What we associate with Germany
Two participants in the “Außenblick” study tell what they value about Germany – and what irritates them.
Osama Abdelmoghni, IT entrepreneur from Egypt, currently lives in Paris
“I started to study Germany more intensively when I wanted to learn another foreign language about ten years ago. I chose German because I’m very interested in philosophy and history. During my stays in Germany, I learned a lot about the local culture, which is strongly interwoven with the history of the country, especially the two world wars.
Germany is also, by the way, a country of savers. That explains why too little is sometimes invested – for example in digital infrastructure. The point isn’t necessarily to spend more money; simply a different distribution would make sense. In Germany people think “If something works, don’t change it”. But in our fast-moving times, it’s inevitable that things will change at short notice.”
Amel Saidane, founder of several start-ups in Tunisia
“Since my master’s degree studies in electrical engineering in Hanover, Germany has felt like a second home to me. It’s a country to look up to politically and economically, with a population that values discipline, reliability, commitment and rigour. Germany is also opening up more and more to other cultures and nationalities - for example, through a lively innovation and startup eco-system.
Politically, Germany is gaining more and more weight at the European and international level. It’s increasingly connecting with Africa, and let’s hope that the connection will lead to growth on an equal footing.”
The study Außenblick – Internationale Perspektiven auf Deutschland in Zeiten von Corona“ (Outside View - International Perspectives on Germany in Times of the Covid-19 Pandemic), published in 2021, was compiled by the German Society for International Aid (GIZ) GmbH, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Goethe Institute. It is based on an online survey of more than 600 people from almost 40 countries with in-depth knowledge of Germany and around 50 in-depth interviews.
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