Culture

Writing contest “My place in Germany”: the Happy End in Augsburg

A street corner in Berlin, a bakery in Gotha, a watch-Park in the black forest – people from 100 countries betrayed the Goethe-Institut in your favorite place in Germany. However, a wowed the Jury.

A window seat in the library of the University of Augsburg made the race at the International writing competition of the Goethe-Institut. “There the sun shone every Morning,” wrote the young Vietnamese Dieu Linh Bui. “That was sure to be an ideal place for me, as I still had no friends at the beginning of my stay in Germany.” And further: “in Augsburg in the autumn was cooler than Southeast Asia. I wanted to sit under the sun.”

Numerous submissions from all over the world

Dieu Linh Buis Text has been awarded 1,200 entries from around 100 countries as the most beautiful and exciting story. The Goethe-Institut had in the world called stories at favourite place in Germany to submit the answers came from China, Indonesia, the USA, Russia or Argentina. Only people that do not come natively from Germany, were allowed to participate in the contest and their stories”
my.place.goethe,de – ” share. The texts could be submitted in both German and in the language of the country and are located on an interactive map of Germany.

The Secretary-General of the Goethe-Institute and jury member of the “My place in Germany”, Johannes Ebert, was the diversity of the texts enthusiastically: “We have been very pleased with the many and original contributions of the competition,” he said. “They show the great interest in our country in many different facets.” The eyes of the world on places in Germany were marked by sympathy and Affection and reflected the history and present of Germany. “They promote completely new perspectives to us, familiar places.”

Main prize: a trip to Germany

Dieu Linh Buis story of the lonely student, sitting at the window, by the way, has a Happy ending: “One day a Boy came to me […] He looked at me. His bright Smile was like sunshine [ … ], ” she writes. “He understood me very well even before I said anything. This Moment is so sweet that I sometimes have the desire to stop time and fly to Augsburg, so that we can get to know us again.”

The Vietnamese not only convinced the six-member Jury from various fields of culture, politics, and science. There was also an Online vote, where the audience was able to select his favorites. The main prize: a week-long trip to Germany for two persons to the place of your choice.

The 80’s most exciting and most original contributions will be published in the autumn in cooperation with the Hueber Verlag as a book.

km/ suc (https://meinort.goethe.de/)