Activities

More than one hundred guests had come, invited by the Honorary Consul and the Mack family, to celebrate Alsace and spend a day full of colourful experiences in harmony with the neighbouring border region.

Michael Mack expressed it thus: ‘Alsace has long held a special place in Europa-Park and this festival, dedicated to Alsace, is a symbol of Franco-German friendship, which is now more important than ever’. Franck Leroy, President of the Grand-Est region, stressed: ’Alsace Day shows Europa-Park’s commitment to our region’s development; it’s an extraordinary opportunity for the image of Baden-Wurttemberg and Alsace abroad’. Pia Imbs, President of the Eurometropole of Strasbourg, added: ‘Today, Europa-Park is celebrating the richness of Alsace culture and its cultural and linguistic diversity, thereby showing its proximity and sense of belonging with this cosmopolitan region’.

As for newly chosen Miss Alsacefor 2023, Adéline Wetter, she explained: ‘I’m proud and touched I’m here for this day celebrating the friendship between both banks of the Rhine’.

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On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the binational consumer rights protection agency, based in Kehl, the event brought together all its French, German and European partners, recalling the importance and effectiveness of this institution.

The ECC was founded in 1993 as part of the newly created European internal market, with a mission to furnish European consumers with information, advice and assistance in cross-border disputes free of charge. In 2022, its team of over 50 trilingual employees ─ including 27 French and German lawyers ─ dealt with 42,000 requests and complaints. The guests who were present unanimously acknowledged the indispensable rôle and tasks undertaken by the ECC during this period and in numerous projects in the future. The launch of the digital border crossing tool, implemented amidst the COVID crisis to facilitate travel for residents and workers on the border between France, Germany and Switzerland, was also recalled.

Michael Mack used the opportunity to point out the importance and effectiveness of this tool to protect the European consumer.

Further information:
https://dgxy.link/

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More than a hundred French and German school pupils met at Europa-Park in the context of two projects carried out in collaboration with the Académie de Strasbourg, the catchment area of the University of Strasbourg.

The ‘Fairy Tale Podcast’ project allowed the young people of the Wasselone, Truchtersheim and Jacques Twinger secondary schools in Strasbourg, as well as the students of the Stromberg Gymnasium in Vaihingen an der Enz, to deal with the topic originally and creatively: they discovered the podcast format, devised new stories or introduced fantasy characters.

The ‘Fairy Tale Songs’ project offered two classes from the school at Griesheim-près-Molsheim and the secondary modern school in Neuried the opportunity to acquire a new repertoire of children’s songs in French and German, composed by the Alsace musician Nicolas Fischer.

Presenting both these projects at Europa-Park, the students had the opportunity to strike up and play the new anthem of cross-border collaboration: ‘Es lebe l’amitié, vive la Freundschaft’ (both meaning ‘Long live friendship’)

‘Grimm’s Magic Forest’ was then the stage for linguistic challenges and, finally, thanks to the educational work of the Académie de Strasbourg, the podcast was complete. The younger students participated in a fairy tale reading by Miriam Mack, the chair of the European fairy tale centre ‘Märchenland’.

Michael Mack underlined the originality of both these projects, which has doubtless helped the young people with the development of their linguistic and digital skills and to better their independence and ability to cooperate.

A meeting across borders for a cheerful, concrete implementation of European ambitions!

Further information:
https://dgxy.link/

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More than 60 school pupils met at Europa-Park to complete an educational project carried out over the course of the whole academic year as part of a cross-border cooperation agreement reached with the Académie de Strasbourg.

29 pupils from the Collège de Kochersberg in Truchtersheim and 30 from the Rotteck grammar school in Freiburg alternated between remote exchanges via the eTwining platform and several in-person meetings, during which they delved into onomatopoeia, i.e. painting pictures with the sounds of both languages, and staged small sketches. During the whole joint project, great advances were made in mastering the language of the neighbour country, in broadening digital skills, in learning independence, the development of togetherness and the ability to cooperate between the students.

