Arrival

My first blogging effort; not easy to get into the hotel system, but after some perseverance, I made it. Travel had its moment, with weather delays in US and a 'Love Parade' in Duisburg, we finally arrived in Oberhausen. Met with Thomas and our colleagues from Le Creusot last night; we are both here at the Best Western because we could not reserve a room at the NH Hotel because 'Paul' the world cup predicting octopus lives there, and I understand has many Spanish visitors this weekend. We move there tonight, so will have a chance to see him firsthand. Maybe a picture is forthcoming. So I'm off to the opening ceremony for Feuerlander; being picked up at 10. Be back later and fill you in on the day.

Feuerländer OPENS on SUNDAY

Only a few days left...see the first photos of our exhibition
http://www.derwesten.de/staedte/oberhausen/Ausstellung-Feuerlaender-id3272260.html

Feuerländer: Regions of Vulcan - opens 25 July 2010

Westmoreland Chief Curator Barbara L. Jones to take part in opening ceremony for Feuerländer: Regions of Vulcan. Check back as Barbara will blog about her experience in Ruhr Valley - 2010 European Culture Capital.

The Westmoreland's "Born of Fire" Industrial Scenes featured in International Exhibition

The Westmoreland Museum of American Art’s Born of Fire: The Valley of Work exhibition will be part of Feuerländer: Regions of Vulcan, a large-scale international exhibition, to be presented at the LVR-Industriemuseum in Oberhausen, Germany from July 25 through Nov. 28, 2010, as part of the Ruhr Region's designation as the 2010 European Capital of Culture. Feuerländer: Regions of Vulcan comprises nearly 200 works of art illustrating the development of the mining, iron and steel industries in Europe and the United States from around 1780 to the present. Barbara L. Jones, Chief Curator at The Westmoreland, will travel to Germany to participate in the opening festivities of the exhibition and will write about her experiences on this blog.

Read the new release.

In the quest of historical similarities and differences of the industrial areas Pittsburgh and Ruhrarea

Summary of project results of 11th grade students of the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gymnasium

What does the cultural capital have to do with industrialization? Which historical similarities and differences can be found in the comparison of the Ruhrarea and Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)? This is the questions an eleventh grade basic course in history dealt with the last couple of weeks. Implemented to a sequence of lessons on the history of the USA, students of the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gymnasium researched, copied, excerped and evaluated their results in small projects.

Following is a blue sheet of „small" project topics student dealt with in groups:

- Historical preconditions of industrialization and a comparison of the chronology of both industrial areas (Ruhrarea & Pennsylvania) - created by Leon Braun, Lars Binder, Felix Frühauf, René Gängler, Christian Happe, Sebastian Ratsch, Tristan Wagner and Ben Weiß

- Harkort and A. Krupp versus Carnegie and Rockefeller: What do these industrialists have in common? - created by Steffen Bertram, Manuel Gomez Garcia, Phillip Kemkes, Anton Müller, Simon Steinborn, Björn Teßmer and Erik Zemlock

- How did Germany and the USA deal with the social questions and their solutions related to industrialization? - created by Dana Hülsemann, Kathrin Kempkes, Marit Matten and Anselm-Leander Wancke

- An especially incisive cesura was the structural change in both industrial areas. How did the Ruhrarea and Pennsylvania come to terms with the new situation? - created by André Eitzer, Jörg Glowka, Michael Hußmann, Maurice Kontorowitz and Arian Kühsel

The Project results do not only show similarities, but significant differences as well. Subsequent is a very short and pointed summary of the results:

The historical conditions for the development of industrialization in Germany and the USA differed very much regarding political circumstances and mentalities of citizens. At the beginning of industrialization, Germany was coined by sectionalism and could only develop positively after abandoning it. The emancipation of the colonies from its mother country and the ending of the civil war set totally different prerequisited in the history of thought of the American people than in Germany. Rockefeller acted aggresively against strikes, Carnegie on the contrary was a prime example of a philanthrope. A. Krupp and Harkort were far more in favor of their workers than Rockefeller. The solution of the social questions during industrialization turned Germany into a welfare state, the American system only now shows approaches of social security (general health care) for all American citizens. Why were such different solutions to the social question found on both sides of the ocean? Culture, infrastructure and education are the criteria of the comparison of the industrial areas Pittsburgh and Ruhrarea. Are there more universities and bridges in the Ruhrarea or in Pittsburg? Answers to these questions can be locked up in our folder at the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gymnasium or at the LVR-Industriemuseum in Oberhausen.

A special thank to Dana Hülsemann, Kathrin Kempkes, Marit Matten and Simon Steinborn which presented the project results at the transatlantic bridge day.

Steffi Melcher (subjects: History, Psychology and German)

A tour of Greensburg

Here's a VIDEO made by Greensburg Salem High School student Emily Gabriel completed for the our Transatlantic Bridge project. It is a quick tour of Greensburg with special thanks to the NewLanders for the great background music. Enjoy!

President Obama Reports on National Economy from Pittsburgh, Leverages the Region’s Transformation Story as Inspiration for the Future

President Barack Obama visited Pittsburgh on June 2, 2010, speaking about national economic issues from Carnegie Mellon University. He pointed to the Pittsburgh region’s economic, environmental and quality of life transformation – strongly propelled by excellence in technology, innovation and community collaboration – as an example of the bright future that’s possible through deliberate investment in innovative, sustainable solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems:

“The possibilities of where this research might lead us are endless. Imagine a new treatment that kills cancer cells but leaves healthy ones untouched, or regenerative medicine that ends the agonizing wait for an organ transplant. Imagine a lightweight vest for soldiers and police officers that can stop armor-piercing bullets, or educational software that's as effective and engaging as a personal tutor, or intelligent prosthetics that can enable a wounded veteran to play piano again. And now imagine all the workers and small business owners and consumers who would benefit from these discoveries.

“We can't know for certain what the future will bring … I'm sure there were times when [Pittsburgh] couldn't imagine life without steel mills and the heavy smog that filled these streets. And when that industry shrank and so many jobs were lost, who could've guessed that Pittsburgh would fare better than many other Rust Belt cities, and reemerge as a center for technology, green jobs, health care, and education? Who would've thought that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's logo would one day adorn the U.S. Steel Tower, or that this institute of higher education would be the region's largest employer?

All of this came to be because, as a community, you prepared and adapted and invested in a better future -- even if you weren't sure of what that future would look like.”

Read the full transcript.

Copyright (C) 2010 Allegheny Conference on Community Development All rights reserved.