Olympic thoughts at the language competition: Fair Cooperation and Cultural Wealth

The International German Olympics provides a platform for students from all over the world to demonstrate their German language ability: they design a wall newspaper, work together on a presentation or participate in a German quiz. Above all, they have a great deal of fun, make new friends and meet up together in and with the German language. The International German Olympics are organized by the Goethe Institute in cooperation with the International German Teacher’s Association.

The preliminaries for the Province of Maluku were held on November 17, 2015 at the Pattimura University in Ambon, Indonesia. Over 60 eleventh graders from throughout the province competed for the first place there. In the end, all three who placed first, second and third in the regional competition came from the same school: three students from the SIWALIMA Boarding School in Ambon proved to be the best of the region.

The TEAM SIWALIMA at the German Olympics at the Pattimura University in Ambon, Indonesia with the German teachers Sojan Renyaan, Jack Dolhalewan and Klara Denzin

Special thanks go to the contest preparation teacher, Mr. Novi Supusepa (German teacher at the SIWALIMA Boarding School) and Mrs. Klara Denzin (language and intercultural trainer from ‘klara denzin cross culture’), who not only prepared the team from the SIWALIMA Boarding School linguistically, but also with intercultural competencies and with the ability to work in international teams.

Preparation for the German Olympics at the SIWALIMA Boarding School Ambon with Klara Denzin

The next stage of the language competition will take place in Jakarta in the upcoming week. The national competitors in the German Olympics are Cecillia Karlini and Jihan R. Cahyani Prameswari from the Maluku Island Group. We wish Cecillia and Cahiani the best of luck and success at the German Olympics and even more fun, new acquaintances and valuable experiences during the general program.

Cecillia and Cahiani have a dream destination: Berlin in the Summer, 2016. The country’s best will compete there against the world’s best for first, second or third place. There, too, in the last stages of the international competition olympic thoughts of living together peacefully, cooperating fairly and appreciating the wealth of diverse cultures in the world should be made clear.