Rural Excellence Journalism Award (Satis Shroff)

PRESS PELEASE 

Applications Open for Badri-Kul Rural Excellence Journalism Award by Nepal-America Journalists Association (NEAJA)  
 
Kathmandu, February 23, 2012- Applications are open for the Badri-Kul Rural Excellence Journalism Award instituted by the Nepal-America Journalists Association (NEAJA) to honor a journalist or a media organization exclusively devoted to economic, social and cultural reform in rural areas and playing important role in mass awareness.
 
The award of NRs. 1,11,111.11 was established by NEAJA last year.
 
The application process in Nepal is being coordinated by Media Foundation (MF). Applications should arrive at the MF office, Shanti Marg, Bhatbhateni 40, PO Box 9824, Kathmandu by March 15, 2012. Details on the application process are available on the MF Website at www.media-foundation.org.
 
The NEAJA award committee will select the final winner from among three names recommended by the selection committee in Nepal.
 
The award will be given in the first week of May 2012 during the third NEAJA general convention in New York.

Badri-Kul Rural Excellence Journalism Award

It is our pleasure to inform you that we are now receiving applications for the first Nepal America Journalists’ Association Badri-Kul Memorial Rural Excellence Journalism Award (NMEA)-2011. This award is exclusively dedicated to those journalists or non-profit media institutions that have made significant contribution to rural journalism in Nepal. The total reward purse for the award is NRs.1,11,111.11. The award will be presented to the winner during the third General Convention of NEAJA to be held on the first weekend of May 2012 in New York.

Following are the guidelines for the applicants to be eligible for the Award:

1. Award recipient must be a Nepali citizen.

2. News media or the non-profit media organization (herein referred to as institution) applying for the award must be registered with the Nepal Government.

3. Such Institutions should be based and be working in rural areas (outside Kathmandu valley and other major townships) of Nepal.

4. Applicant should not be the member of any political party, and the institution must not be affiliated with any political party.

5. If applicant is an individual journalist his/her articles or audio/visual news reports must be published or broadcast through the media between January 1st of 2011 and December 31, 2011. This may not apply for non-profit organizations. However, such institutions may include their progress reports of the year 2011 while submitting their applications for the award.

6. The Award will go to an individual journalist or journalists or an institution whose works must have a direct impact to the socio-economic sector (including but not limited to education, health, agriculture, technology, environment, business and industries, and other imperative social issues) of rural areas of Nepal and must have helped uplift the life of people in those areas.

7. NMEA Award winner/s will be announced by March 30, 2012. The NMEA award winning journalist/s or institution will be notified formally and would be pursued for Visa to the USA. However, the winner should commit to NEAJA that he/she would return to Nepal before the expiry of the VISA.

8. Please send in your application letter along with your resume, progress reports (for institution), or three news samples published or broadcast between January 1st 2011 and December 31, 2011, and a brief note (not more than 500 words) outlining what impact your news pieces had on the community you covered and how the issues were addressed or resolved, by January 30, 2012 to:

Media Foundation Nepal, Email: info@media-foundation.org, 2 Shanti marga, Bhatbhateni 40, P. O. Box: 9824, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Review: The Inheritance of Loss (Satis Shroff)

'My characters are purely fictional,' says Kiran Desai. In her book (The Inheritance of Loss) she has tried to do exactly that, namely to capture her own knowledge about what it means to travel between East and West, and to examine the lives of migrants who are forced to hypocrisy, angst of being nabbed, and have biographies that have gaps, and whose lives are constructed with lies, where trust and faith in someone is impossible, as in the case of Sai and Gyan.

Migration is a sword with sharp blades on both sides. The feeling of loss when one leaves one'smatribhumi is just as intensive and dreadful as having to leave a foreign home, due to deportation, when one doesn't have the green-card or Aufenthaltserlaubnis. Everyone copes with such situations differently. Some don't have coping solutions and it becomes a traumatic experience for the rest of one's life. Some pull up their socks, keep a stiff upper-lip and begin elsewhere.

The problem of illegal migration hasn't been solved in the USA, Britain, France, Germany and other European countries. It is an open secret that the illegal migrants are used as cheap laborers according to the hire-and-fire principle, for these people belong to the underclass. In the USA it's chic to have Hispanics as baby-sitters, just as Eastern Bloc women are used by German families to do the household chores. Nepalis work under miserable conditions in India as darwans, chowkidars, cheap security personnel and the Indians have the same arrogance as the British colonialists. The judge, Lola and Noni are stereotypes, but such people do exist. It's not all fantasy. I'm sure the Gurkhas looking after photo-model Claudia Schiffer and singer Seal's house and guarding the palace of the Sultan of Brunei are well paid and contented, in comparison to other people in Nepal and the Indian sub-continent.

