Dr. Bumke, a series of events called “Germany in Vietnam” began earlier this year. What prompted this programme?
The actual and formal occasion is the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which were established immediately after the war ended in 1975. On a more fundamental level, however, it can be said that there could hardly have been a more favourable or appropriate moment for these celebrations. A number of strands in these relations, some of which reach a long way back into the past, are currently intensifying and coming together in a way that gives German-Vietnamese relations as a whole a completely new quality, so that it makes sense to look back as well as forward in 2010.
What links Germany and Vietnam in particular?
Over decades, Germany has not had such intense relations with any other Southeast Asian country. Academic exchanges with the former GDR, which went back well into the 1960s and 1970s, influenced many Vietnamese, including people in top positions; and such contacts are reviving now that Germany has again become an attractive place for young Vietnamese to study. A Vietnamese-German University recently opened in the business metropolis of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to train a new generation for the country’s dynamic economy.
How are economic relations developing between the two countries?
The Vietnamese who stayed on in Germany after the GDR’s period of hiring contract workers ended are not only visible in German cities, e.g. in grocery stores and Vietnamese restaurants. Their money transfers, and to some extent their know-how, are helping to drive a tremendously dynamic Vietnamese economy, and bilateral trade is growing from year to year in both directions. There is currently a steady stream of German business delegations visiting Hanoi and Saigon/HCMC. The traditional (and recently revived) Vietnamese thirst for education, on the one hand, and the acquisitiveness that was released among the Vietnamese after the economy was opened up in the late 1980s, on the other, are underpinning an enormous collective reconstruction effort and simultaneously generating a veritable gold-rush mentality under the conditions of globalization.
And what is happening in cultural exchange?
The country is seeking links in the fields of culture and international art. Both the state-sponsored cultural industry and, above all, a rapidly developing free art and media scene are following developments in Germany closely and with great interest. A growing number of German cultural tourists and backpackers have discovered the country as the most popular insider tip in Southeast Asia. The older people among them are astonished when they compare the mental images of war and boat people they bring with them with the Vietnamese whizzing past them on their Honda scooters. Some 70 % of the population were born after the end of the war in 1975.
What will be the main themes of this year of events?
The German side has chosen to concentrate on issues of urban development and the environment in order to give the overall sequence of events something of a focus. At the same time, we have designed the programme in such a way that the entire spectrum of bilateral relations will be involved.
How extensive is the programme? And what highlights can people in Vietnam look forward to?
The programme, which is regularly updated at www.germany-in-vietnam.de, will stage well over 60 major events spread over the whole of 2010. In addition to festive cultural events – starting with a German-Vietnamese performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony – we will be presenting a wide range of concerts ranging from classical to electronic music, plus nationwide film festivals in five major cities, innovative musical theatre, installation art, photography, contemporary dance and video art. We aim to include both grand gestures and artistic collaborations across cultural boundaries and to reach a much wider audience than is otherwise possible in the course of regular cultural exchange.
For historical reasons, nearly 100,000 Vietnamese speak German. How much interest is there in the German language today?
Almost 4,000 young Vietnamese enrolled for German courses at our Goethe Institute last year. That’s an impressive number that reflects both the strong desire for education in this country and the rediscovered attraction of studying in Germany. At the same time we are working hard on establishing German as a foreign language in secondary schools.
A Vietnam Year is to be held in Germany parallel to the Germany Year in Vietnam ...?
Yes, the Vietnamese will present themselves as an attractive tourist destination with traditional performances of art. Indeed, the external presentation of a country is becoming increasingly important overall as a result of international economic and political networking. This has been recognized as an opportunity in Vietnam.
The interview was conducted by Martin Orth
