a few of you are connected to the whole world. experience outstanding shopping and dining offers enjoying our services. be our guest at friend food imports managed by from. the. roof. this is news and these are our top stories venezuela's opposition led by self-proclaimed president one quiet 0 is boy causing the country's parliamentary elections on sunday saying the polls would be rigged in favor of president nicolas maduro observers say the boycott will likely consolidate murderous grip on power venezuela remains deep in a political and economic crisis. bangladesh has begun moving thousands of ranger refugees to a camp on

a recently formed island that critics say is vulnerable to flooding and cite loans refugees and aid groups claim some people have been coerced obama desh denies this almost a 1000000 revenger live in crowded comes on the mainland the un is requesting oversight of the process. a legendary berlin nightclub forced to close because of the corona virus pandemic has reopened as a covert 19 testing center kit kat was a popular venue for fetishists and was closed in march the club has advised its new visitors coming for a rapid virus test to arrive clothes and not ready to party. this is news from berlin follow us on twitter and instagram at news of is it our website d.w. dot com. you know i'm a citizen of the world that's certainly because of my own biography i was led

breslau during the bombardment look to him i grew up in a small town and libraries were how i got to know the world to see but i visited north africa as a schoolboy as well i was always drawn to foreign countries because i had this curiosity about how other people live think and work and it was always worth it yes i'm a citizen of the world. this is the story of a fellow well the story of the final year in the career of. he has shaped the german cultural landscape of the past decades like few others with his incredible ability to grasp the right moment. as head of the german national library

as loued of butlins museum island. and as president of the go to institute but his last 12 months did not go as planned it was a dramatic. last official trip to africa after a long flight the president of the good to institute touched down in namibia a former german colony. history is everywhere in the capital into. the colossal independence museum tells the story of the long struggle for. liberation from colonialism. the most recent chapter of that story is all about restitution returning cultural artifacts.

and. the tribal leader hendrik that boy is and then maybe a national hero because of his resistance against german colonial rule. is symbolic bible and whip were taken by the germans after his death their return was an important 1st step so it isn't just the removal of objects it's basically the breaking up of people of personalities of their self-determination and self-confidence this was common colonialism can't be glossed over this is simply a beginning there's a lot more to be done here so now is the time to get to know each other and to talk to africans in africa about these experiences and to exchange ideas so that these stories can be told. lehman was also in namibia to visit the local good institute in the center of the tech. team here had spent 2 weeks preparing

a major conference about post-colonialism which took place in quetta tura a former apartheid era township on the outskirts of into. it was part of a long term project that brings together museum experts and creative minds from across africa. is it close. but it is. true there was a sense that things were coming full circle for a man whose very 1st official trip in 2008 was to another former german colony tanzania he had come with good news the years of austerity were good to institute in dar es salaam would reopen after educate. me on. back to dollar south. africa has been an important focus for the good to institute ever since 12 years later the self-confidence of a new generation in the world of arts and museums was visible at the conference.

the world of your. life. to live and fresh concepts such as digitalisation made this conference stand out everything you dreamed of if you go to a. society in which we find ourselves in today does not agree with the principles off our museum so if you can't communicate to an audience who don't understand you know you need be said the median age of africa is 19. so it's really critical that we stop asking this question is that who are we speaking to how are we speaking to them what platforms are these thing. but then it was fair well to africa the continent that changed how klaus detail a man saw the world. i've always found it terrible that africa is only

associated with negative stories i've experienced so many positive things and i think we simply have to get them across to good news needs to be given a chance as well falls all. that chance would soon come back in germany. a few weeks later the president of the go to institute appeared at the frankfurt book fair. the world's biggest media trade fair was the perfect stage for a layman to talk about his experiences into the turk that have gone through. such. it's always where he can return to his professional rates as well. in 1980 was appointed director of the national library or more precisely the west german half in frankfurt the other half was

a delight to germany's 2 national libraries the cold war that even divided the world of books. as when i became director general of the national library in frankfurt in $88.00 i made my 1st trip to leipsic. i didn't think it was right for us to be separate entities given that we were founded on common goals to plan we talked about that in my basic description. he'd gone there to visit the so-called memory of the nation the german library was founded in 1912 to collect a. all german language publications under one roof in 1949 it became the central library of the workers' state and a western counterpart was set up in frankfurt with the same goals. then in 1909 everything changed hundreds of thousands took to the streets in

a peaceful revolution flanked by writers such as stephan hi i'm very well and know what a transformation it's as if somebody had opened the windows after all these years of stagnation. was. the people liberated themselves from communist rule and east germany fell apart lehman's informal talks with librarians in lights it suddenly became a political mission to reunify the institution. what would become the state german library in like. you're go i bet had been a librarian there since 1974 and was part of negotiations after the wall fell. on them we sat here in this room. lehmann and his partners sat here at the front i was sitting on one of the chairs at the back somewhere because i can remember it