The joint excursion to Europa-Park allowed the young people to make the sounds they’d found resonate in a rally around the park, coordinated educationally by the Académie de Strasbourg.

Michael Mack was happy about this enormous opportunity to develop the linguistic competencies of young people creatively and to awaken their curiosity as to their neighbour’s culture and otherness at the same time

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Michael Mack welcomed around 40 students from the Collège de Coutances in Normandy and the Gymnasium in Ettenheim, alongside their teachers, as part of a Franco-German school exchange.

The Franco-German school exchange, supported by the Franco-German Youth Office (DFJW), allowed young people to make unique cultural discoveries by sharing their day-to-day lives with one another and to work on a project together. On the 60th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty being signed, the promotion of the partner language was once more put at the centre of bilateral cooperation. Staying in one’s neighbouring country is a particularly suitable means of learning its language and gaining indispensable intercultural skills.

Michael Mack was pleased to offer the pupils a unique environment for this approach, allowing them to exchange ideas as to their history and culture and to embark together on a journey of discovery through Europe’s cultural diversity.

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Every year, the discovery day invites businesses and institutions to get involved in the mobility between France and Germany of young people. Several secondary school classes for the hotel and restaurant industry in Guebwiller and Gérardmer were invited by the Honorary Consul to learn about the industry and professional opportunities in this area in the middle of Europa-Park.

School pupils studying for the French vocational qualification for the hotel industry and gastronomy could visualise the variety and scope of professions with representation at the Europa-Park resort.

The 4* theme hotels ‘Kronasar ─ The Museum Hotel’ and ‘Bell Rock’ were chosen as the venues for these encounters. A cycle of presentations, discussions between students and their teachers and, finally, a professional tour of the facilities took place there.

The Honorary Consul rejoiced in a day many new things could be learnt in. The discovery day ended with an afternoon at the theme park free of charge.

Further information:
https://www.ofaj.org/actus/journee-decouverte-sous-le-signe-de-l-hotellerie-a-europa-park.html

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This year, eleven young secondary school students from France and Germany on either side of the Rhine, chosen after qualifiers, were invited to provide, in the language of their neighbouring countries, their point of view as to the following question they were assigned: ‘You’re being invited to think about the improvement of Franco-German cohabitation in the Rhine border region. What measures would you take?’

The final took place in Strasbourg, capital of the Grand Est region. Rector of the University of Strasbourg, and the French Consul General in Stuttgart, Gaël de Maisonneuve, were present as guests of honour and welcomed this initiative to develop learning of the neighbour language to fluency, wishing the young people the best of luck with their commitments.

The finalist had provided a number of proposals: the creation of places in schools for Franco-German interaction, training ‘language ambassadors’ or setting up teacher-led online seminars … The young people were able to present all these initiatives engagingly and with talent, thereby winning over both audience and jury.

The first prize in the Oratory Competition was awarded by the Honorary Consulate to Paul Caruyer, student at the Wagenburg Gymnasium school in Stuttgart, and Valentin Buche, student at the Collège Jean Sturm in Strasbourg.

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Michael Mack welcomed around 40 students from the Collège de Coutances in Normandy and the Gymnasium in Ettenheim, alongside their teachers, as part of a Franco-German school exchange.

The Franco-German school exchange, supported by the Franco-German Youth Office (DFJW), allowed young people to make unique cultural discoveries by sharing their day-to-day lives with one another and to work on a project together. On the 60th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty being signed, the promotion of the partner language was once more put at the centre of bilateral cooperation. Staying in one’s neighbouring country is a particularly suitable means of learning its language and gaining indispensable intercultural skills.

Michael Mack was pleased to offer the pupils a unique environment for this approach, allowing them to exchange ideas as to their history and culture and to embark together on a journey of discovery through Europe’s cultural diversity.

