go to school. we ask why. because education makes the world more just. make for minds. i'm a citizen of the world that's certainly because of my own biography i was led breslau during the bombardment i grew up in a small town and libraries where how i got to know the world. i visited north africa as a schoolboy when i was always drawn to foreign countries because i had this curiosity about how other people live think and work and it was always worth it yes i'm a citizen of the world. this

is the story of a while the story of the final year in the career of man he has shaped the german cultural landscape of the past decades like few others with his incredible ability to grasp the right moment. as head of the german national library as loued of museum island. and as president of the institute but his last 12 months did not go as planned it was a dramatic year. fishel trip to africa after a long flight the president of the good to institute touched down in namibia a full my german colony.

history is everywhere in the capital into. the colossal independence museum tells the story of the long struggle for liberation from colonialism. the most recent chapter of that story is all about restitution returning cultural artifacts. the tribal leader hendrik that boy isn't a maybe a national hero because of his resistance against german colonial rule. the symbolic bible and whip were taken by the germans after his death their return was an important 1st step aside it isn't just the removal of objects it's basically the

breaking of people of personalities of their self-determination and self-confidence this was common colonialism can't be glossed over this is simply a beginning there's a lot more to be done yet so now is the time to get to know each other and to talk to africans in africa about these experiences and to exchange ideas so that these stories can be told of children of lehman was also in namibia to visit the local go to institute in the center of the tech. the team here had spent 2 weeks preparing a major conference about post-colonialism which took place in cata tura a former apartheid era township on the outskirts of the tip it was part of a long term project that brings together museum experts and creative minds from across africa. it includes. but it is slowly. if. there was. sense of things were coming full circle still

a man whose very 1st official trip in 2008 was to another form a german colony tanzania he had come with good news the use of austerity were good to institute in dar es salaam would reopen after a decade. we are back to the south. africa has been an important focus for the good to institute ever since 12 years later the self-confidence of a new generation in the world of arts and museums was visible at the conference. the world if you. like. fresh concepts such as digitalisation made this conference stand out that really you dreamed of a. society in which we find ourselves in today does not agree with the principal's office or

museum so if you can't communicate to an audience who don't understand you know you said the median age of africa is 90. so it's really critical that we stop i think this question that who are we speaking to how are we speaking to them what platforms are these ng. but then it was fair well to africa the continent that changed how klaus detail a man saw the world. because i've always found it terrible that africa is only associated with negative stories i've experienced so many positive things and i think we simply have to get them across to times good news needs to be given a chance as well falls all. that chance would soon come back in germany. a few weeks later the president of the go to institute appeared at the frankfurt book fair. the world's biggest media

trade fair was the perfect stage for a lame and to talk about his experiences into the turk. because. it's always where he can return to his professional rates as well. in 1988 lehman was appointed director of the national library almost precisely the west german half in frankfurt the other half was in life to germany's 2 national library the cold war that even divided the world of books. was when i became director general of the national library in frankfurt in $88.00 i made my 1st trip to leipsic. i didn't think it was right for us to be separate entities given that we were founded on common goals to plan we talked about that in my pic description. he'd gone there to visit the so-called memory of the nation the german

library was founded in 1912 to collect a. all german language publications under one roof in 1949 it became the central library of the workers' state and a western counterpart was set up in frankfurt with the same goals. then in 1909 everything changed hundreds of thousands took to the streets in a peaceful resolution flanked by writers such as stephan hi i'm. water transformation but it's as if somebody had opened the windows after all these years of stagnation darkness. was. the people liberated themselves from communist rule and east germany fell apart lehman's informal talks with librarians in likes it suddenly became

a political mission to reunify the institution. but what would become this the german library in like. your lawyer had been a librarian there since 1974 and was part of negotiations after the wall fell. on them we sat here in this room with lehmann and his partners sat here at the front i was sitting on one of the chairs at the back somewhere as i can remember it quite clearly well initially there was a brief silence he must have been asking himself how we would react to these invaders but it wasn't an invasion he was pretty clear about that he said we were working on a common plan and one of the 1st sentences i can still remember was the greater germany that's coming into being here could certainly use a national library with 2 locations. in august 1990 the 2 german states

signed the unification treaty in berlin and the status of the new national library was made official including its 2 location. frankfurt's and like this. thanks. to since 912 of the books immortalized in oil on the wall opposite a suit of clothes taken by his friend renowned photographer newton it marks the beginning of a new era as it is my 1st of all it's very down to earth. image suggests that he is striving upwards and you can also see that he has a sense of how an image functions and how to come across well in a new ecological. exposed concrete steel and glass below that 3 floors and underground depository 30000 square

