2011
March 31
The Hamburg Committee and The Goethe Institut Chicago co-hosted their annual international exchanges panel for teachers involved in Chicago-Hamburg school exchanges. The purpose of the panel was to share information and good practices.
2010
April
The groups of students and teachers from Hamburg's Altona Gymnasium visited Sullivan High School of Chicago.
State Secretary Carsten-Ludwig Lüdemann, Commissioner to the Federation, the European Union and for Foreign Affairs attended the RJD Global Cities Forum.
June
Two teachers from Am Heidelberg Gesamtschule visited Chicago and were hosted by the Ogden International School.
August - September
Group of students and teachers from Sullivan High school visited Hamburg and were hosted by Altona Gymnasium.
Teacher Julia Leyden attended Helene Lange School’s 100th anniversary in Hamburg.
October
Hamburg committee hosted 30 Hamburg runners participating in Chicago Marathon. The committee activities extended to organizing the Hamburg booth at the Marathon expo and hosting an annual Pasta Party social event at Rolf Achilles’ residence, organizing city tours for the runners.
Member of the German Bundestag, Chairman of German-American Parliamentary Group, Vice-Chairman of Committee of Foreign Affairs and former mayor of Hamburg - Hans Ulrich Close - visited Chicago and met with the head of the Mayor’s Office of International Relations Eileen Hubbell, CSCIP Executive director Leroy Allala and Deputy Commissioner of Department of Environment Joshua Milberg.
November
Contemporary Jazz group THE LONG RUN DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNIVERSE from Germany participated in the European Jazz Meets Chicago, on Nov.4, supported by the Goethe Institut of Chicago.
CSCIP International Program Manager, Ieva Dilyte, completed an Intensive German course at the Goethe Institut in Hamburg and met with the representatives of the Hamburg City government, Green Capital of Europe office and Amerikanzentrum. The visit was made possible by the grant from the Goethe Institut.
2009
January
Christoph Lichtenfeld, Vice Chair of the Hamburg Committee, traveled to Hamburg to meet with the Hamburg Chancellery and teachers and principals from Wilhelm Gymnasium and Altona Gymnasium.
February
The Committee Vice chair Joahnn Christoph Lichtenfeld visited Hamburg and held several meetings to further support school exchanges, sports exchanges and the visit of the Hamburg Boys Choir to Chicago.
Focus: Education
Fifteen Morgan Park Academy students and three teachers visited Hamburg's Wilhelm Gymnasium for 10 days. They were hosted by Hamburg's host families. Activities included class room participation, a City Hall visit, a Ballinstadt Museum visit, trips to Berlin and Luebeck and an invitation to see a professional soccer game. During this visit, an exchange structure between Morgan Park Academnt and the Wilhekm Gymnasium was designed.
March
Focus: Sports
The Committee hosted Jens Todt, HSV youth program and boarding school director, a former German national player, as well as assistant Fabian Wohlgemuth in Chicago. The Committee and the visitors participated at the Illinois Youth Soccer Association award dinner, Expo and the training session.
April
Focus: Sports
A Chicago Booth was set up at the Hamburg Marathon Expo to advertise Chicago, the Chicago Marathon and Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics and Paralympic Games. A large TV showed Chicago highlights and the 2008 Chicago Marathon, a large Chicago Olympic 2076 banner was part of the display.
April 9
Focus: Film
in conjunction with the Consulate General of Switzerland in Chicago, the Lucerne, China and Hamburg committees' co presented a reception and screening of the film "Bird's Nest Herzog & De Meuron in China" in the Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center. "Bird's Nest Herzog & De Meuron in China" described the journey of how the Grand National Stadium for the Olympic Summer Games in Beijing came into being.
April 24
Focus: Government
The Honorable Ania Haiduk, Senator for Urban Development and Environment of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
April 29
Senator Ania Haiduk, State Minister for Urban Development and Environment of Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, and Suzanne
Malec-McKenna, the City of Chicago's Commissioner of the Department of Environment, signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two cities aimed for cooperation in the areas of environment protection and "green building." The meeting was also attended by the Chicago Sister Cities Hamburg Committee Chair Rolf Achilles and Vice Chair Christoph Lichtenfeld.
May
Christoph Lichtenfeld Committee Vice Chair visited the Am Heidberg Gesamtschule School in Hamburg
Focus: Government, Education, Culture, Sports
Committee Chair and Vice Chair attended the 4th annual Hamburg Ambassador meeting in Hamburg. They met with various governmental, education and cultural institutions and represented Chicago at the 3 day event which helped mark the 820th year anniversary of the city of Hamburg as a port city.
