State Secretary Sylvi Graham

The RWE Music Scholarship Award

Oslo, 3 March 2005

Sehr geehrter Herr Botschafter, meine Damen und Herren,

Zuerst möchte ich mich ganz herzlich dafür bedanken, dass ich die Möglichkeit bekommen habe, diesen Konzert der RWE-Dea Musikstipendiaten zu eröffnen.

Demnächst werde ich auf Englisch weitermachen, das fällt mir doch leichter – und ich bitte um Verständnis dafür.

I would like also like to use this opportunity to congratulate you. It is now five years since the agreement on this music scholarship programme was signed by RWE-Dea Norge, Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaften and the Research Council of Norway. And, I must add, it is a very generous agreement and an important element in the cultural exchange between our countries.

As State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I am responsible for promoting Norwegian art and culture abroad. We strive to do so through a two-way approach, by developing dialogues for exchange of experiences, ideas and inspiration. We want to provide the best possible basis for this kind of co-operation, not just between the authorities, but also between institutions, organisations and performing artists themselves. However, without the input from actors in both the public and private sectors, our achievements would be more limited.

I am especially pleased that this scholarship programme is supported by a German actor. Germany is one of Norway’s most important partners in the political, economic as well as the cultural field. This is reflected in the government’s Germany Strategy, which has the overarching objective of enhancing mutual awareness and knowledge in connection with the bilateral relations between our countries. Considerable focus has, therefore, been directed to competence building and exchange programmes. The Music Foundation’s scholarship programme is an important element here.

The demand for Norwegian music and Norwegian musicians has been growing in recent years, and today there is a great deal of activity and co-operation between our two countries in this field. It has been noted that Norwegian musicians have high professional standards, and that they work well together with other musicians and in different styles.

The RWE Music Scholarship programme gives young Norwegian musicians and students of music a unique opportunity for in-depth study, and at the same time for learning about another country and its culture in the best possible way – from the inside.

The company RWE-Dea also plays an active and constructive part in strengthening relations between our two countries and fostering dialogue in other areas as well. The contribution the company makes to the Norwegian-German Willy Brandt foundation is highly valued, and so is its involvement in one of the largest projects in Norway’s Centennial Anniversary programme abroad – the exhibition “Not just salmon and sausages. Norway-Germany 1905-2005”.

The programme abroad is designed to show several aspects of Norway through three main themes: Norway, a partner for peace and development, Norway as a responsible steward of natural resources, and Norway as a modern culture and knowledge society. The objective is to make Norway more visible and create a more up-to-date picture of our nation and its role in the international community in 2005 and in the years to come.

Co-operation with local partners is vital for the development and success of these various projects. The Norwegian-German exhibition is the result of initiatives by the ministries of foreign affairs in the two countries, but without RWE-Dea, which is one of the main sponsors, it is unlikely that the concept could have been realised. Thanks to your interest, this exhibition will open at the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology, here in Oslo on 15 October, and will tour Norway and Germany in 2006 and 2007. The exhibition will illustrate the ties between Norway and Germany through the last 100 years in a wide range of areas, with special focus on the ties between our countries today and the opportunities for the future.

And maybe one or more of the scholarship winners will perform at the opening of the exhibition?

Bis dahin freue ich mich aber auf das heutige Konzert und wünsche den Stipendiaten viel Glück und viel Erfolg in ihren weiteren Karriären.

Und mit diesen Worten möchte ich gern dies erfreuliches Ereignis für eröffnet erklären.

Vielen Dank für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit.