Archive for category: EVENT REVIEW

We are delighted to welcome our new patron Ambassador Natasha Smith at our Ambassador’s Dinner in Frankfurt this week. Ambassador Smith introduced herself in a Q+A fashion, interviewed by board member the Hon. André Haermeyer, expressing her commitment to energy as well as interest on people in the long history of German-Australian relationship.

We welcome our co-patron Consul General Kelly Matthews and thank the representative of five states John Langoulant AO, Vanessa Rehn, Pallavi Mishra, Thorsten Terweiden, Russell Canning and Stefan Augustin for their support and presence in this convivial evening of 90 guests.

We thank our premium sponsor Commonwealth Bank, gold sponsors Sonic Healthcare Germany and Vulcan Energy Resources, silver sponsor Government of Western Australia, and bronze sponsors ANZ, FrankfurtRheinMain and Mondiale VGL without whose contributions our event would not be what it is. Thank you Cris M. for giving us insights on the significance of lithium deposits in the upper Rhine valley and zero-carbon extraction technology.

Fine Western Australian wines from Voyager Estate were enjoyed, supported by our silver sponsor and supplied by our corporate member 2IslandWines, Ben Lengyel, the smooth organization of the evening credit to the team effort of Dietrich Klusemann, Lucia Santoso, Suzanne Heim and Gordana Paton and the beautiful photography of Jens Braune del Angel.

Photo credit: Jens Braune del Angel

What a start to 2024 for Berlin business networking! The German Australian Business Council in collaboration with Club Vivanova launched their local events on 13 March 2024, hosting a Business Networking and Australian Wine Tasting Evening at the SANA Hotel Berlin.

The participants heard from Andre Haermeyer (Deputy Chairman, German Australian Business Council) who spoke about the Business Council’s mission and Bradley Mitton (Founder of Club Vivanova, and Australian Wine Importer) who spoke about the history of Australian wine production and introduced the Australian wines to be tasted.

The evening had a vibrant atmosphere with participants from both the German Australian Business Council and Club Vivanova Berlin actively engaging in great conversation, fostering valuable connections and potential collaborations.

The wine tasting journey showcased a selection of fine wines, including:

Woodlands 2021 Chardonnay from South East Australia
Blind Corner Biodynamic 2021 Orange from Western Australia
Woodlands 2019 Shiraz Cabernet from South East Australia

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

Munich members enjoyed an after-work Stammtisch at the Park Café, which adjoins the Old Botanical Gardens, on Tuesday, 27 February 2024. Restarting a pre-pandemic institution, the Kangaroo Tisch, 20 people gathered together to talk about Australia, Germany, and strengthening relations between our countries. One subject of great interest – how do you get dual nationality, given the forthcoming changes in dual nationality laws in Germany. Board member, Rob Harrison, spoke to several about the challenges with the citizenship test and the level of the language test. He’d already got German nationality whilst retaining his Australian passport.

Other topics for discussion included the inevitable – great places for scuba diving in Australia, pros and cons to consider when selecting a city to live, what brought you to Germany (if you were from Australia) or how long did you spend down under (for the Germans). Information on work and residence permits was exchanged, and plans were set in motion for future events.

Our board met in January to discuss strategies, priorities and plans for 2024. We are committed to action our membership’s feedback to deliver quality events and information on the hot topics of our two nations.

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

We look forward to discussing them with our members at the AGM on 25th April.

IBCM/GABC event 29 November 2023 Guest Speaker Rainer Karcher, Global Head of Sustainability at Allianz Technology

Together with members of the IBCM-affiliated clubs and organised by the American German Business Club Munich, Rainer Karcher led an enlivened, highly informative, and thought-provoking discussion. He addressed:  “Sustainable IT – Addressing the Impact the Exponential Rise of Digitization is Having on our Planet,” outlining how sustainability is embedded not only in company IT services and products but also in so many facets of our daily business and personal lives.   In his words, Rainer was the mosquito in the room that hit us all and left us thinking about what we need to do for sustainability in our daily lives. For those of you who were able to join us, thanks for attending and making this such a memorable meeting.