June
Teachers for Sullivan High School in Chicago visited the Gymnasium Altona in Hamburg.
July
2009 World Sport Chicago International Cup participation was expressed.
August
Mayor Richard M. Daley welcomed the Hamburg Youth Soccer Team at the Hamburg Committee Summer Social.
October
Two teachers and 15 students from the Wilhelm Gymnasium in Hamburg visited Morgan Park Academy in Chicago for 10 days.
Panel discussion for teachers involved in Hamburg/Chicago school exchanges.
Welcome reception for German runners in the Chicago Marathon
October 1-4
Focus: Medical
Dr. Norbert Bruellke from Asklepios Klinik Barmbek participated in the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium
– Sister Cities Medical Initiative
2008
January
Focus: Government
A committee member met with Hamburg police officials in Hamburg to discuss a professional exchange between Hamburg's and Chicago's police departments.
January 9
Focus: Culture
The Hamburg Committee hosted a New Year's potluck dinner.
March
Focus: Sports
Two of Hamburg's Soccer Club (HSV) staff members (youth director and coach) were invited to the Illinois Youth Soccer Association soccer Expo where they manned a Hamburg booth promoting the Chicago-Hamburg soccer relationship. They were hosted by a committee member.
April
Focus: Sports
One Chicago runner participated in the Hamburg Marathon 2008 and was hosted by a Hamburg host family.
Focus: Sports
Hamburg Committee booth promoting Chicago and the Chicago Marathon was set up during the Hamburg Marathon Expo. The booth space was provided by the Hamburg Marathon race director Wolfram Goetz.
Focus: Education
The Committee facilitated the visit of a group of students and their professor, Dr. Clott from St. Xavier University (Chicago) Department of Economics, to Hamburg.
April 1
Focus: Art
"Community Concerns in the Visual Arts" panel features Keiskamma Altarpiece from Hamburg.
May
Focus: Media
Hamburg Committee members Rolf Achilles and Johann Christoph Lichtenfeld met with editors of the Hamburg
– Chicago electronic newsletter in Hamburg. This newsletter is promoted by the City of Hamburg.
June
Focus: Education
Twelve Saint Rita High School students and two teachers visited the Emilie Wuestenfeld Gymnasuim in Hamburg for 3 weeks. The students and teachers stayed with host families.
Focus: Culture
The Hamburg Committee participated in the Sister Cities Festival at Daley Plaza, where they distributed information promoting the Chicago–Hamburg relationship: brochures about Hamburg and information about the new Ballinstadt Museum in Hamburg.
July-August
Focus: Sports
The Hamburg Soccer Club (HSV) U-15 team (22 players) and 11 staff members visited Chicago for 10 days. The HSV participated for the 5th time in the Chicago International Cup. The players and staff members were hosted for 10 days by Chicago host families and were chaperoned by the Hamburg Committee during their visit in Chicago.
Focus: Sports
The Hamburg Committee
co-organized the trip of the Brother Rice High School soccer team and two coaches to Hamburg for a soccer camp.
July 26-August 2
The 2008 Chicago/Hamburg/Birmingham Social Work Exchange Program, in Chicago, celebrated the tenth exchange, three sister cities learned from cultural dialogue to improve social services in our global community. Since 1999, annual exchanges alternating between cities have bridged cultural and national boundaries to address common social challenges and 'best practices." Hundreds of social service professionals in these cities from two continents have participated to make sustainable changes such as" redesigning Birmingham's Juvenile Offender Program; incorporating Hamburg's 'harm reduction' model into Chicago's work with homeless; and incorporating Hamburg's Family Court. Delegates spent time visiting social service agencies including discussing with Chicago Department of Human Services' Alisa Rodriguez the top social challenges in each sister city and attending a dinner in the spirit of regionalism co-hosted by Hamburg and Birmingham Sister City Committees.
Focus: Education
The Committee Vice Chair arranged a one year exchange for a Hamburg student at Saint Rita High School (Chicago): August 2008 through June 2009.
September
Focus: Urban Development
The Committee invited Dr. Ing Michael Krog to speak at a Hamburg Committee's meeting about Hamburg's Hafen City building. Dr. Krog is the project manager for the new Amerika Haus in the Hafen City.
Focus: Culture
The Hamburg Committee had a booth at the German Fest on Lincoln Square to promote Hamburg and the Ballinstadt Museum where they also handed out brochures with information about Hamburg.
October
The Committee Vice Chair Johann Cristoph Lichtenfeld was invited by the German President and the Mayor of Hamburg and attended the German Unity Day celebration in Hamburg.