quite clearly well initially there was a brief silence he must have been asking himself how we in life would react to these invaders but it wasn't an invasion he was pretty clear about that he said we were working on a common plan and one of the 1st sentences i can still remember was the greater germany that's coming into being here could certainly use a national library with 2 locations. in august 1990 the 2 german states signed the unification treaty in berlin and the status of the new national library was made official including its 2 location. frankfurt's and lights. thank. you. like cities library directives since 1912 of the books immortalized in oil on the wall opposite. of klaus taken by his friend renowned photographer newton

it marks the beginning of a new era as it is my 1st of all it's very down to earth. image suggests that he is striving upwards and you can also see that he has a sense of how an image functions and how to come across well in a new ecological age. exposed concrete steel and glass below that 3 floors and underground depository 30000 square meters of books. frankfurt's long planned new german national library building was completed in 1997. degrees. the chancellor himself attended the inauguration and cole was an avid bookworm. after the ceremony he

wanted to see the books so we went into the underground stacks. barely made it out again because cole was so fascinated he kept pulling out different books and i said mr chancellor we should really get back to our guests because that didn't interest him at all. i think we were in the stacks for 3 hours. that was call he always had time for books and for the library it rebooted. one year and the last election later cole was no longer chancellor he handed power over to get hot schroeder. the seat of government in parliament moved from bond to berlin and lehman took on a new role as president of the pression cultural heritage foundation of the suresh held of the new millennium it was germany's most important cultural position. it brought with it the chance to reshape the face of the nation's capital with the

help of a little political goodwill. the next change of government in berlin would also be good to labor in 2008 he became president of the gerta institute chancellor angela merkel paid him a personal visit when he took office it was a 1st and also a sign of the growing global significance of cultural diplomacy or does it was important for us that the chancellor made such a clear signal so soon after i began my time as go to institute director in munich who was so 3 encounters and all positive i want my male independent spirit and independence has always been important to me but i don't belong to a political party so i can always speak personally and based on facts that probably wasn't a bad thing. in 2019 renowned german violinist and a safina scooped one of the world's biggest prizes the premium imperioli awarded by

the japan art association. a man has been an international advisor to the prize for years. in the heart of tokyo set among the parks and palaces near the famous beijing shrine lies the macy k. . and khan this traditional site for formal celebrations hosted the awards ceremony though it's not quite all city. on your neck i guess must. leave was quite at home in the highly formal setting the prince and princess a touch he were present on behalf of japan's imperial dynasty. distinguished goes with around 125000 euros the world's richest star prize is

awarded in 5 categories anissa fimo to whistle a man's choice in 2019. was a really calm presence in the middle of everything running things and giving everyone the feeling that they were at the center of proceeding in fact it was he who was probably at the heart of it all holding the reins. winter in germany and the everyday routine as they go to institute at the cultural institutions headquarters near the center of munich it's time for the so-called president chill breakfast. gets away philemon to ensure this internal exchanges can happen free from a strict top down hierarchy that something 50 years of leadership experience has taught him. the 500 go to institute employees work in the building the architecture is an example of german post-war modernism it reflects

the self image of the institution which was founded in 1951. practicality clear lines transparency it's all more than just a facade. being president of the good institute is an honorary post which laymen views as vital to defending democracy. we're seeing an oversimplification of things protel a t. in our disagreements and that worries me for us racism is a dangerous threat that impacts our own credibility that's why we also want to have a stronger presence within germany in terms of cultural education. in 2020 thailand's go to institute wanted to celebrate its 60th anniversary with a large program of events lehmann's trip there had been planned for

a long time. but then coronavirus struck and fears of a pandemic grew. when a man decided to go ahead with the visit mother niemeyer the head of the institute in bangkok breathed a huge sigh of relief. the while lampung railway station could almost be a piece of europe in central bangkok. the city's transportation hub for over a century it was models on frankfurt's train station. they basically began my career in frankfurt and i come here to bangkok and what do i see it's a little smaller but it has the architecture and the atmosphere of frankfurt central station it's an odd feeling because it's just like at the beginning here i am in my final year working for the go to institute and here is frankfurt train station again this time in bangkok it's very emotional.

the historic waiting room turned into a pop up concert hall the good to institute had invited young musicians from bangkok and cologne to perform pieces by johann sebastian bach and john cage amongst other composers it was an unusual experience. as for the commuters. my. lay man who had turned 80 a few days before soaked up the atmosphere. i am. i my. life. and that it was time to celebrate the day to institute plays an important role in

cultural life in the thai capital the organization is keen to make its presence felt in asia especially at such a critical time and those here appreciate it. the guests had no idea that gita cuz at 19 this will be one of the last parties in bangkok for a long while. when lehmann travels his wife lisa usually goes with him on officially and at the couple's own expense she says most important confidant. sifu thought it was good night and a lot of time with my husband after we get going at 7 in the morning we have evenings together we spend an hour having dinner we talk about everything he listens to me and of course i hear about the fascinating things he's doing and everything that's going on the information goes both ways it's absolutely equal and

