The trip began with a meeting with State Secretary Wolfgang Schmidt. The Commissioner for Federal, European and Foreign Affairs of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg summed up the assets of his city with the sentence: “We are the gate to the world”. The group saw what this means in practice during a harbour tour and a visit to the harbour management company, Hamburger Hafen und Logisitk AG (HHLA). In discussions, the diplomats got to know what relevance the harbour has for German foreign trade with China and the Baltic Sea area and how the city successfully adapts to globalisation. During a visit to Airbus, the metropolitan area of Hamburg as a leading location for civil aviation industry worldwide was the focus.
During discussions at the North German Broadcasting station (NDR) and the magazine “DER SPIEGEL”, the participants got to know Hamburg as a centre for media. At the NDR, the relevance and the selection of topics for the Tagesschau were especially of interest. With Britta Sandberg, chief editor of the foreign desk of “DER SPIEGEL”, the diplomats discussed issues of quality control in print media and the daily work of the editorial department. Asked about the importance of her magazine in the German media scene, Britta Sandberg emphasized, “we play a special role”.
The Diplomatenkolleg is a unique advanced training programme organized by the Federal Foreign Office and the Robert Bosch Foundation for young diplomats who are accredited in Germany. The programme is implemented with support from the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).
For more information, please contact Ms Senta Höfer, senta.hoefer@diplo.de, 030 1817 4838 or Ms Sarah Wohlfeld, sarah.wohlfeld@diplo.de, 030 1817 1914.