Focus: Sports
Thirty seven Hamburg runners participated in the Chicago Marathon, 2008. They were hosted by Chicago host families. The Hamburg Committee organized a dinner, post race party, a Chicago River boat ride and tour through the Stained Glass Museum. Hamburg Committee's booth was set up at the Chicago Marathon Expo, promoting Hamburg and the Hamburg Marathon. The booth was provided by Chicago Marathon director Carey Pinkowski.
The Committee hosted a reception for the German runners participating in the Bank of American Chicago Marathon.
October 2
Two German designers will be represented in the World Fashion Chicago high-end runway show at Chase North Promenade at Millennium Park.
November
Committee hosted its annual social-friendly 'pot luck' get-together of Hamburg Committee members.
December 8
Focus: Art
The Hamburg Committee hosted a German stained glass window tour to highlight the significant contributions German craftsmen and artists have made to Chicago. There are over 1,000 windows crafted by famous artists such as Franz Mayer Company of Munich, Germany and F.X Zettler, Royal Bavarian Glass Institute of Munich, Germany. .
2007
March 23-April 1
Focus: Culture
A delegation from the Lutheran Church in Hamburg visited their Lutheran partners here in Chicago. They requested a meeting to further discuss possibilities to participate in the sister city relationship.
June 2-6
Focus: Culture
The Hamburg Committee staffed a tourism information booth at the Chicago Sister Cities International Festival on Daley Plaza.
October
Focus: Education
Twelve students and two teachers from Emilie Wuestenfeld Gymnasium in Hamburg spent three weeks in October at St. Rita High School. In May 2008, students from St. Rita will travel to Hamburg to visit their counterparts.
Focus: Trade
Apprentice Iron Workers in Chicago hosted their counterparts from Hamburg. The focus was to exchange ideas and examine how the trade is taught to apprentices.
December 8
Focus: Culture
Art Historian Rolf Achilles, the chair of the Hamburg committee, conducted a tour of north side churches with significant stained glass windows. A cheese and wine reception followed the tour at the home of committee member Karina Wang.
2006
Focus: Government/Culture
As part of their 4th of July celebrations, the US Consulate in Hamburg featured the Sister City relationship, and read a letter from Mayor Daley, played a videoed tape of Rolf Achilles and had phone conferences with city officials.
January 4
Focus: General
Visit to Chicago Blues Museum to discuss blues tour exchange with Hamburg.
January 22
Focus: General
Four architects from Hamburg toured Frank Lloyd Wright buildings.
March 16-22
Focus: Sports
The Hamburg Committee hosted soccer team scouts and coaches from Hamburg and set up meeting with the Illinois Soccer Association.
April 6
Focus: Art
The Hamburg Committee hosted a tour of loop, the Roger Brown Home and Studio on art and architecture in Chicago to international group of Folk Art Museum directors/curators, including two from Germany.
April 10
Focus: General
The Committee gave a tour of Chicago for a German Consulate guest from Hamburg.
May 11
Focus: General
The Committee represented Hamburg at the Austrian Consulate EU reception.
May 21
Focus: General
The Committee provided the Keynote speaker at Wright Preservation Trust on Frank Lloyd Wright in Germany, especially his influence in Hamburg and environs.
May 24
Spoke over lunch to four Toronto-based Hamburg businessmen on Chicago commerce and industry.
June 3
Represented Hamburg at German Consulate reception.
June 5
Represented Hamburg at Goethe Institute’s Wolf Prize.
June 7
The Committee co-hosted a dinner with the German Consulate for the German Secretary of Defense.
July 12-16
Hosted youth soccer team from Hamburg along with parent/chaperons and coaches for Illinois Mayor Daley attended the youth soccer games.
July 20
The Committee participated in a discussion on German emigration through Hamburg at the Chicago Artists Coalition panel discussion in immigrants and the arts in Chicago.
August 3
The Committee chair co-hosted a breakfast for the Minister of Medicine of Germany.
August 14
The Committee chair co-hosted a breakfast to discuss Chicago with the German Federal Gov. Finance Committee, a member was from Hamburg.
September- 4 October 30
The Committee hosted Peter Lindlahr, Secretary to EU Senator Freytag of Hamburg.
September 6
The Committee represented Hamburg at Chicago’s German-American Day.
October 10
At the request of German Consulate General, the Committee met with Alderman Schulter regarding the Hamburg Committee’s involvement with Berlin Wall sculpture.
October 19-24
The Committee hosted 25 Hamburg and German Chicago marathon participants.