so i don't miss out on anything up some more. leisurely man remains in the background and yet she is still very present the tumescent university she was the 1st woman to study geo physics in minds half a century ago. is good so there is one consistent dynamic in my life that i'm very satisfied and happy with to fly while. we have our golden wedding anniversary and all of those things behind us and this stability is really important to me. otherwise i couldn't do all the things i do all over the 2 of us are like a small company. lehmann's hell for their return trip to germany. on march 28th thailand implemented a state of emergency due to covert 19. as

knocked down measures were introduced to bangkok it's good to institute tests or close to the public it's the same to the other $157.00 of them around the world corona has brought the world of good institutes to a halt this also means that their main source of income has disappeared language courses make up almost 40 percent of the 440000000 euro budget in germany the president and buddha fighting to keep the cultural institute going. to. constantly speaking to m.p.'s ministers the foreign office which has been very helpful and supportive i do think it's good that i'm still here in this crisis that i'm available this year just because of my connections and experience which are important in these times i think i would have suffered if i'd only been able to experience this phase as an onlooker. the german government

reacted to the crisis quickly and granted the great institute imagine ca developed to 70000000 euros it's a sign of the importance accorded to the cultural institute's worldwide network and to its most experienced cultural diplomat. he was one of the most influential individuals in shaping developing and even creating international cultural relations in europe. that's his legacy which we're very thankful for the visitor also on the stand these ideas have been incorporated into our policies for europe too we'll also never forget his relentless dedication and his ability to take a stand especially in difficult times before. because institutes around the world prepare for the new normal in times of corona all events and services now take place on line well. now we are. just. past spring in berlin came and went some arrived the president had far fewer

possibilities to remain active in his last few months in service in late summer 2020 women returned to berlin's museum island which he had so passionately reformed and shaped around the turn of the millennium in his capacity as president of the pression cultural heritage foundation new and old come together here to create a truly unique space. in the noise museum the modern stack case is a reminder of the many challenges lehmann had to face at the end of the 1990 s. . the grand ensemble of 5 museums on the island was in dire need of redevelopment but also on the list of unesco world heritage sites. there was no other way but to renovate modernize recreate and rearrange the museum island turned into a major construction site with laman increasingly becoming the main architect for

the country's cultural landscape. in $99.00 the museum directors all agreed on the master plan for the museum island which is still in effect today with airbus order so yes surely that's also been my influence we could construct the noice more sam boredom with sam an outer not so nagasaki according to schedule without stretching our budget on. the newest museum is the heart of this big scale renovation project during the 2nd world war it had been damaged and parts of it were destroyed architects david chipperfield reconstructed the museum. show pieces the so-called nubian room decorated with a teeth romantic. architect to the pression king in the mid 19th century. a man would share this room to every person he was hoping to win over the support.

it's a beautiful room the proportions are good natured greece is here oracle terra cotta the great philosophers. but it's also a mysterious room a magical place. when there's a magnet and i was a little shameless and using this magic to rally support for the museum island concept or financially to. support. who was head of berlin's public museums was always that name and signed the to work together for a decade to implement them master plan. he was brilliant strategically he was relentless and would never tire of taking members of parliament to the museum island to show them around them or he's great at motivating others he's truly what you might call a cultural diplomat and he's

a genius when it comes to committees close detail a man would enter a meeting and at the end he had convinced everyone in the room of his opinion he was very elegant and efficient. or and there's everything. the museum island which brings together cultures from across the globe is perhaps the sight of a man's most significant professional accomplishments he he likes to reflect on his life's work clowes detail a man's life and career so closely connected to german postal history is coming to an end. he had this ability to know what is the right thing to do and when is the right moment to do it but there was also this feeling of he's the right person to deal with what's happening now up speed. and for decades klaus detail a man with the right person he crossed buddhas and was at home in the world of culture be it in germany or around the globe others are now following in his

footsteps for example with a home built for an international cultural center and museum housed in the reconstructed burned in palace. so is this cultural diplomat the last of his kind of i wouldn't say i'm a dinosaur that's going extinct i really hope that this type of person won't die out which will always need people who want to connect and i believe that there will be more and more of this type of person who can motivate others and has a sense of team spirit. i don't think i'll be the last of my kind quite the opposite if i can be an example then by showing that we can achieve a lot by interacting with others allies and.

it looks like a moment. but it's really the work of. the want the 11 year old painter just like the great master himself. and donates the money she raises with her paintings to a good cause. with great pics as. the woman. next bond d.w. . the boat in good shape the people who don't play has nothing to loss

of our lives it is important for us to keep trains in the brain of senior citizens and it's good for children to have because of the forms of a viewer and it's a lot of fun designers to play comes on pam while a little bit of fun is much more than just a childish pastime god good should calm. down 16 parents are wrong on. board for. me to use for me. beethoven is for you. beethoven is for helen. treetop it is for her. beethoven is for the.

beethoven is for cause the veto for him is for the ma ma mie talking 202250th anniversary year beyond tito near 0. faster than a speeding bullet find out why this untamed is burning rubber like a race car. more on that later in the show hello and welcome to another edition of your max with me your host meghan lee here's a look at what else we've got coming up.