The Berlinale – International Film Festival

The 60th Berlin International Film Festival is to be held from 11 to 21 February 2010. Berlin’s largest cultural extravaganza attracts 16,000 expert visitors every year for one of the key events in the international film scene. But the public don’t lose out! With more than 150,000 tickets usually sold, the Berlinale is the world’s largest public film festival.

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Berlinale Celebrates with 400 Films

“The birthday cake of nearly 400 films has been baked,” announces festival director Dieter Kosslick. The 60th Berlin International Film Festival begins on 11 February. The flurry of flashbulbs, the red carpet, the film stars: the Berlinale promises ten days of great cinema in the German capital. The 60th birthday of the festival, which first saw the light of the film world in 1951, is also being celebrated by Hollywood greats like director Martin Scorsese, who is presenting his new film Shutter Island with the two actors Leonardo de Caprio and Ben Kingsley.

From left, museum director Hartwig Fischer and architect David Chipperfield at an opening event © picture-alliance / Sven Simon

New Home for Modern Masters

With its clear lines, brightness and transparency, the architecture of the new Museum Folkwang in Essen adds a brilliant highlight to the museum landscape of the Ruhr District at the beginning of the European Capital of Culture Ruhr 2010. In just two years British star architect David Chipperfield designed a new home for the internationally renowned art collection of one of the most important German museums, which is opening to visitors for the first time this weekend (30/31 January).

NABU devotes 111th anniversary of its founding to biodiversity

The United Nations has designated 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. Reason enough for the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) as official UN partner to devote this year – the 111th anniversary of its founding – to the dramatic decline in biodiversity. Globally, 16,000 species are regarded as threatened with extinction, that’s around a quarter of all mammals, a third of all amphibians and twelve per cent of birds.

The Year of Science 2010 focuses on energy questions

The future of energy: this is the motto of the Year of Science 2010, which begins on 22 January and is organized by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research together with the Science Initiative. The aim of the years of science, which were launched in 2000, is to stimulate greater public interest in questions surrounding science and arouse especially the young generation’s curiosity for scientific topics by collaborating with universities and research institutions.

Energy Efficiency Award 2010

Companies from trade and industry which have implemented innovative, exemplary measures to increase energy efficiency are invited to take part in the international Energy Efficiency Award 2010 competition.The competition is being held by the Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) - the German Energy Agency - in cooperation with Deutsche Messe. The prize money amounts to a total of 30.000 Euro.

Pak-German Relations

Prime Minister Gilani on a Visit to Germany

The Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, paid a three-day working visit to the Federal Republic of Germany from Nov 30 to Dec 2, 2009. Click on the follwoing link to read more...

Signing Ceremony of the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) on 1st December 2009 in Berlin

Bilateral treaty on the protection and promotion of investment

During Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's visit to Germany, Pakistan and Germany have signed a new "Agreement on the Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investments". Click on the following link to read more...

Deutsche Welle Akademie in Bonn

The World of Media

Germany is one of the countries with the highest media density and the greatest press diversity in the world. Hundreds of daily newspapers, thousands of magazines and millions of active Internet users guarantee an exceptional diversity of opinion. The relationships between the individual “voices” of the different media are changing in the age of Web 2.0: whether print, television, radio, Internet, social media, books or film, the media future will be played in an orchestra.

Many Germans engage in voluntary work on behalf of children and young people

German Civil Society

They help immigrant children to learn German, travel to crisis regions with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to assist refugees and support their local voluntary fire service: 23 million people in Germany – that’s one in three people over the age of 16 – actively contribute to the community, whether through work in the social domain, in environmental protection or in interest groups. These people form the basis of civil society in Germany, they tackle problems and help others – without receiving any money themselves. Civil society, citizen involvement, charitable work – this kind of voluntary commitment has many names.

Deutsche Flaggen Begeisterung

German Bundesliga

All the top news from the German Bundesliga at a glance: fixtures, results, clubs, players and much more.

 

Time and weather in Germany

Berlin:
19:52:51 -5 °

The Consulate General Karachi

Important information and announcements: address, opening hours, time difference between Germany and Pakistan, list of holidays, consular district and how to reach us in case of emergency...

Visa requirements

We want to make your arrival in Germany as easy as possible. Here you can find all the information you need on applying for a visa, along with an application form as a pdf file to download and much more...

Guido Westerwelle, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs

Dr Guido Westerwelle, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs

Latest update: influenza A (H1N1) ("swine flu")

Please take note of the current travel and safety advice for your country of destination, the Federal Foreign Office's recommendations on an influenza pandemic, as well as further information on the website of the Robert Koch Institute:

Latest news – a service brought to you by Deutsche Welle

09.02.10 03:07

'Safer Internet Day' draws attention to dangers of social networking

Tuesday marks Safer Internet Day, created to encourage safer and more responsible use of online technology. A spokesman for the EU's cyber security body told Deutsche Welle how you can best protect yourself online.

09.02.10 03:06

German director lays foundations for opera house in Africa

Berlin director Christoph Schlingensief has begun what may be his most ambitious project yet: building an opera house in the heart of the African savannah.

Facts about Germany

cover "Facts about Germany"

Facts about Germany is a handbook for anyone seeking reliable and up-to-date information on the Federal Republic of Germany. It provides facts and figures about the country and its people, its government system, social life, poltical groupings and trends, all the different sectors of industry and business, and the multifaceted face of culture in Germany and its 16 federal states.

The international Media Service in the Land of Ideas

The international Media Service in the Land of Ideas

”Germany - Land of Ideas” - the international media portal covering the 2006 World Cup in Germany is now open to journalists from all over the world. It offers Internet access to a wide range of royalty-free text and photographic content and is available in several languages.

Newsletter

Newsletter

Regular online publications by the Federal Foreign Office - get the latest news from Germany, press releases and speeches.

Frequently Asked Questions

Look up our list of Frequently Asked Questions for general information on visa, studying, working and living in Germany etc.