Mid October to early November 2006
The Hamburg Committee hosted an exhibition and symposium at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hyde Park, "Luther and the Jews of Wittemberg."
October 20
The Hamburg Committee helped celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Social Work Exchanges, The National Association of Social Workers International Activities Network. The Hamburg Sister City Committee started the exchange.
October 21
The Committee hosted a pasta lunch for sixty German marathon runners and their host families.
2005
April 27-29
Focus: Government
The Committee welcomed the Director of Hamburg Police Internal Affairs and Anticorruption Unit, the Unit Head for Police Issues, and the Unit Head for Corruption Issues at a dinner reception. The delegation met with representatives from the Chicago Police Department, the FBI, the Chicago Police Board, and the Inspector General to discuss their best practices.
2003
June 30-July 12
Focus: Medical
Visiting medical students.
August
Focus: Cultural
Committee member Sarah Ames visited Hamburg, spoke at the American Center on behalf of CSCIP, and met with city officials to discuss plans for the 10th Anniversary of the Hamburg-Chicago Sister Cities relationship.
August 6-10
Focus: Cultural
The committees collaborated in hosting international poets from our Sister Cities participating in the National Poetry Slam. A welcoming dinner party was held at Exchequer.
October 6-15
Focus: Medical
German Medical Exchange
October 11
Focus: Sports
German Runners' Reception
2002
Sept.14 – 24
Focus: Education
A group of students from the Christianeum School, a Chicago sister school, visited Chicago to tour the city's cultural offerings and visit various city operations.
2001
Focus: Culture
The Hamburg Committee collaborated with the Goethe Institute to present New Voices from Germany, a literary event at Gallery 37.
Focus: Culture
The Helen and Kurt Wolff Translators Prize 2001 was presented at Gallery 37 in collaboration with the Goethe Institute.
April 2 – 12
Focus: Education/Medicine
Medical assistant students from Hamburg visited Chicago. The visit was an educational exchange with a similar program in Chicago.
2000
Focus: Culture
The Hamburg Committee sponsored Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza, featuring 52 vendors offering seasonal German and other European products. The event was patterned after the famous Nuremberg Christmas market, which dates back to 1545 and has since been imitated all over Europe. Student representatives from the Chicago Youth Council decorated a tree sponsored by the City of Hamburg with symbols of world peace. This special tree marks the sister cities’ relationship between Hamburg and Chicago. In addition, students from Lincoln Park High School brought letters to their German friends at their sister school Christianeum in the hopes of establishing pen pals, and the D.A.N.K. Spatzen German-American Children's Choir performed.
1999
Focus: Environment
Hamburg Senator of Environmental Affairs met with his counterparts in Chicago.
Focus: Economic Development
The Hamburg Committee assisted representatives of the Brandenburg Economic Development Corporation with meeting in Chicago.
Focus: Education
The Hamburg Committee awarded scholarships to two students for an exchange with Christianeum School in Hamburg.
Focus: Medical & Social Service
The Hamburg Committee, with the National Association of Social Workers, hosted a group of 15 social workers from Birmingham and Hamburg, as part of a three-year, trilateral exchange. This exchange galvanized the entire program to emphasize social services exchanges with Chicago's sister cities, taking advantage of Chicago's position as the cradle of modern social services.
1998
Focus: Culture
Chicago runners participated in the Hamburg Marathon.
Focus: Culture
The Hamburg Committee facilitated the exchange of artists from Hamburg’s Kunstlerhaur and Chicago’s Artemesia Gallery.
Focus: Education
Under the auspices of the German American National Congress, the Hamburg Committee assisted in facilitating an exchange between Chicago and Hamburg high school students.
Focus: General
Sister Cities’ committee members from Hamburg and Chicago met in Chicago to discuss long-term goals.
Focus: Medical & Social Service
The Hamburg Committee supported the National Association of Social Workers third annual exchange with Hamburg social workers.
Focus: Culture
The Youth Symphony of Hamburg performed in Chicago.
1997
Focus: Culture
Hamburg Alster Fest Benefit at Skate-on-State. Benefit highlights included carolers, a children's lantern parade, a silent auction, a speed skating competition, a German buffet, and Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy Orchestra.
Focus: Culture
A World in a Weekend featured Hamburg. Activities included A City in a Suitcase presentation, the Continental Drift radio show, Dank Spatzen Choir; Rheinischer Gesang Verein German Choir. German Folk Dance Ensemble of the Americana Aid Society of German descendants, and the Civic Orchestra's Clarinet Quintet.
