Festivities and celebrations | Getting started
Celebrating together, achieving impact together
THERE HAS BEEN much for the DAAD to celebrate during its centenary year: 2025 saw a ceremony in Berlin to mark the organisation’s 100th anniversary and a number of major events for alumnae, alumni and scholarship holders. The anniversary logo with its eye-catching circle, composed of numerous small dots, was on show every time. Are the tiny dots intended to be a shower of confetti? Perhaps. But more importantly, every one of them symbolises an encounter, an exchange – a person who overcomes boundaries, shares ideas and embraces dialogue. In this edition of the Letter we introduce you to just some of these former scholarship holders who in their different ways engage with the subject of festivities and celebrations: for example Tuli Mekondjo, a Namibian artist who contributed an artwork to mark the 75th anniversary of Germany’s Basic Law; Professor Ute Hüsken, an expert in Indian festival culture; and historian Dr Jeremy John DeWaal, who studies the cultural history of the Rhineland carnival. Festivities are fun – but also offer us a more profound insight into society and culture. Join us as we celebrate! —
Festivities and celebrations | Interview
When universities commemorate their founding
Celebrating, commemorating and perhaps even critically engaging with their own history: Dr Anton F. Guhl studies how universities mark their anniversaries and explains how this can present an opportunity for historians.
Festivities and celebrations | Close up
My academic celebration
Traditional, imaginative, personal: DAAD scholarship holders reveal what made their graduation ceremony so special.
Festivities and celebrations | Overview
Building and strengthening community
Why meetings for current and former DAAD scholarship holders are so important – especially in the organisation’s centenary year.
Festivities and celebrations | Engaging in exchange
Building bridges for the future of German studies
For 30 years, the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Prize has been honouring outstanding scholars in German studies – raising awareness and creating opportunities.
Festivities and celebrations | Engaging in exchange
From internships to partnerships
Several DAAD programmes were celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2025. We asked the people in charge of them what sets the programmes apart.
Festivities and celebrations | Food for thought
Festive rituals – and why we celebrate them
Celebrations give us a sense of identity – though they do depend significantly on how we as individuals perceive them. DAAD alumnus and Professor of Religious studies Gregor Ahn explains what makes celebrations so valuable to communities.
Festivities and celebrations | In action
“Human dignity shall be inviolable”
Three former fellows of the DAAD’s Artists-in-Berlin Program contribute artistic positions to a Bundestag exhibition to mark the anniversary of Germany’s Basic Law.
Festivities and celebrations | In action
Testaments to memory
In an exhibition project, DAAD scholarship holder Yuliia Kotvytska tells the story of Ukrainian students who have been killed – and in doing so is celebrating their lives.
Festivities and celebrations | Keeping in touch
“Germany and Mexico are moving closer together”
This year, the DAAD Regional Office in Mexico City is celebrating its 25th anniversary. For a quarter of a century, its activities have been bringing universities and researchers together.
