Freiburg Madison Society
| Freiburg Madison Society (FMG) |
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| purpose | It is the special goal of the Freiburg-Madison-Gesellschaft to enable encounters between the citizens of both cities, in order to facilitate the understanding of the other way of life and to promote international understanding. (From the FMG website). |
| Chair: | Toni Schlegel |
| Establishment date: | 1989 |
| Number of members: | approx. 120 |
| Seat : | Freiburg in Breisgau |
| Website: | freiburg.de |
The Freiburg-Madison-Gesellschaft is an association for the promotion of town twinning between Madison , the capital of the US state Wisconsin, and Freiburg im Breisgau . FMG was founded in 1989, one year after the town twinning agreement was signed.
history
As a result of NATO's double decision in December 1979, the Freiburg municipal council wanted to enter into a partnership with an American city and with a city in the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s. The proposal for an American town twinning immediately fell on fertile ground in Freiburg, because the Amerikahaus, founded in 1952 - under the new name " Carl-Schurz-Haus " since 1969 - was and is popular with the citizens of Freiburg with its numerous events and its extensive library .
The choice of the American twin city fell on the capital of the state of Wisconsin, Madison, since the University of Freiburg had already had a student exchange with the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1961 , the "Junior Year Abroad", which was later renamed "Academic Year in Freiburg" has been.
Freiburg's Lord Mayor Rolf Böhme traveled to Madison in November 1986 to make contact. Both cities have a lot in common, are about the same size and, above all, strongly influenced by their universities. The proportion of the population of German descent is high in Madison, because many Germans went to Wisconsin as a result of the failed revolution in 1848.
After the visit of the Mayor of Madison, Joseph Sensenbrenner , to Freiburg in June 1987, the partnership certificate was signed during a return visit by a Freiburg delegation in May 1988 to Madison. The silhouettes of the dome of the Madison State Capitol, located on an isthmus between the lakes Lake Monona and Lake Mendota , and the tower of the Freiburg Minster are part of the logo of the Freiburg-Madison-Gesellschaft, which was founded in 1989.
tasks
It is the special goal of the Freiburg-Madison-Gesellschaft to enable encounters between the citizens of both cities, in order to facilitate the understanding of the other way of life and to promote international understanding. As a non-profit association, FMG is open to all citizens who advocate and support the exchange between the two cities. When establishing direct contacts and strengthening the bond between the two cities, FMG works hand in hand with its mirror committee, the Madison Freiburg Sister City Committee (MFSCC). Madison and Freiburg are university cities. This is why promoting school and student exchanges is one of the most important tasks of FMG. Together with the MFSCC, FMG enables young people to spend a school year abroad, arranges internships or helps students with their exchange. FMG works closely with the Academic Year in Freiburg (AYF) and the Carl-Schurz-Haus (CSH).
The FMG program includes encounters, hikes and cultural tours for American students, lectures and a monthly get-together with German-American topics from literature, business and politics. In addition, the FMG offers all Freiburg citizens the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of American literature, economics, politics and customs (Halloween, Thanksgiving) in good company and US citizens the opportunity to get to know their German environment.