What does a person feel and think when he or she goes from a rich western country to the East? And what happens when a poor Indian comes to the USA (land of plenty) or Germany (Schlaraffenland)? Is there always a feeling of loss? I've been living thirty years in Germany and I have met and seen and worked with migrants with biographies from Irak, Iran, Turkey, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Kosovo, Albania, Croatia and East Bloc countries. The worst part of it is that the Germans ignored the fact that it had already become, what they call 'ein Einwanderungsland.' They thought they'd invited only guest workers after World War II, with limited stay-permits, not realizing that they'd encouraged human beings with families and emotional ties, hopes and desires of a better future in the new Heimat with for their children and their grand-children. 

Kiran Desai flashes back and forth, between Kalimpong and New York, and she uses typical clich's and Indian stereotypes that have also been promoted by Bollywood. She's just as cynical and hilarious with her descriptions of fellow Indians in the diaspora, as she is when she describes the Gorkhalis in Darjeeling. Her portrait of the Nepalis in Darjeeling is rather biased, but what can one expect from a thirty-six year old Indian woman who has been pampered in India, England and the USA? Her knowledge of Kalimpong and Darjeeling sounds theoretical and her characters don't speak Nepali. She lets them speak Hindi, because she herself didn't bother to learn Nepali during her stay in Kalimpong. The depiction of a Gorkhali world might be true, as far as poverty is concerned, but she has no idea of the rich Nepali literature (Indra Bahadur Rai, Shiva Kumar Rai, Banira Giri to name a few), and folks music in the diaspora. 

Gyan's role was overdone, especially when Sai demands that he should feel ashamed of his and his family's poverty and so-called low descent. What is Gyan? Is he a Chettri, Bahun, Rai Tamang, or even a Newar? Describing a country, landscape is one thing, but creeping into the skins of the characters is another. The Gorkha characters remain shallow, like caricatures in Bollywood films, and she overdoes it with the dialogue between Sai and Gyan. 

For someone like me, who also went to school in Darjeeling, Kiran Desai's book was a pleasant journey into the past, where I still have fond memories of the Darjeeling Nepalis, their struggle for recognition and dignity among the peoples of the vast Indian subcontinent. I'm glad that peace prevails in the Darjeeling district, although I wish Subash Ghising had negotiated more funds from the central Indian government, and a university in Darjeeling. Gangtok (Sikkim) also does not have a university. The recognition of Nepali was a positive factor, but a university each for Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong would have given more Nepalis (pardon, Gorkhalis) the opportunity for higher education and better jobs, if not in the country, then abroad. To eat dal-bhat-tarkari at home and acquire MAs and PhDs within one's familiar confines would have immensely helped the Gorkhali men and women, even more than the recognition of Nepali. We can regard it as a small step towards progress. 

The description of Gyan's visit to Kathmandu was extremely superficial. Kathmandu is a world, a cosmos in itself, with its exquisite temples and pagodas and stupas and the culturally rich Newaris families from Lalitpur, Bhadgaon and Kathmandu.

Kiran is, and remains, a supercilious brown-memsahib, like the made-over English characters of Varindra Tarzie Vittachi's fiercely satirical book 'The Brown Sahibs' in her attitude towards Gorkhalis and the downtrodden of her own country. I can imagine that the Nepali author D.B. Gurung is piqued about Desai's portrayal of the Nepalis in Kalimpong as 'crook, dupe, cheat and lesser humans' and his own emotional rejoinder regarding the Bengalis as 'the hungry jackals from the plains of Calcutta.' Since D.B. Gurung is known for his poetic vein, perhaps he can treat the long standing problems between Indians and Nepalis, or as Desai puts it, Bengis and Neps, in his lyrical verses. But please, less of the vitriol and more of tolerance, because even a poet and novelist can make or break human relations. I, for my part, am for living together, despite our differences, for variety is the spice of life in these days of globalization. Vive la difference. 

The story is served like a MacDonald's Big Mac for the modern reader, who has not much time, and there are multi-media distractions craving for his or her attention. As small morsels of information, like in a sit-com. I found the story-pace well timed and interesting, and she has a broad palette of problems that migrants face when they leave their homes, and when they return home. You can feel with Bijhu when he embraces his Papa in the end. A foreign-returned son, stripped of all his belongings. It was a terrific metaphor. I'm glad that there are women like Kiran Desai and Monica Ali (Brick Lane) who've traveled and experienced what it is like to be in the diaspora and try to capture the emotional and historical patterns in their lives as migrants. 