meters of books. frankfurt's a long planned new german national library building was completed in 1997. did. the chancellor himself attended the inauguration cole was an avid bookworm. after the ceremony he wanted to see the books so we went into the underground stacks. barely made it out again because cole was so fascinated he kept pulling out different books. i said mr chancellor we should really get back to our guests that didn't interest them at all. i think we were in the stacks for 3 hours. that was call it always had time for books and for the library devoted to. one year and the last

election later cole was no longer chancellor he handed power over to get hot schroeder. the seat of government and parliament moved from bond to berlin and a man took on a new role as president of the pression cultural heritage foundation on the stretch held of the new millennium it was germany's most important cultural position. it brought with it the chance to reshape the face of the nation's capital with the help of a little political goodwill. the next change of government in berlin would also be good to lay man in 2008 he became president of the girty institute chancellor angela merkel paid him a personal visit when he took office it was the 1st and also the sign of the growing global significance of cultural diplomacy or does it was important for us that the chancellor made such

a clear signal so soon after i began my time as go to institute director in munich who was so 3 encounters and all positive i want my male independent spirit and independence has always been important to me but i don't belong to a political party so i can always speak personally and based on facts that probably wasn't a bad thing. in 2019 renowned german violinist anissa fema test script one of the world's biggest prizes the premium imperioli awarded by the japan art association. the man has been an international advisor to the prize for years. in the heart of tokyo set among the parks and palaces near the famous maze she shrine lies the may she can. then come this traditional site for formal celebrations hosted the awards ceremony though it's not could all sit. on your leg

i guess must. leave mom was quite at home in the highly formal setting the prince and princess to touch he were present on behalf of japan's imperial dynasty. distinguished guests worth around 125000 euros the world's richest are prices awarded in 5 categories and as if the motor was laid choice in 2019. was a really calm presence in the middle of everything running things and giving everyone the feeling that they were at the center of proceeding in the bible in fact it was he who was probably at the heart of it all holding the reins. winter in germany and the every day routine is to go to institute at the cultural

institutions headquarters near the center of munich it's time for the so-called presidential breakfast. it's a way for a layman to ensure that internal exchanges can happen free from a strict top down hierarchy that something 50 years of leadership experience has taught him. the 500 go to institute employees work in the building the architecture is an example of german post-war modernism it reflects the self image of the institution which was founded in 1951. practicality clear lines transparency it's all mold and just a facade. president of the good institute is an honorary post which layman views as vital to defending democracy. we're seeing an oversimplification of things or protel a t.

in our disagreements and that worries me a lot for us racism as a dangerous threat that impacts our own credibility that's why we also want to have a stronger presence within germany in terms of cultural education. in 2020 thailand's good to institute 20 to celebrate its 60th anniversary with a large programme of events lehmann's trip there had been planned for a long time. but then corona virus struck and fears of a pandemic grew. when a man decided to go ahead with the visit martin niemeyer the head of the institute in bangkok breathed a huge sigh of relief. the one lampung railway station could almost be a piece of europe in central bangkok. the city's transportation hub for over

a century it was modeled on frankfurt's train station. they basically began my career in frankfurt and i come here to bangkok and what do i see it's a little smaller but it has the architecture and the atmosphere of frankfurt central station it's an odd feeling because it's just like at the beginning here i am in my final year working for the go to institute and here is frankfurt train station again this time in bangkok it's very emotional. the historic waiting room turned into a pop up concert hall the glitter institute had invited young musicians from bangkok and cologne to perform pieces by johann sebastian bach and john cage amongst other composes it was an unusual experience. as for the commuters.

my. lame man who had turned 80 a few days the floor soaked up the atmosphere. my dad. my. eye. and said it was time to celebrate the good to institute plays an important role in cultural life in the thai capital feel good i say she is keen to make its presence felt in asia especially at such a critical time and those here appreciate it. i just had no idea that juta cuz at 19 this will be one of the last parties in bangkok for a long while. when a man travels his wife lisa usually goes with him on officially and at the couple's

own expense she says most important confidant. see if. there's a good night and a lot of time with my husband we get going at 7 in the morning we have evenings together we spend an hour having dinner we talk about everything he listens to me and of course i hear about the fascinating things he's doing and everything that's going on the information goes both ways it's absolutely equal and so i don't miss out on anything up some more. easily man remains in the background and yet she is still very present the tumescent university she was the 1st woman to study geo physics in minds half a century ago. this kid there is one consistent dynamic in my life that i'm very satisfied and happy with my wife. we have our

