Welcome

Cultural ties with Germany

20.02.2018 - Press release

The cultural ties between Germany and South Africa are diverse and lively. The cultural department of the German Embassy in Pretoria works closely with a variety of partner institutions.

Promoting cooperation in the world of culture contributes to a better and more profound understanding between the people of both countries. In this, education plays a key role. We therefore work in close contact with educational authorities, schools, universities and many cultural organizations of civil society. This variety of bilateral projects creates a climate which is mutually beneficial for both countries.

The Team of the Cultural Department counts on: Herbert Behrendt MPhil (Oxon), Gunter Schmid, Nicole Harms, Lisa Ubrig (Secretariat)

Contact: Tel: +27 (0)12 427 8925

The world of German Language and Language Learning

In order to assist all partners who promote the German language and culture, the Embassy’s cultural department most gratefully relies on a network of friends. Several times a year a round table called Netzwerk Deutsch gathers to exchange views and information about established and new opportunities to learn and to study German. In this way we focus on our goal - our programmes and events which help to mirror a modern and adequate image of Germany today.

Below we introduce some of our long-term partners.

German International School Johannesburg

Structure: Crèche, Kindergarten, Primary School, Junior and Senior Secondary School

Contact information:
Deutsche Schule Johannesburg
11 Sans Souci Road, Parktown
2193 Johannesburg Tel: +27 11 726 6220/ 1

German International School Cape Town

Structure: Créche, Kindergarten, Primary School, Junior and Senior Secondary School

Contact information:
Deutsche Schule Kapstadt
28 Bay View Avenue, Tamboerskloof
8001 Cape Town
info@dsk.co.za Tel: +27 21 480 3830

German International School Pretoria

Structure: Crèche, Kindergarten, Primary School, Junior and Senior Secondary School

Contact information:

Deutsche Internationale Schule Pretoria

Simon Vermootenweg, The Willows

Pretoria
dsp@dsp.gp.school.za Tel: +27 12 803 4106

PASCH-Schools

The acronym PASCH stands for ”Schools: Partner for the Future“. Around 1,800 schools from all over the world are part of this network. Among them are more than 140 German schools abroad and over 1,600 other national schools which currently offer the German Language Diploma. These schools are supported by the German Foreign Office, the Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (ZfA) as well as the Goethe Institute, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Pädagogischer Austauschdienst der Kultusministerkonferenz (PAD), which is a department of the Secretariat of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the federal states in the Federal Republic of Germany.

For the 19 PASCH Schools in South Africa consult the world map

Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (ZfA)

ZfA-Language Advisor at Pretoria: Dr. Winfried Spanaus
Contact information:
pretoria@auslandsschulwesen.de
Tel.: +27 72 729 6433

ZfA- Officer Cape Town: Mr Stefan Marien, Association of German Language Teachers in Southern Africa

President: Alet Conradie

Goethe-Institut Johannesburg

Apart from offering a variety of opportunities to learn German, the Goethe-Institut is well known for its cultural activities. Exhibitions, movies, concerts, literature and workshops form part of the Goethe Programme. Owing to the tradition of promoting German culture traditional as much as modern aspects the Goethe-Institut occupies a key role in the cultural exchange between Germany and South Africa. Contact:
119 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood
2193 JohannesburgTel: +27 11 442 3232

Preservation of cultural heritage

Projects designed to preserve cultural heritage make up another field of our activities. Therefore, our assistance to modernize the Liliesleaf Document-Center is considered as an important example to keep the memory of history alive.

Liliesleaf

Liliesleaf is one of South Africa's premier heritage sites. It was at Liliesleaf that the police arrested many of the leaders of the liberation movement in July 1963. More than fifty years later, Liliesleaf is now home to extraordinary permanent exhibits that tell the story of South Africa’s journey to democracy. However, Liliesleaf is more than just a national heritage site; it is also a site of memory that keep the history of this period alive.

Music – Supporting creative industry

Music concert at the ambassador's residence© German Embassy Pretoria

The cultural department enjoys close links and continuous cooperation with musical artists. Institutions like ‘’Education Africa“ (Marimba), ”Tanztheater“, ”Don’t cross the border“ and the cappella group ”Just Six“ are only a few of our partners.