1. Place: Dominique Nagpal

"Connecting Cultures means to me ... "
 
…to respeCt one another.
…to span acrOss boundaries wherever they may lead me.
…to remember our heritage and our own ideNtity.
…to meet and negotiate with my fellow meN and
to bE conscious of my own biases and to willingly rid of them.
…to branCh out and experience the variety of all that mankind has to offer.
…to connecT with an open mind and to generously exchange my riches.
…to embrace the other and acknowledge our dIfferences
and to celebrate our sameNess.
… to actively partake in a Great community.
…to feel fortunate to dare a glimpse into a Colourful world.
…to try and Understand, to grasp the difference and to join hands.
…to bond, Link and appreciate,
to converse and to reflecT, to see anew.
…to deepen my knowledge and to matUre, to be in constant awe.
…to give, Receive and to share.
…to embark on a journey and to Engage in all languages,
eSpecially in the one, which derives from an open heart.

2. Place: Jackie Gillies

connecting cultures 2009 means to me the CommunicatiOn with others, that is meetiNg like-minded people and haviNg fruitful convErsations. it means partiCipating in inTerestIng courses aNd – wow! – receivinG credits, too! it means experienCing Urban city life, it means training my eLoquence, it means social neT-working. Not to forget that it means fUn, of couRse! and all that on an intErnational level! an opportunity that doeSn’t occur every day! 2009 – a good year to start connecting myself to the pulse of life vibrating through words, whether spoken or written, whether lyrical or trivial, whether said or thought or acted. life is communication, life is words, life is literature and literature connects minds all over the world, evoking the same questions, evoking different questions. what more is there to say than that i would like to become part of the process of minds working together at connecting cultures 2009 in hanover? light my mind.

3. Place: S. Christiane Rossmann

Connecting cultures means to me…

My metaphor: 2 cultures – 2 friends.

Two friends meet. They embrace.

In  their embrace they do not see each other, they only feel: Face, arms, belly, back.

Probably no words needed here. Emergence of emotions probably imperceptive. Invisible emotions. Intensities of their hug shift. Time passes. They start thinking about the other.

Take one step back.

They look at each other. Are screening each other. Are now connecting. This is my friend. Past, present, future of my friend. Reading in eyes, listening to words. Asking “How are you?” Talking.

You might ask how does this work for cultures?

Do you feel the other culture? Do you have words for communication? Do you feel your emotions? Can you see them? Do you take time and start thinking? Do you analyse?

What is past, present, and future of a culture?

Can you read a culture? Can you listen to it?

Asking “How are you?” might help.

However, can you do all this – if you are a “culture”?