Media

ITINERARY FOR GOVERNOR GENERAL'S STATE VISIT TO GERMANY

October 18, 2001

OTTAWA - At the invitation of Dr. H. C. Johannes Rau, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada and His Excellency John Ralston Saul will travel to Germany for a State Visit from October 22 to 28, 2001.

Their Excellencies will travel to Dresden, Bautzen, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne and Wuppertal. The senior cabinet minister accompanying the Governor General will be the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, in addition to a multi-party delegation of parliamentarians and a group of prominent scholars, artists, business and environmental leaders.

The central theme of the visit is Complex Societies, Cutting-Edge Culture. In addition to meetings with President Rau and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the visit will include discussions and events with German counterparts on pluralism and the need for tolerance, immigration, literature and the arts, the impact of new technologies and the environment.

NOTES: The Governor General and John Ralston Saul will participate in events together unless otherwise indicated.

In addition to contacting the Rideau Hall Press Office (see contact numbers at the bottom of the news release), details about on-site media coverage can be obtained by contacting the Canadian Embassy in Berlin.

Contacts: Jennifer Broadbridge, Media Officer, Canadian Embassy in Berlin
Telephone: (011 49 30) 20 312 0, fax: (011 49 30) 20 312 590
E-mail: brlin@dfait-maeci.gc.ca

A detailed itinerary follows:

AFTERNOON:

• Walking tour of the historic city centre of Dresden with Deputy Minister President of Saxony and State Minister for Research and Culture, Dr. Hans-Joachim Meyer. (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)

EVENING:

• Private dinner with Deputy Minister President of Saxony and State Minister for Research and Culture, Dr. Hans-Joachim Meyer
• Concert by the musica-viva-ensemble dresden, the Chamber Ensemble of the Dresden Centre for Contemporary Music, conducted by Canadian Robert Aitken

MORNING:

• The Governor General: Visit of the Bombardier plant in Bautzen. Governor General Clarkson and members of the Canadian delegation will meet with employees and managers to discuss the economic and social impact of the transition in Eastern Germany since re-unification. The Governor General will return to Dresden onboard a Bombardier train. (PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES AT PLANT AND TRAIN STATION)
• John Ralston Saul: Roundtable discussion between Canadian wine delegation and German wine industry counterparts at the Balthasar Ress Winery

AFTERNOON:

• The Governor General: Roundtable discussion on concepts of identity, citizenship, in advanced multiethnic societies with Canadian delegation members and German counterparts entitled: Modern Identities in the 21^st Century
• John Ralston Saul: Seminar discussion on Francophone Literature in Canada at the Dresden Technisches Universität featuring francophone writers and poets from the Canadian delegation
• Meeting with the Minister President of the Free State of Saxony, H. Kurt Biedenkopf. Official Welcome and remarks will precede the meeting. (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)

EVENING:

• State dinner given by the Minister President of the Free State of Saxony, H. Kurt Biedenkopf. (OPEN TO MEDIA FOR SPEECHES)

MORNING:

• Welcoming Ceremony for the Governor General at Schloss Bellevue (Bellevue Castle) with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. H.C. Johannes Rau. (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)
• Wreathlaying Ceremony at the Monument of Victims of War and Tyranny. (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)
• Official Welcome at City Hall and meeting with the Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit. (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)

AFTERNOON:

• PHOTO OPPORTUNITY at Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) with the Mayor of Berlin (1:45 P.M.)
• John Ralston Saul: Canadian winetasting with leading German wine writers and sommeliers
• John Ralston Saul: Roundtable discussion with Canadian writers and German counterparts entitled Writing from the Periphery: Literature as a Reflection of a Society's Values

EVENING:

• State Dinner given by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. H.C. Johannes Rau (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY OF RECEIVING LINE AND SPEECHES)
• Avant-premiere of Canadian Film Week in Berlin , Imagine Canada: Neues Kanadisches Kino in the Kino Arsenal at the Filmhaus at the Sony Centre (Potsdamer Platz). Film screening and discussion of Canadian film The Sweat Hereafter with the Governor General, director Atom Egoyan and actor Arsinée Khanjian.

MORNING:

• Governor General delivers opening address at a one-day forum entitled Migrants in the Metropolis at Humboldt University
• Meeting with the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Gerhard Schröder. (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)

AFTERNOON:

• Governor General and the official delegation meet with the President of the Bundestag (Federal Parliament), Wolfgang Thierse at the Reichstag (Parliament Building). (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)
• Governor General officially opens the Canadian Universities' Centre. Founded by the University of Toronto and the Université du Québec à Montréal, the centre's goal is to send hundreds of Canadian students each year to Berlin to take a selection of courses offered in English and French, as well as German-language courses. The center will also offer Canadian Studies workshops to German, European and Canadian students. (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)
• The Governor General: attends Vernissage of Vancouver artist and delegation member Ken Lum. Mr. Lum's piece There is No Place Like Home, is being presented in Berlin's Haus des Kulturen der Welt (the House of the Cultures of the World) from October 6 until the end of November. The piece consists of a large banner - 4 by 18 metres - suspended by three sets of columns at the front of the museum. The work is an artistic commentary on immigration and multiculturalism in a Western context. (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)

EVENING:

• John Ralston Saul: Mr. Saul delivers closing address during the final panel of the one-day forum Migrants in the Metropolis at Humboldt University
• Opening Night of the Canadian Film Week in Berlin Imagine Canada: Neues Kanadisches Kino. Film screening and discussion of the film Last Night and its score by director, Don McKellar; composer of the score, Alex Pauk; producer, Niv Fichman; and actor, Arsinée Khanjian.

MORNING:

• Düsseldorf : Meeting with the Minister for Federal and European Relations of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hannelore Kraft. (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)
• Düsseldorf : Roundtable discussion with Canadian playwrights and German counterparts on the topic: Dramatic Arts as a Force of Social Change

AFTERNOON:

• John Ralston Saul: Roundtable discussion between Canadian wine delegation and German wine industry counterparts at Fischers Weingenuss and Tafelfreuden
• The Governor General: Meeting with the Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Wolfgang Clement.

EVENING:

• Performance of Komm tanz mit mir (Come dance with me) by German choreographer Pina Bausch at the annual Wuppertal Dance Festival organized by Pina Bausch, this year entitled: Ein Fest in Wuppertal 2001
• Performance of Circa by Holy Body Tattoo, a Canadian contemporary dance company from Vancouver invited by Pina Bausch to perform at the Annual Wuppertal Dance Festival Ein Fest in Wuppertal 2001

MORNING:

• John Ralston Saul: Day of meetings with Canadian wine delegation and German counterparts in the Mosel wine region

• The Governor General: Official Welcome and meeting with the Mayor of Cologne, Fritz Schramme, and walk to the Ludwig Museum. (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)
• The Governor General: Participation with Canadian delegation members and German counterparts on panel discussion about Artistic Creativity and the Impact of New Technologies
• The Governor General: a "sneak preview" with members of the local contemporary arts community at the Ludwig Museum in Cologne of a new installation entitled Playhouse by Canadian artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller who recently won the top prize at the Venice Biennale (PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)

EVENING:

• Premiere of the Opera Semele by Canadian Director Robert Carsen

• Departure of delegation members for Canada. The Governor General, John Ralston Saul and Minister Dion will remain in Germany. They will continue from there to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina for an official visit including visits with Canadian troops stationed there.

Note: An itinerary for the Bosnia and Herzegovina trip will be issued closer to the date of the visit.

Media information:
Marilyne Guèvremont or Geneviève Bouchard
Press Office, Government House
(613) 993-8157 or (613) 998-0287
www.gg.ca