Colombo Goethe Institute Turns 50

The Goethe Institut in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo was one of the first branches to be established in the world -- there are now institutes in over 80 countries. Named after the famous German writer -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe -- the Institut focuses on culture.

But for Richard Lang, the director of Colombo's Goethe Institut, the understanding of culture has changed slightly over the past half century:

"In the early days we simply started to present ourselves. This 'presentation' way of doing cultural work has changed over the years and has become strongly focused on dialogue work with the host country. For every important programme we do, we have to find out if it's meaningful, if it's relevant for society, for the art scene or for the scientists in the respective country."

Learning German

Instead of "presentation", "dialogue" could be today's slogan. The Goethe Institut is especially popular among young people for its German courses. Though the courses are not free, students in Colombo give several reasons for learning German here.

"I did German as a subject in my A-levels and I wanted to improve my knowledge, which is why I came here to study," said one. Whereas another thought it was an "additional qualification for a job".

"I am learning German because German is one of the prominent European languages and it is always imperative to learn a foreign language for the job market," explained another. And one student said she was learning German to one day find a job in Germany.

For the 22-year-old Kiran, the courses paid off when he got a place at Freiburg University in southern Germany to study engineering.

"Because I learnt German, it was easy for me to get a visa and it decreases the pre-learning I need to do before starting my courses at the university."

Moreover, the Goethe Institut is the only institute in Sri Lanka, which offers courses that are accredited internationally.

German for tourism

Lang named tourism as another important reason for learning German: "Many tourists in Sri Lanka come from Germany so it is crucial that personnel in restaurants and hotels are able to speak at least a few sentences in German."

The gala concert at the anniversary celebrations will bring together local and German musicians, showing once again that culture has a unifying role and highlighting the Goethe Institut's main function.