J. Christian B. Kirsch

J. Christian B. Kirsch (2013)

Johann Christian Bernhard Kirsch , also JCB Kirsch (* 1943 in Altlandsberg ) is the initiator and founder of the International Delphic Council and has been its general secretary since 1994 .

Life

education and profession

Kirsch spent his childhood in Berlin and Hamburg. He attended school first in Germany and later in Austria. In 1961 he completed his training at the art department of the Federal Trade School / Higher Technical College in Steyr . He found his first job as an engraver and draftsman in a Regensburg pewter foundry. After serving in the German Air Force , Kirsch began his freelance work as a graphic designer and advertising consultant in Regensburg. This was followed by a commercial qualification and employment at American Express Bank Inc. in Berlin and then working as a sales representative for Hertz in Berlin and Munich. In 1969, Kirsch began his independent activity as a management consultant in Regensburg, which lasted 18 years and during which he worked as a consultant for international clients.

Art and cultural relations

Since the late 1960s, Kirsch maintained contacts with artists and performers , also as their sponsors and advisors. In the 1970s he was particularly interested in questions of artistic education and training as well as the promotion of artists, which ultimately resulted in his considerations on a sustainable forum for international competitions in the arts . The exchange of ideas with Hellmut Flashar , Dean of the Philological Faculty of the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, provided decisive impulses . He encouraged Kirsch to continue studying the ancient Delphic Games , also known as the Pythian Games .

In the 1980s Kirsch made several study trips within Europe and several times to Greece. He met people close to Greece, such as Sofia Queen of Spain . Kirsch lived in Delphi for several months and in Athens for a year. He held talks with Mikis Theodorakis , Melina Mercouri , the Greek Minister of Culture Tzannis Tzannetakis and the later Prime Minister of Greece Andonis Samaras . In 1989/90 Kirsch supported Stavros Xarchakos in his election campaign as designated Minister of Culture of the New Democracy . Then both worked for "Sky Channel FM Stereo", the largest private radio broadcaster in Greece at the time. Together they developed programs with a European focus. On behalf of the broadcaster, Kirsch interviewed European politicians inside and outside Greece. The impressions and knowledge gained in Greece reinforced Kirsch's idea of reviving the Delphic Games.

Since the 1990s, his work has focused entirely on establishing an international body to organize and guide the worldwide Delphic Movement. Cherry consulted Yehudi Menuhin , Mikhail Gorbachev , the Indian philosopher, writer and politician Karan Singh , the director of the European Cultural Center Delphi (ECCD) Evangelos Arabatzis and the UNESCO -Generaldirektor Federico Mayor Zaragoza .

Foundation of the International Delphic Council and preparation of the First Delphic Congress

IDC coat of arms

On December 15, 1994, at the invitation of JCB Kirsch, the founding meeting of the International Delphic Council (IDC) took place in Berlin. The 77 founding members from 20 nations from five continents met from December 11th to 15th in Berlin 's Schönhausen Palace . Under the chairmanship of Kirsch, they discussed the statutes and formulated the most important goals of promoting contemporary art , preserving cultural heritage and strengthening the peaceful dialogue between cultures and friendship among peoples through the reintroduction of the Delphic Games.

The founding assembly of the IDC elected Kirsch to the office of general secretary, which he still holds today. His main tasks include managing the non-profit organization , implementing the decisions of the IDC, planning and organizing Delphic Congresses and overseeing applications for hosting Delphic Games, as well as their allocation and implementation.

As a symbol of the International Delphic Movement and the Delphic Games of the modern era , the founding members adopted a design by Kirsch, consisting of six colored, circularly arranged semicircles connected to one another as an endless ribbon on a white background. They symbolize the connection between the six Delphic art categories (1) Musical Arts , (2) Performing Arts , (3) Linguistic Arts, (4) Visual Arts , (5) Social Arts and (6) Ecological Arts and Architecture . Building on this, Kirsch developed the logo and, in collaboration with Pro Heraldica, the coat of arms of the International Delphic Council.

On December 1, 1995, Kirsch gave a lecture on "The Delphic Games - the interaction of culture and economy" at a special session of the Moscow Duma - he was the first foreigner allowed to speak before this body. In September 1995 Vladimir Jakowlev , Deputy Mayor for Culture of Saint Petersburg, was a guest of the IDC in Berlin and presented Kirsch with the official invitation from the city of Saint Petersburg to host the First Delphic Congress. On March 25, 1996, Kirsch opened the First Delphic Congress in Saint Petersburg. The conference was under the personal patronage of Anatoly Sobchak , Governing Mayor of Saint Petersburg, Daniel Tarschys, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Director General of UNESCO.

Highlights of the work as Secretary General of the IDC

JCB Kirsch at the Delphic Festival - the big closing show of ITB Berlin 2014

One year after the First Delphic Congress, the 1st Delphic Youth Games took place in Georgia in 1997 and the 1st Delphic Games in Russia in 2000. Both games marked the beginning of the chronology of the Delphic Games of the Modern Age , which take place every four years as the Delphic Games and Delphic Youth Games, two years apart, at different locations around the world.

In 2003, Kirsch was honored for his commitment by the Moscow City Duma, chaired by Vladimir Platonov, and also by the city of Saint Petersburg. In the same year the II. Delphic Youth Games took place in Germany. A year later, in 2004, Nelson Mandela became Delphic Youth Ambassador. This was followed by cooperation with national and regional organizing committees for the implementation of the 2nd Delphic Games 2005, Malaysia; the III. Youth Delphic Games 2007, Philippines; the III. Delphic Games 2009, South Korea; of the IV. Delphic Youth Games 2011, South Africa.

In addition to the Delphic Games, congresses and meetings, Kirsch was also committed to networking with international organizations, associations and related economic sectors. In 2005, this led to the cooperation with ITB Berlin , the world's largest trade fair for tourism. Since 2010 the IDC has been organizing “The Delphic Festival - The ITB's Great Closing Show”.

In 2013 the Delphic Games Summit took place in Athens and Delphi from September 23rd to 28th. At the start, the Greek Minister of Culture Panos Panagiotopoulos received the President of the IDC, Divina Bautista, General Secretary Kirsch and other representatives of the IDC and national Delphic Councils in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. On the initiative of Kirsch, Spyros Mercouris, cultural worker and manager and member of the Melina Mercouri Foundation, became honorary president of the International Delphic Council in 2014. JCB Kirsch is currently devoting a large part of its commitment to introducing Delphic Games on a continental scale. With a European Delphiade he would like to give the vision of a united Europe new impetus.

literature

Greece needs the Delphic Games. JCB Kirsch, a "German Coubertin", in conversation. In: AZ. Athens Newspaper. No. 18, May 3, 1993
Panorama. Delphic games as a reflection of their time. In: Athens newspaper. No. 55, December 16, 1994
Statutes of the International Delphic Council , Berlin-Charlottenburg District Court, No. 155 33 Nz, last amended in August 2003
J. Christian B. Kirsch and Wolfgang Merz | Setting new impulses | The European Delphiad - Encounters between the arts and cultures in the context of European cultural policy and the 2014 European elections In: Musikforum. 1/2014, page 42

Web links

Commons : International Delphic Council - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Kirsch, J. Christian B.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Kirsch, Johann Christian Bernhard (full name); Kirsch, JCB
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German initiator, founder and general secretary of the International Delphic Council
DATE OF BIRTH	1943
PLACE OF BIRTH	Altlandsberg