When you read the last page of the Desai's book you feel a bit dissatisfied because you wish that the unequal love affair between Gyan and Sai will go on and take a positive turn. There are so many Nepali-Indian couples who live happy conjugal lives with their families. I know at least three cases of Nepali women who're married to Bengalis. The Nepali women speak perfect Bengali, but their husbands don't speak Nepali, even though they live in Gorkhaland. They are proud that they can speak English instead. Nepali (Gorkhali or Khas Kura) is such a colorful and melodious language and we ought to listen to Sir Ralph Turner's when he says: 'Do not let your lovely language become the pale reflexion of a sanskritised Hindi.'

Dinesh Kafle calls Desai 'schizophrenic.' Well, when you talk with an Indian he always praises the achievements of India in terms of the second Silicon Valley (Bangalore), the Agni and Prithvi missiles, the increasing nuclear arsenal, the expanding armed forces etcetera. But, Gott sei dank, there are Indians, who like Gandhi, are humble, religious, practice humility, are poor, deprived, castless, untouchables and, nevertheless, human and full of empathy, clean in their souls and hearts, and regard this world as merely a maya, an illusion, an earthly spectacle to be seen and felt---without being attached. D. B. Gurung is wrong when he assumes that Desai seems 'unable to acclimatize herself to either the western milieu or her own home.' But where is her home? She's a rootless, creative jet-set gypsy, who calls India, England and USA her home. The gypsies (Sintis and Romas) were originally from India (Rajasthan), weren't they? 

Even V.S.Naipaul (Half a Life, The Mimic Men), J. M. Croatzee (Youth), Isabel Allende (The Stories of Eva Luna) and Prafulla Mohanti (Through Brown Eyes) haven't gone so far in their description of a race or nation the way Desai has in her book. What is missing in her writing is the intercultural competence. Instead of taking the trouble to learn Nepali and acquiring background knowledge about the tradition, religion, norms and values, culture and living style of the Gorkhalis in Darjeeling and the Nepalese in Nepal, and comparing it with her own Indian culture, and trying to seek what is common between the two cultures and moving towards peace, tolerance, reconciliation---she just remains adamant , like her protagonist Sai. She does not make an ethnic reflection, but goes on and on, with a jaundiced view, till the bitter end. The dialogue between Neps and Bengis, between Neps and other Indians (Beharis and Marwaris and others from the plains) or between the British and Indians cannot be described as successful intercultural dialogues. The dialogues are carried out the way it should not, because there's always a fear that one is different in terms of social and ethnic status, even between her two main protagonists: Sai and Gyan. There is no attempt to reveal the facts behind an alien in a new cultural environment, no accepting of the problems of identity and no engagement for equality and against discrimination.

If you're looking for frustrations-tolerance, empathy and solidarity with the Gorkhalis in the book, it's just not there. The characters necessary for intercultural interaction are joy in interaction with foreign cultures (not arrogance and egoism), consciousness of one's own culture, stress tolerance, tolerance of ambiguity, and bucketfuls of empathy. Had she shown empathy towards the Nepalis from Darjeeling and Kalimpong and made a happy-end love story between Gyan and Sai, the Nepalese would have greeted her with khadas and marigold malas. The way it is, she has only stirred a hornet's nest. Kiran just doesn't have empathy for Neps, despite the Booker Prize. Great women are judged by the way they treat the underprivileged and downtrodden. With 36 years, it's time for meditation and self-searching in Rishikesh, like the Beatles, I suppose.  

Review: The Inheritance of Loss (Satis Shroff)

'My characters are purely fictional,' says Kiran Desai. In her book (The Inheritance of Loss) she has tried to do exactly that, namely to capture her own knowledge about what it means to travel between East and West, and to examine the lives of migrants who are forced to hypocrisy, angst of being nabbed, and have biographies that have gaps, and whose lives are constructed with lies, where trust and faith in someone is impossible, as in the case of Sai and Gyan.

Migration is a sword with sharp blades on both sides. The feeling of loss when one leaves one'smatribhumi is just as intensive and dreadful as having to leave a foreign home, due to deportation, when one doesn't have the green-card or Aufenthaltserlaubnis. Everyone copes with such situations differently. Some don't have coping solutions and it becomes a traumatic experience for the rest of one's life. Some pull up their socks, keep a stiff upper-lip and begin elsewhere.

