Consul Generals visit DISD for Franco-German Day

Long live Franco-German friendship! And it is truly alive at the German International School Dubai: to mark the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty, the DISD French department invited the neighboring school Lycée Francais International Georges Pompidou (LFIGP) and principal Bruno Asselin to a joint Franco-German Day on Monday, 23 January. Guests of honor were the German Consul General Sybille Pfaff and her French colleague, Consul General Nathalie Kennedy, and the DISD school association board was also present.

Principal Michael Lummel welcomed the guests of honor and 120 students to this special day and felt very honored that the Consul Generals had accepted the invitation to the German-French Day at DISD. The day began in the festively decorated school garden with a shared breakfast of French and German treats: Pretzels, croissants, baguettes, yeast plait.

Six decades ago, on 22.01.1963, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle signed the document that sealed the partnership between the two once so hostile neighboring states of Germany and France 18 years after the end of the Second World War. Since then, the Élysée Treaty has been regarded as a milestone in the history of Franco-German relations. "We are proof of this friendship," said General Consul Sybille Pfaff, explaining that the first person she contacted after moving to Dubai this year was Nathalie Kennedy. The professional points of contact developed into a friendship. The French Consul General added to her German colleague: "I too am proud to be here and to be a witness to this great friendship."

On this day, the students went through various stations in mixed groups, where they played music together, ran relay races, learned about the history of Franco-German relations, reenacted the Treaty of Versailles in a book, and traced their handprints in Franco-German pairings, thus symbolically putting friendship on paper. As a souvenir, the student council leaders of both schools were presented with the results in the form of a book.

At the final lunch together, the ninth and tenth graders reviewed the day and pinned their consistently positive feedback on a pinboard.

It was very nice to get to know the French student and make new friends

Student 9a