Click, open, play – and you glide into a country of majestic castles, pristine mountains, high-tech hubs, fancy cars, funny comics and much else. Welcome to Kids’ Corner – a pioneering web initiative by the German embassy to reach out to the 2.0 generation in India.
On a summer morning, around 100 school children swarmed inside the German embassy in the diplomatic enclave in the Indian capital. Excited and unsure of what awaited them, they were thrilled when the German envoy unveiled an innovative, interactive programme on the German embassy’s website (www.india.diplo.de/kidscorner). One click, and they made a quick virtual trip inside a country that is home to picturesque places, top-class education and high-tech enterprise.
Kids’ Corner presents Germany, its people and culture in a language that children can understand. There is plenty to keep children amused — you can polish up your German with fun and games, get tips on soccer and read German comics.
A pioneering initiative in cultural diplomacy, Germany is acting on the time-tested adage: Catch them young. Said German ambassador to India Michael Steiner: “Germany and India are partners since ages. However, we still don’t know enough about each other. In today’s globalised world, we need to close this knowledge gap.”
“Therefore, we want to reach out especially to the young people in Germany and India. We want to reach out to the generation Web 2.0”, the envoy underlined.
Lauding India’s growing global stature and its importance for Germany, the envoy said: “India is not just a country, it’s like a continent with more than 1.2 billion population.”
The initiative comes at a time when India, Asia’s third largest economy, and Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, are scaling up their relations in virtually all areas. The Indo-German chemistry and strategic equations were in focus when Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Berlin in April. The visit culminated in the signing of a clutch of pacts in diverse areas, including joint research in the field of higher education. A pact to promote German as a foreign language was also signed by the two sides. The German language collaboration is in full swing. Around 30,000 children in Kendriya Vidyalaya are learning German, and many more are expected to join in.
The “Kids’ Corner,” designed by the German embassy and Max Mueller Bhavan, is aimed at encouraging school children to learn more about Germany and its vibrant capital Berlin or the German Bundesliga, the blossoming Indo-German relationship and what links both these countries together.
Germany has become India’s largest trading partner in Europe, with bilateral trade touching 18.37 billion euros in 2011. Germany is the 8th largest foreign direct investor in India. German FDI in India is estimated to be around $1.484 billion.
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