The problem of illegal migration hasn't been solved in the USA, Britain, France, Germany and other European countries. It is an open secret that the illegal migrants are used as cheap laborers according to the hire-and-fire principle, for these people belong to the underclass. In the USA it's chic to have Hispanics as baby-sitters, just as Eastern Bloc women are used by German families to do the household chores. Nepalis work under miserable conditions in India as darwans, chowkidars, cheap security personnel and the Indians have the same arrogance as the British colonialists. The judge, Lola and Noni are stereotypes, but such people do exist. It's not all fantasy. I'm sure the Gurkhas looking after photo-model Claudia Schiffer and singer Seal's house and guarding the palace of the Sultan of Brunei are well paid and contented, in comparison to other people in Nepal and the Indian sub-continent.

What does a person feel and think when he or she goes from a rich western country to the East? And what happens when a poor Indian comes to the USA (land of plenty) or Germany (Schlaraffenland)? Is there always a feeling of loss? I've been living thirty years in Germany and I have met and seen and worked with migrants with biographies from Irak, Iran, Turkey, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Kosovo, Albania, Croatia and East Bloc countries. The worst part of it is that the Germans ignored the fact that it had already become, what they call 'ein Einwanderungsland.' They thought they'd invited only guest workers after World War II, with limited stay-permits, not realizing that they'd encouraged human beings with families and emotional ties, hopes and desires of a better future in the new Heimat with for their children and their grand-children. 

Kiran Desai flashes back and forth, between Kalimpong and New York, and she uses typical clich's and Indian stereotypes that have also been promoted by Bollywood. She's just as cynical and hilarious with her descriptions of fellow Indians in the diaspora, as she is when she describes the Gorkhalis in Darjeeling. Her portrait of the Nepalis in Darjeeling is rather biased, but what can one expect from a thirty-six year old Indian woman who has been pampered in India, England and the USA? Her knowledge of Kalimpong and Darjeeling sounds theoretical and her characters don't speak Nepali. She lets them speak Hindi, because she herself didn't bother to learn Nepali during her stay in Kalimpong. The depiction of a Gorkhali world might be true, as far as poverty is concerned, but she has no idea of the rich Nepali literature (Indra Bahadur Rai, Shiva Kumar Rai, Banira Giri to name a few), and folks music in the diaspora. 

Gyan's role was overdone, especially when Sai demands that he should feel ashamed of his and his family's poverty and so-called low descent. What is Gyan? Is he a Chettri, Bahun, Rai Tamang, or even a Newar? Describing a country, landscape is one thing, but creeping into the skins of the characters is another. The Gorkha characters remain shallow, like caricatures in Bollywood films, and she overdoes it with the dialogue between Sai and Gyan. 

For someone like me, who also went to school in Darjeeling, Kiran Desai's book was a pleasant journey into the past, where I still have fond memories of the Darjeeling Nepalis, their struggle for recognition and dignity among the peoples of the vast Indian subcontinent. I'm glad that peace prevails in the Darjeeling district, although I wish Subash Ghising had negotiated more funds from the central Indian government, and a university in Darjeeling. Gangtok (Sikkim) also does not have a university. The recognition of Nepali was a positive factor, but a university each for Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong would have given more Nepalis (pardon, Gorkhalis) the opportunity for higher education and better jobs, if not in the country, then abroad. To eat dal-bhat-tarkari at home and acquire MAs and PhDs within one's familiar confines would have immensely helped the Gorkhali men and women, even more than the recognition of Nepali. We can regard it as a small step towards progress. 

The description of Gyan's visit to Kathmandu was extremely superficial. Kathmandu is a world, a cosmos in itself, with its exquisite temples and pagodas and stupas and the culturally rich Newaris families from Lalitpur, Bhadgaon and Kathmandu.

Kiran is, and remains, a supercilious brown-memsahib, like the made-over English characters of Varindra Tarzie Vittachi's fiercely satirical book 'The Brown Sahibs' in her attitude towards Gorkhalis and the downtrodden of her own country. I can imagine that the Nepali author D.B. Gurung is piqued about Desai's portrayal of the Nepalis in Kalimpong as 'crook, dupe, cheat and lesser humans' and his own emotional rejoinder regarding the Bengalis as 'the hungry jackals from the plains of Calcutta.' Since D.B. Gurung is known for his poetic vein, perhaps he can treat the long standing problems between Indians and Nepalis, or as Desai puts it, Bengis and Neps, in his lyrical verses. But please, less of the vitriol and more of tolerance, because even a poet and novelist can make or break human relations. I, for my part, am for living together, despite our differences, for variety is the spice of life in these days of globalization. Vive la difference. 

