The President of Germany to visit Design School Kolding
The rumour has reached Germany that Design School Kolding is a long-time player when it comes to teaching and researching sustainability, a hot topic in the current German election campaign. The green agenda is top of mind for our neighbours and Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Therefore the German head of state himself has asked to meet students and researchers at Design School Kolding, and on 12 June he will arrive with Germany’s First Lady, Judge Elke Bündenbender.
The visit will take place the day before he will meet HM Queen Margrethe II and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen for the official celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Danish-German border. Last year the celebration had to be cancelled due to corona.
The rumour has travelled far
To honour the President’s wishes the visit at Design School Kolding will focus on how students and researchers work with the green transition. Elena Werr, who is graduating from the school’s MA programme in sustainability, Design for Planet, will show how the culture-historical material seaweed can be used to create outdoor furniture. And PhD student Monica Hartvigsen, who researches the growing design field that combines biology and design, will present the use of pigment producing bacteria for dyeing textiles.
- Design School Kolding has a long tradition for sustainable design, and since 1997 the school has worked strategically with the advancement of sustainability by use of design methods, design processes and design approaches. We’re very proud to learn that our work has caught the attention of the German Government, which of course is also very focused on the green transition, says Rector of Design School Kolding Lene Tanggaard, who will be hosting the visit.
Shoes and conversations
Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit the school just as 50 students have put their finishing touches on designs created during a course with shoe company ECCO, based near the German border. The German President will be able to see some experimental suggestions for sustainable shoe and bag production.
After a guided tour of the school, Frank-Walter Steinmeier will engage in a conversation with six students about their personal views on and design professional contributions to climate change.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be accompanied by the Lord Mayor of Rostock Claus Ruhe Madsen and German’s Vice Foreign Minister Michele Münteferig. Steinmeier has been President of Germany since 2017. Before that the now 65-year-old social democrat served as foreign minister on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government.
