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Down Under Berlin Film Festival, Berlin, October 2023

Down Under Berlin Film Festival celebrated its 11th edition in October at the iconic Moviemento Kino in Berlin. The festival program comprised of various feature films, shorts films and documentaries from Australia and New Zealand and was supported by the embassies of Australia and New Zealand. Tourism Australia was on board as the festival’s major sponsor for the second time, and silver sponsors included Sonic Healthcare and Education New Zealand. Down Under Berlin has been a supporter of Australian businesses both locally and at home and is open for new sponsorships and partnerships in various capacities. 

The German Australian Business Council was a proud partner of the event, organising a raffle of free tickets to its members.

Check out the some highlights below:

Video highlights are here (credit: NOFOMO.TV):

NZ Opening Night

YouTube: https://youtu.be/_bw5XUpR6UA

AU Closing Night

YouTube: https://youtu.be/YWtN6AlvagE

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Oktoberfest, Munich, September 2023

On the 24th of September 2023, more than 250 participants from the Munich International Business Groups attended the Oktoberfest Business Networking Event – which included the German Australian Business Council (GABC), American-German Business Club (AGBC), Swiss Australian Chamber of Commerce and the Irish Business Network (IBN). Business Council Members and guests enjoyed a traditional Oktoberfest menu at the Schottenhamel tent, raising glasses and singing along with the Bavarian folk music being performed on the central orchestra stage. There was also an opportunity for networking and discussion in person. Everybody enjoyed the special and joyful atmosphere.

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Trade and Investment Queensland Networking and Office Opening Events, Munich & Frankfurt, September 2023

On 20 September Trade and Investment Queensland, in partnership with the German Australian Business Council, held the second of two Networking receptions in Germany to promote joint business and investment opportunities between Germany and Australia’s sunshine state. The first event, held on the previous day in Munich in partnership with IHK Munich and Oberbayern, was also attended by a number of GABC members.

In Frankfurt the dynamic Australian team, headed by the Hon. Cameron Dick MP, Queensland Government Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment, and Mr David Stewart, the Queensland Trade and Investment Commissioner, Europe, were welcomed by Dr Sabine Pittrof, Chair of GABC, in the JW Marriott Hotel.

Dr Pittrof was followed on to the podium by Dr Mandy Pastohr, Hessen’s Minister for Industry, Energy, Transport and Housing, who underlined the particular location and infrastructure advantages offered by the Bundesland.

Mr David Stewart and the Hon. Cameron Dick MP, both gave lively and dynamic speeches which reflected Queensland’s stated determination “to become a showpiece for the world” as evidenced by its success in securing the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. They noted that Queensland is currently the major centre for immigration within Australia. Existing joint research and commercial ventures between German and Queensland institutions and universities were highlighted with emphasis being placed on as yet untapped opportunities.

Dr Rainer Waldschmidt, CEO Hessen Trade and Invest rounded off the welcome congratulating the State of Queensland on opening an Office in Frankfurt.

The evening was then given over to networking to allow the fifty participants to tap the opportunities offered at this event.

Dr Sabine Pittrof concluded the evening by reflecting on the success of the event and offered a final vote of thanks to the participants, organisers and guests.

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Business Networking & Australian Wine Tasting Evening, Berlin, September 2023

On the 6th of September 2023, the German Australian Business Council in collaboration with Club Vivanova hosted a Business Networking and Australian Wine Tasting Evening at the SANA Hotel Berlin.

The 40 participants were graced by speeches from H.E Christopher Chung (Deputy Head of Mission) who discussed the importance of the Australian wine industry, the newly updated AUS/EU wine agreement and the potential of Australian wine in Germany. Followed by Sabine Pittrof (Chairman, German Australian Business Council) who spoke on the Business Council’s mission and Bradley Mitton (Founder of Club Vivanova, and Australian Wine Importer) who introduced the Australian wines to be tasted.

The evening was characterised by strong engagement and business networking from all participants of both the German Australian Business Council and Club Vivanova Berlin based members.

The wine tasting served for the evening included:

Jansz Premium Cuvée – Tasmania
Woodlands 2021 Chardonnay – South East Australia
Blind Corner Biodynamic 2021 Orange – Margaret River
Blind Corner Biodynamic 2021 Rouge – Margaret River

GABC would like to sincerely thank Bradley Mitton of Club Vivanova and all participants for a fantastic evening.

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Ambassador’s Dinner, Frankfurt, June 2023

The German Australian Business Council’s annual Ambassador’s Dinner took place on 15th June 2023 at the Museum für Kommunikation in Frankfurt – an apt for an event dedicated to building relationships!