The story is served like a MacDonald's Big Mac for the modern reader, who has not much time, and there are multi-media distractions craving for his or her attention. As small morsels of information, like in a sit-com. I found the story-pace well timed and interesting, and she has a broad palette of problems that migrants face when they leave their homes, and when they return home. You can feel with Bijhu when he embraces his Papa in the end. A foreign-returned son, stripped of all his belongings. It was a terrific metaphor. I'm glad that there are women like Kiran Desai and Monica Ali (Brick Lane) who've traveled and experienced what it is like to be in the diaspora and try to capture the emotional and historical patterns in their lives as migrants. 

When you read the last page of the Desai's book you feel a bit dissatisfied because you wish that the unequal love affair between Gyan and Sai will go on and take a positive turn. There are so many Nepali-Indian couples who live happy conjugal lives with their families. I know at least three cases of Nepali women who're married to Bengalis. The Nepali women speak perfect Bengali, but their husbands don't speak Nepali, even though they live in Gorkhaland. They are proud that they can speak English instead. Nepali (Gorkhali or Khas Kura) is such a colorful and melodious language and we ought to listen to Sir Ralph Turner's when he says: 'Do not let your lovely language become the pale reflexion of a sanskritised Hindi.'

Dinesh Kafle calls Desai 'schizophrenic.' Well, when you talk with an Indian he always praises the achievements of India in terms of the second Silicon Valley (Bangalore), the Agni and Prithvi missiles, the increasing nuclear arsenal, the expanding armed forces etcetera. But, Gott sei dank, there are Indians, who like Gandhi, are humble, religious, practice humility, are poor, deprived, castless, untouchables and, nevertheless, human and full of empathy, clean in their souls and hearts, and regard this world as merely a maya, an illusion, an earthly spectacle to be seen and felt---without being attached. D. B. Gurung is wrong when he assumes that Desai seems 'unable to acclimatize herself to either the western milieu or her own home.' But where is her home? She's a rootless, creative jet-set gypsy, who calls India, England and USA her home. The gypsies (Sintis and Romas) were originally from India (Rajasthan), weren't they? 

Even V.S.Naipaul (Half a Life, The Mimic Men), J. M. Croatzee (Youth), Isabel Allende (The Stories of Eva Luna) and Prafulla Mohanti (Through Brown Eyes) haven't gone so far in their description of a race or nation the way Desai has in her book. What is missing in her writing is the intercultural competence. Instead of taking the trouble to learn Nepali and acquiring background knowledge about the tradition, religion, norms and values, culture and living style of the Gorkhalis in Darjeeling and the Nepalese in Nepal, and comparing it with her own Indian culture, and trying to seek what is common between the two cultures and moving towards peace, tolerance, reconciliation---she just remains adamant , like her protagonist Sai. She does not make an ethnic reflection, but goes on and on, with a jaundiced view, till the bitter end. The dialogue between Neps and Bengis, between Neps and other Indians (Beharis and Marwaris and others from the plains) or between the British and Indians cannot be described as successful intercultural dialogues. The dialogues are carried out the way it should not, because there's always a fear that one is different in terms of social and ethnic status, even between her two main protagonists: Sai and Gyan. There is no attempt to reveal the facts behind an alien in a new cultural environment, no accepting of the problems of identity and no engagement for equality and against discrimination.

If you're looking for frustrations-tolerance, empathy and solidarity with the Gorkhalis in the book, it's just not there. The characters necessary for intercultural interaction are joy in interaction with foreign cultures (not arrogance and egoism), consciousness of one's own culture, stress tolerance, tolerance of ambiguity, and bucketfuls of empathy. Had she shown empathy towards the Nepalis from Darjeeling and Kalimpong and made a happy-end love story between Gyan and Sai, the Nepalese would have greeted her with khadas and marigold malas. The way it is, she has only stirred a hornet's nest. Kiran just doesn't have empathy for Neps, despite the Booker Prize. Great women are judged by the way they treat the underprivileged and downtrodden. With 36 years, it's time for meditation and self-searching in Rishikesh, like the Beatles, I suppose.  

Green City Freiburg: European Convention of Environmental Laureates (Satis Shroff)

European Environmental Laureates Convention in Freiburg (Satis Shroff)

Freiburg is set to play host to environmental laureates from across the globe: under the patronage of Klaus Töpfer, the European Environment Foundation is organising the first “European Convention of Environmental Laureates”, to be held in Freiburg from 08-11 March 2012.

The convention is to serve as a platform for international and interdisciplinary exchange between figures who actively shape environmental policy.  There is to be a joint declaration from environmental laureates on UN Conference Rio+20. As part of the convention there will be meetings with young academics, students and school pupils, which is to this scribe reminiscent to the pow-pow of Nobel Prize laureates in the flowery isle of Mainau, which I attend sometime back as an invitee of the committee.

