Europe

Rendez vous aux Jardins

The Promotion of Natural Beauty

June 06th, 2018
Berlin Global, News from Berlin
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The annual French event, celebrating the "Europe of Gardens", is being exported this year to 15 countries, including Germany, to celebrate the European Year of Heritage.

Françoise Nyssen, French Minister for Culture, and Monika Grütters, Delegate of the German Federal Government for Culture and the Media and Minister of State, celebrated the launch of the 16th edition of "Rendez-vous aux Jardins" with an emphasis on the theme "Europe of Gardens." The launch took place in the gardens of the Palais-Royal. In total, more than 2,500 parks and gardens in Europe open their doors to the public, and especially to students, between June 1st and 3rd.

Following the meeting, Grütters was awarded the insignia of Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters by her French counterpart, Nyssen. At the beginning of the afternoon, they chaired the Franz Hessel Award Ceremony for writers Michel Jullien and Fatma Aydemir. The objective of this prize, organized in partnership with Villa Gillet  and the Genshagen Foundation, is to allow more reciprocal sharing of French and German literature, and thus encourage the culture of translation. This is a major component for developing the exchange of artistic, intellectual, and economic knowledge between the two countries and will promote a more open and international Europe.

The event is a result of the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage, which was proposed by Germany, and supported from the outset by France, and has been implemented in some thirty European countries. It promotes heritage as a central element of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, promotes best practices for the preservation and safeguarding of heritage, and develops knowledge among a wide and diverse public.

Official Joint Statement:

On the occasion of the European Heritage Year 2018, the German National Committee for the Conservation of Heritage (DNK), the cultural service of the French Embassy, the French Institute of Germany and the German Garden Network in Germany (DGGL) have jointly developed the idea of​associating the German "Parks and Gardens Day" with the French "Rendez-vous aux jardins". Thus, Germany follows the French initiative and, during the first weekend of June, a hundred or so gardens and parks, renowned or still unknown, public or private, open their doors at unusual day and night times by offering varied activities for the general public and, in the tradition of the French neighbor, for schoolchildren. The Federal Government Delegate for Culture and the Media fully supports - also financially - this operation as one of the 40 national projects carried out on the occasion of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018.

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News from Berlin