Press Archive
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2007/02/01
Constituent Session of the “Deutschland – Land der Ideen e.V.” Steering Committee
Berlin, 24.01.2007 –The “Deutschland – Land der Ideen e.V.” Steering Committee has now convened in Berlin for its first, constituent session.
Jürgen R. Thumann, President of the German Industry Association (BDI), was elected chairman of the committee. Other members of the Steering Committee are Michael Glos, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Germany’s Foreign Minister Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck for the Association of German Banks, Dr. Wulf H. Bernotat, chairman of the initiative’s board of trustees, and Dr. Karl Hans Arnold, who represents the Federal Association of German Newspaper Publishers.
The German public and private sectors have resolved to continue the “Germany – Land of Ideas” nation-branding initiative beyond the year 2006. Hence, the initiative’s restructuring and attendant repositioning was on the meeting agenda. The formation of the “Deutschland – Land der Ideen e.V.” society puts the initiative on much more broader underpinning and offers public institutions and companies a wide range of possibilities for getting involved in this public-private partnership project. Dr. Peter Biesenbach was appointed Managing Director of the society.
The FC Deutschland GmbH, which successfully implemented the initiative in 2006, will continue to supervise the realisation of its communication measures and numerous projects under the new name Deutschland – Land der Ideen GmbH. Mike de Vries was confirmed as its Managing Director.
Jürgen R. Thumann emphasised that he expects the initiative to be an even greater success after its repositioning: “The initiative has proven that betting on public-private partnership was the right approach. Germany faces great challenges this year. If we manage to further strengthen domestic confidence in our country’s powers of performance and innovation, this will send a clear international signal that will benefit Germany’s reputation as a place of business, investment, research, etc.”
Business Minister Michael Glos expressed his faith in the initiative’s nation-branding efforts: “Its viable concepts, coupled with the ‘Invest in Germany - Land of Ideas’ project jointly realised by the initiative and the federal government’s location marketing agency, will put the spotlight of international attention on Germany as an innovative, high-performance place of business.“
Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier emphasised that the “Germany – Land of Ideas” initiative had generated a very positive echo abroad in the year of the Football World Cup: “Now the time has come to set new highlights.
As Germany assumes the EU Council Presidency and the G8 Chair in 2007, we intend to find new ideas for Europe’s future as well and devote ourselves to fair, equitable globalisation. Apart from economic considerations, representing Germany as a cosmopolitan country committed to peace, upholding human rights and sustainable development, is an important component in our communications abroad.”
Photographs may be downloaded from:
http://www.land-of-ideas.org/CDA/bildarchiv,27,0,,de.html
About “Germany - Land of Ideas”
“Germany – Land of Ideas“ is a joint nation branding initiative by Germany’s public and private sectors, the latter represented by the Federation of German Industry (BDI). The aim of the initiative is to portray Germany, at home and abroad, as an innovative, cosmopolitan and enthusiastic country. The patron of the initiative is Germany’s Federal President Horst Köhler; Mike de Vries coordinates the initiative as Managing Director of the FC Deutschland GmbH. The initiative realises various core projects: the “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas” event series, an international Media Service and the FanClub. In collaboration with the federal location marketing agency, the initiative also realises – with the support of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology - the “Invest in Germany – Land of Ideas” campaign.
The German public and private sectors have resolved to continue the “Germany – Land of Ideas” nation-branding initiative beyond the year 2006. Hence, the initiative’s restructuring and attendant repositioning was on the meeting agenda. The formation of the “Deutschland – Land der Ideen e.V.” society puts the initiative on much more broader underpinning and offers public institutions and companies a wide range of possibilities for getting involved in this public-private partnership project. Dr. Peter Biesenbach was appointed Managing Director of the society.
The FC Deutschland GmbH, which successfully implemented the initiative in 2006, will continue to supervise the realisation of its communication measures and numerous projects under the new name Deutschland – Land der Ideen GmbH. Mike de Vries was confirmed as its Managing Director.
Jürgen R. Thumann emphasised that he expects the initiative to be an even greater success after its repositioning: “The initiative has proven that betting on public-private partnership was the right approach. Germany faces great challenges this year. If we manage to further strengthen domestic confidence in our country’s powers of performance and innovation, this will send a clear international signal that will benefit Germany’s reputation as a place of business, investment, research, etc.”
Business Minister Michael Glos expressed his faith in the initiative’s nation-branding efforts: “Its viable concepts, coupled with the ‘Invest in Germany - Land of Ideas’ project jointly realised by the initiative and the federal government’s location marketing agency, will put the spotlight of international attention on Germany as an innovative, high-performance place of business.“
Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier emphasised that the “Germany – Land of Ideas” initiative had generated a very positive echo abroad in the year of the Football World Cup: “Now the time has come to set new highlights.
As Germany assumes the EU Council Presidency and the G8 Chair in 2007, we intend to find new ideas for Europe’s future as well and devote ourselves to fair, equitable globalisation. Apart from economic considerations, representing Germany as a cosmopolitan country committed to peace, upholding human rights and sustainable development, is an important component in our communications abroad.”
Photographs may be downloaded from:
http://www.land-of-ideas.org/CDA/bildarchiv,27,0,,de.html
About “Germany - Land of Ideas”
“Germany – Land of Ideas“ is a joint nation branding initiative by Germany’s public and private sectors, the latter represented by the Federation of German Industry (BDI). The aim of the initiative is to portray Germany, at home and abroad, as an innovative, cosmopolitan and enthusiastic country. The patron of the initiative is Germany’s Federal President Horst Köhler; Mike de Vries coordinates the initiative as Managing Director of the FC Deutschland GmbH. The initiative realises various core projects: the “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas” event series, an international Media Service and the FanClub. In collaboration with the federal location marketing agency, the initiative also realises – with the support of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology - the “Invest in Germany – Land of Ideas” campaign.