From 8-11 March 2012, the European Environment Foundation will hold the 1st European Convention of  Environmental Laureates in the fair Schwarzwald city of Freiburg. The remit of organising such a convention in the city is a key aspect of the European Environment Foundation’s charitable work.

Forty scientists and environmentalists from around the world, all winners of prestigious European and selected non-European environmental prizes, have announced their intention to participate at the first convention being organised in Freiburg.

The Convention has three key aspects: It is planned that environmental laureates will adopt a “Declaration of European Environmental Laureates on Rio+20” at the convention during the run-up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

Time for exchange between prize winners and young academics, students and school pupils, which is being coordinated together with the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Sciences at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg. Other programme features include a panel discussion with selected laureates and young environmental campaigners, as well as round table talks where laureates will discuss issues in detail with school pupils, students and young academics.

The convention aims to provide a platform for international, interdisciplinary, open-ended exchange between laureates from a broad spectrum of countries and from diverse research and working fields within the wide environmental world. In particular, it is intended to facilitate exchange at a personal level between environmental policy visionaries and pioneers, which is why the convention programme also includes a number of cultural events and opportunities to socialise. Furthermore, all laureates have been invited to attend together with their partners.

The patron of the 1st European Convention of Environmental Laureates will be Prof. Klaus Töpfer, former German Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Prof. Töpfer is also a former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi. Furthermore, acclaimed climate researcher Prof. Hans Joachim Schnellhuber will speak about “The Great Transformation” at a public event on the evening of 9th March 2012 in Freiburg’s Historic Merchants’ Hall (Historischen Kaufhaus), which is located near the cathedral.

The convention will be financed by the European Environment Foundation and through contributions from Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik & Messe (FWTM). The Mayor of Freiburg, Dieter Salomon, is a member of the Board of Trustees and has supported the project from its initial stages.

Freiburg is considered to be one of the birthplaces of the environmental movement, and has made a name for itself in the fields of solar research and solar technology, traffic policy, environmental and climate protection, and urban development. By launching the convention, the founding members and trustees of the foundation wish to strengthen Freiburg’s role as a “Green City” and a pioneer of sustainability. They also aim to provide fresh impetus to sustainability policy in Freiburg and the discussions that surround this. Bringing together international visionaries and pioneers in Freiburg in this way also serves to publicise and develop ecological endeavours across the globe. The international focus of the convention stems from the conviction that all environmental policy must be implemented on an international scale in order to be effective.

The European Environment Foundation was founded in autumn 2011. The aim of the foundation, which is registered under Swiss law, is to promote dialogue in all environmental policy disciplines within the European states, to provide them with stimuli and to spur on exchange within Europe that is constructive, builds trust, fosters communication and inspires research. The foundation is proud to name 12 distinguished figures from the international environmental movement as its trustees. Prof. Eicke R. Weber, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, holds the position of Chairman. Founding members of the foundation are Bernd Dallmann and Rolf Hiller.

WELCOME TO KAPPEL! Freiburg-Kappel's MGV 'Liederkranz' invites the delegation (laureates) of the European Environmental Convention to the Brauchtumsabend, an evening of traditional Allemanic customs and beliefs at the Festhalle Kappel.
The Schauinsländer Berggeister (Mountain Spirits of Schauinsland) are at it again in Kappel: the season of merry-making has started.Will be attending Kappel's traditional Brauchtumsabend, an entertaining evening of traditional customs from the Black Forest.

The 27th Automobil 2012: A Success in Freiburg (Satis Shroff)

                                                         Cars Galore at the Automobil 2012

                                                 Historischen Kaufhaus, Freiburger Münsterplatz

                                                                Upcoming singer Esra Lilian

The 27th Automobil 2012 was a Success (Satis Shroff)

Es gab zufriedene Gesichter auf der 27. AUTOMOBIL, die am heutigen Sonntag

in Freiburg zu Ende ging. Von „zufrieden“ über „sehr zufrieden“ bis hin zu

„außergewöhnlich gut“ lauteten die Einschätzungen der Aussteller über die

vorangegangenen drei Messetage. „Wenn das Jahr 2012 insgesamt sich so

entwickelt wie die Freiburger AUTOMOBIL, dann wird es ein gutes Autojahr, dass

möglicherweise sogar 2011 leicht übertreffen könnte“, fasste Dieter Rüd, Citroen-

Händler und Sprecher der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Freiburger Autohäuser seine

Eindrücke zusammen.

