News from Berlin
German Ambassador Opens Togolese-German Film Week in Lomé
March 13th, 2014
According to the German embassy in Lomé (Togo) “German and Togolese cinemas have one thing in common. They are not very well known by the general public”. That is the reason why for the first time was organized from March 10th to March 16th the German-Togolese cinema week in Lomé. The festival was open by Joseph Weiss, German Ambassador in Togo, and Kouméalo Anate, Togolese Minister for Communication, Culture, Arts and Civic Cooperation. During the festival fourteen Togolese short films and German films were presented.
The goal of the festival was to promote reconciliation between Germany and Togo, which has been a German protectorate between 1884 and 1918. The festival aimed also to reinforce cultural cooperation and to promote global peace through dialogue between people and cultures.
Furthermore the cooperation between Togo and Germany is not only cultural, it is also focusing on four main areas: good governance, technical and professional formation, youth employment and rural and agricultural development.
One of the examples of the economic cooperation between the two countries is the return of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ, German Society for International Cooperation) in Togo. The ambition of the GIZ is to build a local cooperation and to focus on the growth of Togolese agricultural areas. In order to achieve this project German GIZ has decided to invest more than FCFA 17 billion (25.840.000€).