golden wedding anniversary and all of those things behind us and this stability is really important to me. otherwise i couldn't do all the things i do. the 2 of us are like a small company. lehmann's for their return trip to germany. on march 28th thailand implemented a state of emergency to cope with 19. as knockdown measures were introduced to bangkok it's good to institute that's a close to the public it's the same for the other $157.00 of them around the world corona has brought the world of the institute's to a halt this also means that their main source of income has disappeared language courses make up almost 40 percent of the 440000000 euro budgets in germany the

president and buddha fighting to keep the cultural institute. using your. instantly speaking to m.p.'s ministers the foreign office which has been very helpful and supportive i do think it's good that i'm still here in this crisis that i'm available this year just because of my connections and experience which are important in these times i think i would have suffered if i'd only been able to experience this phase as an onlooker. the german government reacted to the crisis quickly and granted the go to institute imagine ca develop to 70000000 euros it's a sign of the importance accorded to the cultural institute's worldwide network and to its most experienced cultural diplomat. he was one of the most influential individuals in shaping developing and even creating international cultural relations in europe. that's his legacy which we're very thankful for is into also

on the stand these ideas have been incorporated into our policies for europe 2 will also never forget his relentless dedication and his ability to take a stand especially in difficult times before. because it institutes around the world prepare for the new normal in times of corona all events and services now take place online well. now we are just. a spring in berlin came and went some arrived the president had far fewer possibilities to remain active in his last few months in service in late summer 2020 lehmann returned to berlin's museum island which he had so passionately reformed and shaped around the turn of the millennium in his capacity as president of the prussian cultural heritage foundation new and old come together here to create a truly unique space. in the noice museum the modern stack case is

a reminder of the many challenges lehmann had to face at the end of the 1990 s. . the grand ensemble of 5 museums on the island was in dire need of redevelopment but also on the list of unesco world heritage sites. there was no other way but to renovate modernize recreate andrina range the museum island turned into a major construction site with laman increasingly becoming the main architect for the country's cultural landscape. in $99.00 the museum directors all agreed on the master plan for the museum island which is still in effect today with airbus order so yes surely that's also been my own clothes we could construct the noice most sailboard a museum an altar not so nagasaki according to schedule without stretching our budget on. the noirs museum is the heart of this big scale renovation project

during the 2nd world war it had been damaged and parts of it were destroyed architects david chipperfield reconstructed the museum show pieces the so-called nubian room decorated with a man to. architect to the pression king in the mid 19th century. and would show this room to every person he was hoping to win over to support. because it's a beautiful room the proportions are good natured greece is here terra cotta the great philosophers. but it's also a mysterious room a magical place. when using mughniyeh and i was a little shameless and using this magic to rally support for the museum island concept or financially to. support. who was

head of berlin's public museums was always that name and signed the 2 were together for a decade to implement them master plan. he was brilliant strategically he was relentless and would never tire of taking members of parliament to the museum island to show them around them what he's great at motivating others he's truly what you might call a cultural diplomat and he's a genius when it comes to committees detail women would enter a meeting and at the end he had convinced everyone in the room of his opinion or he was very elegant and efficient or there's everything. the museum island which brings together cultures from across the globe is perhaps the sight of layman's most significant professional accomplishments he he likes to reflect on his life's work klaus detail a man's life lee career so closely connected to german postal history is coming to

an end you know he had this ability to know what is the right thing to do and when is the right moment to do it but there was also this feeling of he's the right person to deal with what's happening now. and for decades klaus detail a man with the right person he crossed borders and was at home in the world of culture be it in germany or around the globe others are now following in his footsteps for example with a home built for an international cultural center and museum housed in the reconstructed burned in palace. so is this cultural diplomat the last of his kind as internet. i wouldn't say i'm a dinosaur that's going extinct i really hope that this type of person won't die out was will always need people who want to connect and i believe that there will be more and more of this type of person who can motivate others and has a sense of team spirit. that i don't think i'll be the last of my kind quite the

opposite and if i can be an example then by showing that we can achieve a lot by interacting with others allies and.

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is do w. news live from berlin and scientists in india accuse the government of ignoring warnings over deadly new coronavirus variants advisers blame politicians failure for the devastating 2nd wave of coated 19 now overwhelming the help system. also coming up giving voice to the voiceless.