At this dinner we thanked Ambassador H.E. Philip Green for his hard work on the continually stronger and deeper German-Australian relationship and wish him well in his next post India. We are glad that he felt enriched by his time here. He will be greatly missed!

The Agent Generals of NSW Stephen Cartwright OAM and of Western Australia John Langoulant AO were present, along with the representatives of Investment NSW Paul Webster and Russell Canning and Global Victoria Thorsten Terweiden.

We thank our gold sponsors Investment NSW and Sonic Health and bronze sponsors Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Frankfurt RheinMain and Commonwealth Bank Australia, for your generous support, Tom Austin from Michael Reid Gallery for being such an eloquent and charming MC, and Starward Whiskey for showcasing it’s portfolio of Melbourne whiskies!

Last but not least we thank all our members and friends for making it such a delightful evening!

 

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Graphite from Zavalievsky mine in Ukraine

Recently, Perth-based company Volt Resources Limited re-started their graphite mine in Ukraine and in a recent webinar organised jointly with our member company DGWA, we were able to learn about the logistic and personnel challenges faced by the  Zavalievsky Graphite company in their operations. CEO Prashant Chintawa and Trevor Matthews, Director of Volt Resources, together with Roman Saramaga, CEO of Zavalievsky Graphite, reported on their activities.

Graphite is one of the most important materials for the transition to the green economy, as it is a major component required for the manufacture of anodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIB) for electric vehicles, for example. Currently, China is the major supplier of graphite to Europe, but there is a need for a major diversification of sources, which will be encouraged by the forthcoming European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act.

The webinar can be viewed on YouTube® at this link.

The webinar was organised by the GABC Raw Materials Focus Group. We shall be organising further events – feel free to sign up for further information.

AGM 2023, Frankfurt & Online, April 2023

We are very pleased to have had such a great turn out at our Annual General Meeting on 18 April 2023. Members and friends enjoyed the discussion, followed by a round of networking and wine tasting sponsored by our new corporate member 2IslandWines. Big thanks to Ben Lengyel, for coming all the way from the Netherlands and introducing us to top boutique Australian wines!

Our Silver Jubilee year 2022 has been a resounding success, with three ambassador dinners and series of high-profile speakers.

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Board Strategy Meeting, Frankfurt, February 2023

Our board met to discuss #strategy, priorities, and plans for 2023. Many in-store on our two nations’ hot topics! #FTA #energy #criticalminerals #technology #health

Many thanks to our corporate member Squire Patton Boggs for kindly hosting us.

Dalibor Vukadin | André Haermeyer | Dietrich Klusemann | Lucia Santoso | Elisabeth Opie | Sabine Pittrof | Robert Harrison | Eberhard Goihl | Peirui Tan | Kiki Loukas | Daniel Maccarrone (online)

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Investment NSW Dinner, Frankfurt, February 2023

We had the honour of co-hosting a dinner on 23 February with our corporate member Investment NSW, welcoming their team in Frankfurt and connecting them with German companies.

Agent-General Stephen Cartwright OAM highlighted the enormous #decarbonisation opportunities, particularly in the #criticalminerals#mobility, and #renewableenergy sectors.

The #Bradfield #Aerotropolis, which includes development of the second international airport (Western Sydney International Airport) and the #Multiversity (collaboration between University of NewcastleUNSWUniversity of WollongongWestern Sydney University, and TAFE NSW) will drive further economic activity and job creation in priority sectors such as #advancedmanufacturing#defence and #aerospace, and the #circulareconomy.

Reach out to the Investment NSW team (Paul WebsterThomas EinsfelderRussell Canning) to learn more about #investment opportunities in #NSW.

Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) | Europe, UK and Israel | Johanna Harvey (she/her) | Emma StevensFrankfurtRheinMain GmbH International Marketing of the Region | Eric Menges | André Haermeyer | Sabine Pittrof | Lucia Santoso | Peirui Tan

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Lost Weekend Brunch with Penelope Richardson, Munich, February 2023

Situated in the centre of the LMU University in Munich is a modern industrial style space named Lost Weekend https://lostweekend.de

The German Australian Business Council and Lost Weekend worked together to present Penelope Richardson on February 19, 2023 and her artistic works inspired by her time in Germany. Highlighting historical events through her art, she spoke of Art and Architecture and its importance and significance during WWII. Not only did she live in Germany but in Mexico too, creating art inspired by her time with prisoners in there.

People from all parts of the world can come and meet in this unique location called Lost Weekend, enjoy plant based treats as well as scrolling through their selection of books from local writers, exhibition space for artists and a stage for all cultural and artistic events.