Focus: Culture
Chicago welcomed the first international passenger cruise ship in 40 years. The MS Columbus traveled from Hamburg and docked at Navy Pier for two days. As one of the major ports of call, Chicago hosted more than 650 German visitors who ended or began their cruise of the Great Lakes in Chicago. The Hamburg Committee held a morning champagne reception for the arriving German tourists.
Focus: Culture
The Blue Rider Theater and CSCIP presented critically acclaimed composer and performer Marko Ciciliani from Hamburg and Chicago's own Jeffrey Kowalkowski in the Chicago premier of "Bosch tapped the gas pedal and the caprice moved forward..." a performance opera. The two performances were hosted by the Blue Rider Theater.
Focus: Government
Mayor Richard M. Daley led a delegation to Hamburg which included business, community, tourism and education leaders. Delegation members met with their counterparts, took part in a second signing ceremony reaffirming the sister cities relationship between the two cities (the original document was signed in Chicago), toured a school and were hosted by Otto Versand (parent company of Spiegel).
Focus: Culture
Forty soccer players from the Hamburg area spent nearly two weeks in Chicago. The Mayor's Cup took place July 16-20 at Montrose Harbor and included approximately 10 matches. The visiting German players dominated these matches.
1996
Focus: Culture
The Hamburg Committee assisted Mechtild Op Gen Oorth, photographer from Hamburg in organizing an exhibition of her work in Chicago and Hamburg.
Focus: Education
Oliver Bonorden, a student from Hamburg, did an internship at O'Hare International Airport.
Focus: Government
The director of Hamburg's Urban Planning Department brought to Chicago an architectural exhibit highlighting the city's efforts to retain its Old World integrity while introducing new architectural building styles. A Hamburg Committee member arranged exhibit space at the Chicago Apparel Center.
1995
Focus: Education
Brigid Haasen, a DePaul graduate student traveled to Hamburg to work on an exchange between Chicago and Hamburg's State Youth Authority.
Focus: Culture
Chicago Sister Cities coordinated the visit of the internationally renowned Children's Choir of the Hamburg State Opera. The choir performed at the James R. Thompson Center, Daley Center Plaza and Oz Park Festival. They were hosted by families of the Chicago Children's Choir.
Focus: Culture
A "Cultural Conference" was held to open dialogue and encourage collaboration between members of the arts communities in Hamburg and Chicago. Held at the Chicago Cultural Center and sponsored by the Goethe Institute and Chicago Sister Cities, the conference featured discussions on theater, music, exhibition space, and attitudes towards the arts in each city as well as daily trips to arts venues across Chicago. The visiting delegation was led by the head of Hamburg's Department of Culture.
Focus: Culture
A Chicago gospel choir and children's choir were sent to celebrate the 806th anniversary of Hamburg's harbor. The festival, attended by more than one million people, was themed "Chicago" in honor of the sister city relationship between our cities. The Chicago Sister Cities Program helped arrange for special Chicago blues and gospel groups to entertain at the festival.
Focus: Culture
Three Chicago runners were invited to participate in a 10th annual international marathon held in Hamburg. The runners were hosted by the Hamburg sister cities organization and met runners from Hamburg's other sister cities of Milan and St. Petersburg.
Focus: Culture
In a salute to Chicago, NDR-TV of Hamburg taped a special "Hamburg greets Chicago" television show at O'Hare Expo Center. NDR also filmed in and around the downtown area for a segment of a film series on harbor cities around the world.
Focus: Education
The University of Illinois at Chicago and DePaul University signed partnership agreements with a university in Hamburg in February 1995. In addition, schools such as Chicago's Lane Technical High School paired with Hamburg high schools as electronic pen pals.
1994
July
Focus: Sister Cities Signing Agreement
Mayor Henning Voscherau of Hamburg, Germany, led a delegation of 28 business, government and educational representatives to Chicago to sign the official sister city agreement in July 1994.
Focus: Medical & Social Service
In partnership with the Kšrber Foundation, the Goethe Institute Chicago, Loyola University Chicago's School of Social Work and the Hillel Foundation, the Chicago Sister Cities International Program selected 10 Chicagoans to participate in a nine month international internship program based in Hamburg. The interns worked with local, non-governmental social service institutions as they study the workings of the social service systems in Germany.
Focus: Culture
Eleven gymnasts and coaches from the Lake Shore Academy of Artistic Gymnastics traveled to Hamburg to compete in the German Gymnastics Festival. The festival is held every four years in Hamburg. In addition to performing, the athletes also took part in workshops, sight seeing and social events.
