A new beginning in difficult times

Professor Stürmer speaks at German-British Society's Annual General Meeting – new people on the board

Prof. Dr. Michael Stürmer bei seinem Vortrag — Prof. Dr. Michael Stürmer giving his talk

On Monday, 13th March 2017, members and invited guests of the German-British Society Nuremberg gathered at the Prickheimersaal of the Caritas Pirckheimer Haus to listen to a talk by Prof. Dr. Michael Strürmer on the topic "World without world order? – Which role will the UK play?". The society's Annual General Meeting took place as scheduled after the talk..

A large audience listened to a very entertaining talk by the renowned historian. Professor Stürmer painted a very vivid image of the current geopolitical situation, in which the United States of America, Russia, China and Europe are jostling to define their roles, a situation that, in Stürmer's words, means everything but the end of history. In addition to a close look at the UK's future prospects after Brexit, Prof. Stürmer also gave overviews of the Russian situation and the conflict in Ukraine, together with the role of China. The speaker positioned these current developments very clearly in their historical context and made his talk even more lively by referring to his own personal impressions of the protagonists of world politics, impressions that were gained while working as a foreign affairs advisor to the Kohl government. Prof. Stürmer illustrated the extent of his knowledge by answering questions from the audience in excellent detail and the subseqent break gave people the opportunity to discuss individual topics with the expert while enjoying wine and brezels provided by the society. .

The Annual General Meeting

After refreshments, the actual annual meeting took place.

In Memoriam

Due to the fact that the past year had seen a number of longstanding members pass away, among them president Harald, R. Schmauser, the meeting started with a tribute to these people.

The Past 12 Months – a Review

The ensuing review reminded people of the many talks that have provided a broad range of attractive contributions – topics ranging from "Pain" to "Shakespeare in the Arts", and very successful parties. For the coming 12 months a similarly attractive program is in planning; there will be a talk about the children's book author and illustrator Beatrix Potter as well as an excursion to the "Britannia in Bamberg" music festival; in addition there will be our traditional meetings for an "Asparagus Dinner", for our Summer Party and the Annual Dinner in November, where we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the society.

Vorstandschaft_neu — Members of the Board of the German-British Society with the new president Bill Blundell (centre) and the new treasurer, Bernd Glückert (2nd from left) (photo: Lang)

Elections

The rest of the meeting was characterised by the theme of renewal.

William (Bill) Blundell was unanimously elected President of the society. The various personal connections and creativity of this Electrical and Electronic Engineer, who to this day works as a consultant in the computer industry, are expected to give the society many new impulses and will support a lively society. Born in 1948 in Birmingham, England, he has been living with his wife in Nuremberg for many years.
During a brief speech to thank the members for his election, Bill spoke about the need for "Togetherness" and how this would be the theme for the Society's activities going forward.

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Bernd Glückert, Chartered Structural Engineer, was unanimously elected Treasurer. 45 years old, Bernd worked and lived in England for many years and is married to an Englishwoman, therefore contributing a broad range of experience and connections to the work of the board.

These two elections brought the Annual General Meeting of the German-British Society Nuremberg to a close with a positive perspective into the Society's future.