Asia-Pacific Weeks Inaugurated in Berlin

But what this event highlights is that the world is not only changing but is being brought together and that is what all the speakers at the inauguration ceremony emphasised.

Once the delegates and representatives of various ministries, corporations, NGOs and cultural institutions had taken their seats, the audience sat in rapture as two young Indian men regaled them with an interpretation of an Indian Raga. Sharat Chandra Srivastrava on the violin and Gyan Singh on the tabla were fully in tune, complementing each other beautifully and very much at one with themselves and the music.

Then, it was time for the speeches to begin. As was to be expected, the prominent Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, welcomed the eminent guests to the event and launched into his speech. Asia-Pacific is changing the world he said and is the symbol of globalisation epitomised by massive economic boom and dynamism in the region. He didn’t omit to praise the fact that Asian-Pacific companies were investing in Germany and gave a big thank you to Sony, whose building on the re-vamped Potsdamer Platz has become the symbol of the post-reunification Berlin.

It's the economy ...

So the economy is an obvious reason for improving links between Asia and Europe and this is going to be a focal point of the coming weeks, but the fight against climate change is of course also a unifying factor, as is culture which for centuries has brought people from different worlds together.

Wowereit highlighted the fact he was so pleased the Asia-Pacific Weeks would contribute to Asia-German relations particularly in a creative sense because "creativity is mobile" and "design, film, fashion, architecture, music and the media" mean progress.

However, not only mainstream culture will be showcased at the Asia-Pacific Weeks but alternative cultural trends, such as manga or underground pop, would also get their chance to have their voice heard in Berlin – a renowned centre for progressive and nonconformist culture.

Emotional connections

Wowereit was quick to point out that in today’s digital world, the Internet was speeding up global communication as never before imagined and creating "emotional ties" too.

These "emotional ties" are also being forged by a common goal to combat climate change and this is one of the conference’s major themes – with experts from all over the Asia-Pacific region coming together to share their opinions and ideas for solving the challenges posed by global warming and the ever-increasing lack of natural resources.

Next on the agenda was the Chinese minister, who studied in Germany and is a great fan of the country where he lived for ten years. He provoked much laughter telling the audience how much he had missed the country and then immediately became more serious, setting preserving the environment as the main focus, as well as the protection of intellectual property rights and the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.