Mayor of twin city Timbuktu expected in Chemnitz

Hallé Ousmane's visit to Chemnitz, which was originally planned for March, had to be postponed at short notice due to short-term commitments that made the mayor's presence in Timbuktu unavoidable.

The extensive and packed programme for the visit of the guests from Timbuktu includes a press conference with Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig(Wednesday, 17 April, 1 p.m., City Hall) and a round table discussion in the City Council Chamber of Chemnitz City Hall (Thursday, 18 April, 7p. m. ).(Thursday 18 April , 7 p.m.), at which the current situation in Mali, the possibilities of further support and assistance for the people in Chemnitz's twin city Timbuktu and also the possibility of a school partnership between a Chemnitz school and a school in the Malian twin city will be discussed. The dialogue partners are Mayor Ludwig and the guests from Timbuktu as well as Bernd Aschauer, spokesman for the Chemnitz-Timbuktu Association.

The first press event in Chemnitz, to which photographers in particular are cordially invited, is tomorrow , Tuesday (16 April) at 9.30 a.m. at the Hotel Chemnitzer Hof- where the guests from Timbuktu are staying - at the start of a city tour. After lunch, at around 1.45 p.m., tower keeper Stefan Weber will invite the Malian guests on a tour of the town hall. The programme includes a visit to the TIETZ at 3:30 p.m. with a guided tour of the facility and a tea break in the world shop on the ground floor of the building. Afterwards, the guests from Timbuktu will visit the future State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz in the Schocken - a possible special exhibition with treasures from Timbuktu will also be on the agenda. The guests will have dinner at Heck-ART, where they will meet Hartwig Albrio and other members of the Kunst für Chemnitz association. On Wednesday (17 April), the programme includes a morning visit to the company "Elicon" with information on the use of solar energy, followed by a tour of buildings with solar systems in the Chemnitz district of Wittgensdorf and at the ASC. On Wednesday afternoon, representatives of the media are invited to the above-mentioned press conference with Mayor Ludwig and her counterpart Ousmane in the town hall. In the afternoon, the guest from the twin town will be officially welcomed by the Lord Mayor in the City Council and will be welcomed to the Botanical Gardens at 4 pm for a programme organised by the twinning association.

On Thursday (18 April), the guests from Timbuktu will visit the Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff-Gymansiuml in the morning (from 9 am) and then the André-Gymnasium and are expected to arrive at the Schlossberg Museum at 3 pm. On Thursday evening at 7 p. m ., a public discussion on the problems in Mali and Timbuktu will take place in the town hall's council chamber: The dialogue partners are Mayor Hallé Ousmane, his advisor Assoura Albadia and Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig as well as Bernd Aschauer, spokesman for the Chemnitz-Timbuktu Association. On Friday (19 April), the programme includes a visit to the VW engine plant in Chemnitz in the morning, followed by a joint lunch and discussion with TU Rector Arnold van Zyl, who has also invited the Malian guests to visit facilities at Chemnitz University of Technology. In the evening, at 7 p.m., the guests are expected to attend an event in the "Club of Cultures" at Chemnitz University of Technology. On Saturday (20 April), the guests from Timbuktu will visit various Chemnitz sports facilities in the morning and take part in the award ceremony for the Sport Chemmy in the evening. Sunday (21 April) is reserved for an excursion for the Malian guests, who will then travel home to Timbuktu via Berlin at around 4 pm.

Contact and contact person for the media:
The guests from Timbuktu will be looked after by the Mayor's Office of the City of Chemnitz - contact person in the Protocol and Town Twinning Department is Reiner Gehlhar, phone 0371/488-1520, e-mail: Reiner.Gehlhar(at)Stadt-Chemnitz.de.

During their stay in Chemnitz, the guests will also be accompanied by Marcel Maiga, a Malian citizen living in Berlin who also works for the Malian embassy. The contact person at the Chemnitz-Timbuktu Town Twinning Association is Bernd Aschauer, spokesperson for the association, on 0371 / 725 08 68 or by e-mail at partner.chemnitz-timbuktu(at)web.de.

Important note for media scheduling:

When planning your schedule, please note that not all of the Mayor of Timbuktu's Chemnitz appointments are open to the press. Therefore, please contact the protocol department in good time for your scheduling and participation.

Appeal to the people of Chemnitz: donations for the twin city of Timbuktu
Last year, Mayor Barbara Ludwig appealed for donations to help 15 million African people who were threatened by famine following an extreme drought. Mali and Chemnitz's twin city Timbuktu were also affected. Now that the situation has deteriorated further as a result of political events, Chemnitz is once again calling for donations for its African twin city (see also PM 57 from 13 February 2013):

Donations for Timbuktu can be paid into the City of Chemnitz donation account: account no.: 350 100 9282, sort code: 870 50 000 - reason for payment: 1111100.50111000 Timbuktu.

Timbuktu and Chemnitz, then Karl-Marx-Stadt, have been twinned since 1968 - here is the link to the information on www.chemnitz.de: www.chemnitz.de/chemnitz/de/die-stadt-chemnitz/partnerstaedte/timbuktu/