreign Minister Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier in late 2007. Since then, the project succeeded in uniting and connecting more than 1000 schools in a worldwide network -- a target which was reached one year earlier than expected. The primary goal of the initiative is to create enthusiasm for the German langugage and German modern society. In spite of the ongoing economic and financial crises, the project's budget has been increased by 20 percent from 45 Million to 54,7 Million Euro between 2007 and 2009.
Dr. Inke Pinkert-Sältzer, the Washington-based language consultant of the Foreign Ministry’s Central Office for Schools Abroad (ZfA), shared her enthusiasm for the project's fast progress, talking about the pre-PASCH time as well as its future. PASCH will extend and strengthen the network of German schools abroad and schools offering the German Language Certificate, Mrs. Pinkert-Sältzer said.
Dr. Thietmar Bachmann, Head of the Cultural Section of the German Consulate in New York, handed over the official PASCH plaque to a wide range of new members of the German schools network: Reprentatives from the High School for Math, Science and Engineering (HSMSE), the German School Connecticut, Deutsche Sprachschule of Central New Jersey, German Language School of Morris County, Deutsche Sprachschule Union in Winfield, German School Westwood, German School New York, German Language School at the German School New York, German-American School Association and Immanuel German School all expressed their appreciation for the broad range of services and support offered by PASCH.
On behalf of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany, Horst Freitag and Ms. Pinkert-Sälzer presented a special award to Maria Anna Zose of the German Language School at the German School New York honoring her outstanding contributions to the PASCH project. Marlene Stocks from the Immanuel German School in Philadelphia was also honored by the Federal Foreign Office for her decade-long achievements in promoting and teaching the German language in Philadelphia.
By providing additional courses, the initiative helps both students and teachers to acquire training with a long-term impact. Thus, the initiative extends young people's skills preparing them to study in Germany and for a subsequent career. The German Academic Exchange Service presented a short video film introducing such German-speaking students from abroad who experienced the German culture and society first hand by studying at a German university.
Article by Patrick Künstle