Hauptthema auf allen Ständen der AUTOMOBIL war die Frage nach den alternativen

Antrieben. Hier wurden intensive Gespräche geführt. Oft, so Klaus Schömmel,

Inhaber des Autohauses Nord, Vertreter der Marke Toyota, seien die vermeintlich

hohen Preise für Hybrid- und andere alternativ angetrieben Fahrzeuge bemängelt

worden. „Wenn man aber dem Kunden sachlich erläutert, was an Aufwand und

Technik in so einem modernen Fahrzeug steckt, dann wird der scheinbar hohe Preis

akzeptiert!“. Eine ähnliche Beobachtung machte auch Robert Scheffler, Mitglied der

Geschäftsleitung der Mercedes-Niederlassung Freiburg. Auf dem Daimler-Stand

interessierten sich sehr viele Besucher für die Zukunftstechnologie des

Forschungsfahrzeuges F125. Der wasserstoffgetriebene Prototyp löste die Frage

nach der Versorgung mit Treibstoff aus: eine entsprechende Tankstelle steht in

Freiburg zur Verfügung.

„Wir kommen wieder!“, so lautete bei den befragten Händlern das Fazit – egal ob von

Matthias Krüger (VW) oder von Dieter Rüd (Citroen), Klaus Schömmel (Toyota),

Hans-Jörg Märtin (BMW) und anderen Markenvertretern. Auch Newcomer Reinhard

Kleißler will auf der AUTOMOBIL 2013 wieder mit dabei sein: „Ich habe alle meine

Ziele erreicht: ich konnte die Marke Wiesmann bekannter machen und verdeutlichen,

dass diese edlen Fahrzeuge hier bei mir in Freiburg zu kaufen sind!“ Kleißler kann

sich zusätzlich freuen: voraussichtlich zwei der Nobel-Sportwagen hat er verkauft.

Was Verkäufe angeht, so waren die Händler „zufrieden“ bis „sehr zufrieden!“. Ford-

Händler Ernst & König machte aus seinen Verkaufserfolgen keinen Hehl: immer

wieder klang die „Verkaufserfolgshymne“ durch die Messehallen.

Über 20.000 Besucher waren an den drei Tagen auf dem Freiburger Messegelände

und informierten sich über die aktuellsten Produkte der Auto-Industrie. Manches war

so neu wie bei Toyota: hier gehen einige Ausstellungsfahrzeuge noch in der Nacht

zum Montag auf die Reise: nach Genf, zur nächsten Automobilmesse!

„Freiburg ist eine ganz eigene Automobilmesse – sie ist Neuwagen-, Präsentationsund

Verkaufsschau in einem. Nirgendwo bekommen die Firmen unmittelbar so klare

Informationen über Kundenwünsche wie bei uns!“, sagte Messechef Klaus W.

Seilnacht. Toyota hat dies offensichtlich erkannt: deren Deutschland-Chef Tokiashi

Yasuda war am Freitag einer der Messebesucher gewesen…, aber auch

hochrangige Vertreter von Ford, Opel sowie Wiesman Automobile haben sich

persönlich von der AUTOMOBIL in Freiburg überzeugen lassen.

Are You Tuned In? (Satis Shroff)

Cars are mostly mass-produced wares. But how can you make them special, individual? Through tuning. At the fair 4 in Freiburg there was the biggest new car fair in South Baden, and the 2^nd Tuning and Sound Convention, with great cars and entertainment for the visitors, because cars have always had a cult-status in the society. I knew two workers from Romania and Sri Lanka who worked in a microchip factory. No education, no scope in Germany, aside from the factory job, but they were contented and drove big, fat Mercedes Benz cars. It was a sign that they’d arrived in Germany. The car was the symbol of attainment in their lives.

Back to the tuning. Caroline Schubert from Gundelfingen, who is the Tuning Convention Girl, was looking for a successor. Katherina Kuhlmann, a TV moderator, racing driver and model and Jo Scholz were also there. Besides the Miss Tuning and Sound Girl competiton there was also body-painting , grid-girls, games amid the smell of petrol and rubber permeating in the air, in addition to sound measurement, chip-tuning and car-styling.

At this year’s Tuning and Sound Convention some 50 promoters were present with their products: 22 latest brands from nine countries: Audi, BMW, Citroen, Dacia, Fiat, Ford, Hundai, Iveco,,KIA, Mercedes Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, Seat, Smart, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo and, of course the exclusive Wiesmann automobiles.

