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In the great room of the German Foreign Ministry building in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov presented the awards for exemplary German-Russian collaboration projects. The German-Russian Forum provided the backdrop for the award ceremony, which concluded the German-Russian year of community and regional partnerships. The Eberhard-Schöck-Stiftung received an award for its German-Russian vocational student exchange projects. Roland Seiter, a member of our Board of Trustees, accepted the award on behalf of the foundation alongside our Russian partner, represented by Yuri Biktuganov, the Sverdlovsk Minister of Education.

Within the context of the German-Ukranian thornconcept project for stonemasons, another summer building event was hosted in Lviv, Urkaine. Both in the courtyard of the Ivan Trush College for Applied and Fine Art and on a building in the Old Town, directly adjoining the historic “Black House” on market square, damaged building elements were either restored or replaced with newly carved pieces. Here, the public always takes a great deal of interest in the work and the background of the project.

In addition, the group designed and carved two pillars to symbolize the German-Ukranian partnership. These will remain in the courtyard. As always, an array of cultural activities rounded out the events. The participants had the opportunity to explore the vibrant town, its art and its history. The MozArt festival, which took place at the same time, provided an additional opportunity to enjoy the arts. In September, the Ukranian stonemasons will in turn visit their counterparts in the Palatinate area of Germany.

On the European Day for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, set against the impressive backdrop of the Imperial Baths in Trier, Germany, former and future participants of the Intercultural Dialogue Project for Stonemasons showed off their craft. Between the many informational booths, the small workshop served as a lively draw for many visitors. Graduate stonemason Dirk Brügemann-Bulgakov, who headed the Ukranian side of the project, was available to answer any and all questions the visitors had. The next phase of this joint project with thornconcept.eu will launch on July 18 in Lviv, Ukraine, where German and Ukranian stonemasons will once again work hand in hand.

Apprentices and master craftsmen from Yaroslavl, Russia, recently paid a visit to their German sister city Kassel. This year, the cities are celebrating the long-standing partnership between the College for Urban Planning in Yaroslavl and the Oskar-von-Miller School in Kassel with two exchange projects. Together, the plant installation technicians planned and installed a new restroom facility. A similar project is planned for Yaroslawl with the added component of accessibility. From the outset, the project was characterized by an atmosphere of friendship. This made it difficult to say goodbye – all the participants are now looking forward to seeing each other again in the fall.

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Ten apprentices three master craftsmen from Yekaterinburg in the Ural region of Russia made the trip to Neustadt an der Aisch in Germany. The young automobile mechatronics technicians were participating in a vocational school exchange program that will be completed with a trip to Yekaterinburg by their German counterparts. The group quickly bonded while working hand in hand in the workshop, getting a tour of the BMW plant and enjoying a host of leisure activities together. A particular highlight was the rapt attention and the tremendous support for the visit of the Russian group.