Speeches & Texts
Pre-Departure Event for 2nd Community Service Pilot Project
Berlin, September 26, 2011
Ambassador Philip D. Murphy
Es ist für mich eine große Ehre, heute 13 ganz besondere Menschen kennen zu lernen, und zwar die 13 ganz besonderen Menschen, die sich gemeldet haben, um an einem ganz besonderen Austauschprogramm teilzunehmen. Daniela, Malene, Bilal, Cindy, Livia, Julius, Samantha, Vivien, Dominik, Nina, Nergiz, Victoria, Hanie, es ist mir eine Freude und eine Ehre, euch heute hier in der Botschaft willkommen zu heißen. In einigen Tagen werdet ihr eine Reise in mein Land antreten. Ich hoffe, dass diese Reise eine unvergessliche, aufregende und interessante Erfahrung und Herausforderung für euch werden wird.
Ich möchte mich an dieser Stelle bei Frau Herz von der Joachim Herz Stiftung und bei Youth for Understanding für ihre Unterstützung bedanken.
[I am honored today to meet 13 very special people – 13 very special people who stepped forward and applied to take part in a very special exchange program. Daniela, Malene, Bilal, Cindy, Livia, Julius, Samantha, Vivien, Dominik, Nina, Nergiz, Victoria, Hanie, it is a pleasure and a privilege to welcome you here at the Embassy. In a few days, you will be embarking on a trip to my country – a trip that I hope will be an unforgettable experience for you – unforgettably interesting, exciting and also challenging.
I would like to thank Mrs. Herz from the Joachim Herz Stiftung and Youth for Understanding for their support of this program.]
But most of all, I would like to thank you, the participants in our second Community Service Pilot Project, for your interest in learning more about America and Americans. I am convinced that exchange programs are the best ways for anybody to truly learn about a foreign country and its people. It’s probably easier to visit a country as a tourist and take in the sights and sounds from the viewpoint of a tour bus window. But for those who are brave – and it does take some courage – and ready and willing and eager to learn from the inside out and not the outside in, the opportunities presented by exchange programs are enormous.
What makes this particular exchange program so special is that it provides participants with the opportunity to become part of a community. You will go into a school and become part of a class. You will go into an American home and become part of a family. And you will work on a community service project and become part of a team.
Traditional exchange programs usually are focused on academics at one of America’s fine colleges or universities. These institutions, sometimes working in partnership with a German counterpart, have often been at the forefront of finding the answers to some of the world’s great challenges. Maybe one day one of you will go back to the United States on one of these more traditional programs, as a Fulbright or a DAAD scholar. I hope so. But the program that you are about to embark on is very different.
You will be part of another wonderful American tradition – a tradition of community service, a tradition that empowers ordinary people to do extraordinary things by improving their local communities through service. And so just as traditional exchange programs help students to discover literature or science; this program provides opportunities for young people, for you, to discover a sense of purpose through service.
Präsident Obama spricht oft über seine Erfahrungen als Community Organizer in Chicago vor 20 Jahren. Er war sich damals nicht sicher, was ihn dort erwarten würde, hatte sich aber von den Geschichten über die Bürgerrechtsbewegung inspirieren lassen. Er erinnert sich, dass es keine einfache Arbeit war. Mit der Zeit und durch die Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Gemeinden sah er allerdings, dass er und seine Kollegen wirklich etwas im Leben der Menschen bewirken konnten. Er erkannte außerdem, dass er nicht nur anderen half, sondern auch selbst etwas zurückbekam. Diese Arbeit gab seinem Leben eine Richtung, und genau danach hatte er gesucht. Er erkannte, wie sich seine eigene ungewöhnliche Lebensgeschichte in die größere Geschichte der Vereinigten Staaten einfügte.
Ich hoffe, dass Ihr alle herausfindet, wie sich euer Leben in die größere Geschichte der deutsch-amerikanischen Partnerschaft fügt.
[President Obama often talks about his experience as a community organizer in Chicago twenty years ago. As he recalls, he wasn’t sure what was waiting for him there but he had been inspired by the stories of the civil rights movement. He also remembers that it wasn’t easy work but eventually, over time, working with leaders from across a number of communities, he began to see how he and his colleagues were making a real difference in people’s lives. He also came to realize that he wasn’t just helping other people; he was receiving something in return. Through service, he found the direction that he had been looking for and he discovered how his own improbable life story fit into the larger story of America. I hope that all of you will discover how your lives fit into the larger story of the German-American partnership.
I am confident that this will indeed happen because, as you probably know, you belong to our second group of young Community Service experts.]
A year ago, a group of young Germans – like you, young people from many different backgrounds and schools – spent two weeks in Buffalo. Afterwards, Bettina from the Embassy interviewed them about their experiences. They prepared food at a neighborhood soup kitchen and filled bags with food for distribution to needy families; they sorted used clothing in a charity drive; they painted the house of a disabled veteran and the porch of an elderly lady, and participated in other neighborhood cleanup projects.
Here are some of their comments:
- “Working in these projects was challenging sometimes and hard work. I was really tired by the end of the day but also proud that I did it."
- "I learned that by working together in a team, we could make a difference.”
- And I love this one: "My family and friends do not know a lot about the U.S and also have a lot of prejudices. Since I have been back, I am always talking to them about the U.S. I want to correct their image about America. And I also want to promote the idea of community service in Germany.”
That first group really “got it” and this has encouraged us to move forward with this initiative. We would like to grow the program even more and so we are looking forward to your input when you get back.
Wir danken der Joachim Herz Stiftung und Youth for Understanding für ihre großzügige Unterstützung. Ich bin mir sicher, dass sie euch ebenfalls alles Gute für euer großes Abenteuer wünschen. Viel Spaß in den USA. Genießt und nutzt die Zeit!
[We are very grateful to the people from the Joachim Herz Stiftung and Youth for Understanding for their generous support. I know that they join me in wishing you all the very best for your great adventure. Have a wonderful time in the USA. Learn and do and see a lot!]