There was even a Miss Freiburg competition and the winner could take part in the Miss Baden-Württemberg competition, which in turn could be used as a jumping-pad for the Miss Germany selection. No wonder the current Miss Germany Ann-kathrin Kosch sat in the jury. As a treat for soccer fans you could pose with the UEFA Champions League Cup.

As in the year 2011, the passion for cars seems to increase unabated, despite the financial problems of European countries. Although tuning seems to be a domain for men, where there’s a lot of horse-power involved, beautiful girls aren’t very far. Most of the visitors were obviously male but the number of ladies interested in automobiles is rising gradually. Styling is ‘in’ in the case of cars and female models.

BLACK FOREST CLASSIC (Satis Shroff)

Who hasn’t dreamt as a child of cars? As boys you read comics and were fascinated by the sleek, streamlined form of the batmobile, a Porsche, a Bugatti or Ferrari. I went to the Black Forest Classic Days at the local fair (Messehalle) at the invitation of Dr. Franziska Pankow, who runs the Freiburg Commerce Tourism and Fair. And there they were: the Oldtimers from different epochs.

Why are we fascinated by old cars (as well as new ones)? How much does it cost to gather old cars? Where can you find beautiful cars? And what does the exhibition-cum-fair called ‘Automobil (e) have to show lovers of Oldtimers?

Dietrich Grossblotekamp, an author on cars and the PR man of the German Automobile Veteran’s Club in South Baden says: ‘The term ‘old car’ is not precise for an Oldtimer. Such a car is a historical vehicle, at least 30 years old in original condition or restored. Old cars become Oldtimers when they fulfil certain conditions.’

Four historical cars that caught my eye were: a pre- World War II one, and from the fifties, sixties and seventies.

One of them was the stately rarity called Sunbeam Speed 20 Monte Carlo from the year 1934. The English firm manufactured bicycles first, then motorbikes and since 1899 also cars. The Chrysler Sunbeam was the last model in the year 1977. The Sunbeam in question was a pre-war, black English Sport limousine of the upper class. 30 such wagons were produced, of which only five exist today. It has a three litre six-cylinder motor with 72 horse-power and attains a maximum speed of 135 km per hour.

The next attractive car was the Fiat 500 Topolino, which was produced in Turin (Italy) in 1936 in three versions. The Italians dubbed it ‘Topolino’ which means a wee mouse. The exhibition model belongs to the series C, which was built from 1948 till 1955. All in all, 370,000 left the factory. It had a 4-cylinder motor with 16,5 HP.

Jaguar began producing cars in 1931 and till then it had manufactured motorbike side wagons. There was  a Jaguar MK II, a sporting limousine built in 1967, with a 6-cylinder motor and a 165 HP. The maximum speed was more than 200 km/h. Good for the autobahn on the left spur (track).

There was even a Volkswagen 1303 LS Cabrio. The first carosserie factory in Osbabrueck started rolling in 1949. This one was built in 1978. I love cabrios. The car had a 4-cylinder  motor with 60 HP and used to cost 8840 euros in 1972. In Deutsche Marks that would be quite a lot. Exactly 320281 VW cabrios were produced from 1949 till 1980 by Karosseriefabrik Karmann. It might be mentioned that there’s an Oldtimer Stammtisch, where Oldtimer fans sit around a table and talk about their cars, in Holzhausen (South baden). Holzhausen had also BMW-motorbikes like the one-cylinder R25 and the two cylinder R51, mopeds built by Messerschmidt, BMW-Isettas, BMW 600, an unrestored NSU Prinz 2, and even a Goggomobile. A Mercedes 170 DS from the year 1953 was also on exhibit.

The Hippies who drove all the way via Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and sold their VW T1 buses in Katmandu to chillax with hash in Nepal’s capital and Pokhara, before flying home was also on exhibit. We Germany called the bus ‘the bulli’. The closed version of the bus was called ‘Die Ratte’ (rat), perhaps because you could scurry with it everywhere.

Whether the cars in the old days were better is a matter of taste. In the old days the automobiles were individual in design and upholstery, unlike the uniform carosseries constructed in the wind canals today.

Can only rich people afford such Oldtimers? Not at all, because there are enough historical vehicles that even people with small wallets can afford. And cars that are no longer in demand can be inexpensive and come from people who can’t part from their favourite cars, which they hide in old barns and garages. Or you can buy them cheap in other countries. I know a medical colleague who bought a vintage Mercedes in India, and had it shipped to Germany. There’s an Oldtimer rally with participants from a lot of European countries from 10^th of May till the 13^th of May in Kirchzarten, near Freiburg-Kappel, where I live. Welcome to the Schwarzwald Classic Days.