Event 2018: Langkah Menuju Jerman – Steps to Germany

Wisma Jerman Surabaya, supported by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), for the fourth time held a pre-integration event titled “Steps to Germany – Talkshow & Presentation” on Saturday night, September 23^rd.

The event’s opening was filled by Anis Tiana Pottag, a civil lawyer & notary in Surabaya, who shared information and her own experience with international marriage between Indonesian und German citizens. The second section was conducted in form of a talk show with Mr. Wilhelm Kennenbudi, an IT professional, with 15 years of living and working experience in Germany. He talked about the differences and challenges and, in his own words, the uniqueness he experienced in particular at the beginning of his stay and shared some anecdotes of his time while working in Germany. A discussion with Mr. Syamsul Ibad from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH who spoke about the recognition of Indonesian diplomas / certificates in Germany highlighted the 3^rd section.

Aulia, one of the participants who joined the event, expressed her interest and enthusiasm by saying: “This event facilitates the steps of Indonesian people, especially the younger generation who intend to live in Germany“.

The interest in the topics discussed was evidently quite high based on the number of attendees that reached more than 70 people. The program was full of information regarding pre-integration and lasted for 3 hours. Several times laughter was heard from some of the participants who were present in the room because there was something that made the event a little bit different: during the event participants could ask questions via their smartphones. By following a link that was given to the participants, they could connect directly to the administrator and submit their questions and comments. Later on the most interesting questions were forwarded to the speakers who answered them one by one in front of the audience. The event then ended on a sweet note with typical German food, namely Nudelsalat.

“The speakers who gave information about Ausbildung (vocational training) and life in Germany were very informative. Maybe the question and answer section can be extended next time”, Trapsila Samirono, one of the participants, responded.

In line with Trapsila, Herimurtti Paramastya from Sidoarjo, emphasized that this event was very good, the material presented was deep and held very important information for people who would like to work in Germany. The personal experience shared by the speakers of their time in Germany was also interesting and memorable. From this event he didn’t only learn about facts and figures but it also gave him the opportunity to get to know some German culture.