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In the border region, the Rhine is not a border but a connecting link. 40,000 people currently work in the neighbouring country. The family business La Baguette in Freiburg, the French entrepreneur Guy Tonnelier in Kehl and the company Ernst Umformtechnik in Oberkirch discussed the obstacles they still encounter in their daily lives. The event was supported by the Honorary Consul, who is the managing partner of a company where more than a quarter of the employees come from France.

“Links with France and Alsace are of the utmost importance for the skilled crafts sector, which make up a large part of the economy in South Baden. As our industry is mainly organised on a regional basis, France is very important for us as a market and partner”, emphasised Dr. Handirk von Ungern-Sternberg, member of the board of the Freiburg Chamber of Crafts, to an audience of representatives from business and politics, various institutions, research and students from the region’s Franco-German courses. “There are almost 3,000 German companies working with the French economy. That is why we are committed to promoting relations with France and minimising bureaucratic hurdles”, added Dr Dieter Salomon, Managing Director of the Southern Upper Rhine Chamber of Industry and Commerce. “The developments of the last 60 years prove time and again that we have something to be proud of. There are numerous initiatives, cooperations and investments on both sides of the Rhine, and the governments and administrations are working to further strengthen cross-border relations”, emphasised Gaël de Maisonneuve, French Consul General in Baden-Württemberg.

Christine Jablonski, HR Manager for the French market at Europa-Park, was also invited to talk about the company’s strong Franco-German recruitment strategy and the solutions found to overcome the obstacles encountered (help with CV writing, integrated language courses, support for cultural understanding between the two nationalities).

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In der Grenzregion stellt der Rhein keine Grenze, sondern eine Verbindung dar. 40 000 Menschen arbeiten heute im Nachbarland.  Das Familienunternehmen La Baguette in Freiburg, der französische Unternehmer Guy Tonnelier in Kehl und das Unternehmen Ernst Umformtechnik aus Oberkirch sprachen über die Hindernisse, die ihnen im Alltag noch begegnen. Eine Veranstaltung, die vom Honorarkonsul unterstützt wurde, der geschäftsführender Gesellschafter eines Unternehmens ist, in dem mehr als ein Viertel seiner Arbeitskräfte aus Frankreich kommen.

„Die Verbindungen zu Frankreich und dem Elsass sind für das Handwerk, das einen großen Teil der Wirtschaft in Südbaden ausmacht, von größter Bedeutung. Da unsere Branche vor allem regional organisiert ist, ist Frankreich als Markt und Partner für uns sehr wichtig“, betonte Dr. Handirk von Ungern-Sternberg, Mitglied des Vorstands der Handwerkskammer Freiburg, vor Vertretern aus Wirtschaft und Politik, aus diversen Institutionen, der Forschung und aus Studierenden der deutsch-französischen Studiengänge der Region. „Fast 3.000 deutsche Unternehmen interagieren mit der französischen Wirtschaft. Deshalb setzen wir uns dafür ein, die Beziehungen zu Frankreich zu fördern und bürokratische Hürden zu minimieren“, fügte Dr. Dieter Salomon, Hauptgeschäftsführer der Industrie- und Handelskammer Südlicher Oberrhein, hinzu. „Die Entwicklungen der letzten 60 Jahre geben uns immer wieder Recht, stolz zu sein. Es gibt zahlreiche Initiativen, Kooperationen und Investitionen auf beiden Seiten des Rheins, und die Regierungen und Verwaltungen arbeiten daran, die grenzüberschreitenden Beziehungen weiter zu stärken“, betonte Gaël de Maisonneuve, französischer Generalkonsul in Baden-Württemberg.

Christine Jablonski, Referentin für Personalwesen Frankreich im Europa-Park, wurde ebenfalls eingeladen um  über die entschieden deutsch-französische Einstellungsstrategie des Unternehmens zu sprechen und Lösungen zu präsentieren, die zur Beseitigung der aufgetretenen Hindernisse gefunden wurden (Hilfe beim Verfassen des Lebenslaufs, integrierte Sprachkurse, Unterstützung des kulturellen Verständnisses zwischen den beiden Nationalitäten).

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