The Japan Foundation Award 50th Anniversary Messages from Previous Awardees - The Berliner Festspiele
2001 The Japan Foundation Special Prize
The Berliner Festspiele
[Germany]
My sincere congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the Japan Foundation Awards. The world has changed a great deal during this half-century, and I feel that encouraging mutual international understanding has grown in importance and significance. The Berliner Festspiele, which was founded around 70 years ago, has also come to engage in a variety of cultural practices, enabling us to play a role in civil society as we respond to the changes of the times.
(c) Marlena Waldthausen / Berliner Festspiele
Throughout the year, the Berliner Festspiele organizes various festivals, exhibitions, concerts, dances, theatre plays, readings, lectures, debates, and more. These events are now held in various places around the city of Berlin, but are mainly presented in two venues: the Gropius Bau exhibition hall and the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.
We received a Japan Foundation Special Prize in 2001. It was truly the start of a new century, with the arrival of a global society, the challenges of which are manifesting in various ways today. You could say this corresponds with the German federal government’s policy of considering the Berliner Festspiele a cultural institution in 2002.
Receiving such a wonderful award was an opportunity to redefine our role as an entity that fulfills our promises to audiences and citizens, not only in the city of Berlin but across Germany, and in turn strives to encourage international mutual understanding. For many years, we focused on introducing exceptional art from Japan and promoting mutual understanding between Japan and Germany, and we are deeply grateful that our work was recognized in this way.
We offer our heartfelt prayer that the Japan Foundation Awards are able to develop more and more, honoring the people and organizations that contribute to promoting mutual international understanding.
Matthias Pees
Intendant of Berliner Festspiele
(Original text in Japanese)
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