Interview with John Whitehead

	Speaking with the new director of the British Council in Germany

John Whitehead has worked for the British Council in Latin America, North Africa, East Asia and Europe. Berlin is his first posting in Western Europe. He started his career in education and worked as a lecturer in applied linguistics at the University of Manchester before joining the British Council.

He enjoys travelling and getting to know people from different cultures which he finds “always challenging but very rewarding”.

He lived in Germany some years ago and has always wanted to come back. In the Interview he talks about his life in Bangkok, the British Council’s priorities in Germany and forthcoming projects.

John, you just moved from Bangkok to Berlin. Probably you will have to get used to a couple of things here – what is the most distinctive difference in your German every day life? Do you have any previous “German” experience?

John Whitehead: “Well, Bangkok and Berlin are about as different as you can get but it is great coming back to Europe in a period of lovely summer weather. People here have been complaining about the heat and the humidity. Well, all I can say, is try Bangkok! Seriously, though, it is fascinating coming back to Europe after a few years away and I feel I could not have come to a more interesting and fascinating city than Berlin.

I have lived in Germany before but this was some years back – before the changes in 1990 – and I do not know Berlin very well yet. I know it is really going to be exciting discovering Berlin and this part of Germany which has changed so much since I was here before.”


What is your first impression of Berlin?

John Whitehead: “Berlin has a worldwide reputation as a creative, exciting place and that is really clear to see all around you. It is summer and I really like the fact that people sit in cafés on street corners. Berlin seems quite relaxed to me. It is also such a lovely green city with the Tiergarten in the centre and lots of parks around the city and then there are all the iconic monuments and buildings, of course. It is a real thrill to be here!”

Which chances and challenges do you see regarding your new position as Director of the British Council Germany? What are the British Council’s priorities in Germany?

John Whitehead: “We have many really strong partnerships in Germany and lots of activities in areas which matter to the people we work with. It will be a continuing challenge to demonstrate the value of cultural relations and to find ever more opportunities to enable people to share knowledge and ideas.

We will need to be more creative in working across boundaries and with fewer resources in this period of economic austerity. But I am very confident we will respond well to these challenges. We will continue to focus on work in the arts, intercultural dialogue, education and climate change as the main areas of our activity.

We want to support young talents and activists, who make a difference in their communities. And we have a couple of visionary projects.

There is for example the International Climate Generation programme, that engages young people around the world as communicators who will help to influence and educate their peers and the general public on the urgency of climate change.

As you just moved from Thailand to Berlin: does it make a difference to you concerning your work to be in a European country? What is the British Council’s role in Europe and how can a cultural relations organisation be of value?

John Whitehead: “Although our vision and purpose is the same for all the 109 countries we work in, the contexts we work in are very different and a hugely important issue for us is to ensure the work we do in any context is relevant to the people we work with there.

So, there is a strong culture of ‘think global act local’ in our work. Thailand is a fascinating country and it was a great privilege to work there but Germany is, of course, very different. Germany and the UK are partners in Europe and we can work together on shared agendas – I am looking forward very much to that.

In Thailand, for instance, we did a lot of work with schools, improving standards of English language teaching for teachers and learners and giving students lots of opportunities to learn about people in other cultures.

Germany is an important location for the British Council in Europe and together with EU partners we are seeking to share and discuss approaches and solutions to some of the major cultural relations issue that we are all facing, such as integration and migration or climate change.”

Which British Council highlights of the next months are you looking most forward to?

John Whitehead: “I have been talking to colleagues here in my first week in Berlin about all the exciting activities which have been scheduled for the next few months.

Our “MyCity” project is going to start a big new phase in the near future. Within this project, the British Council invites Turkish artists for residencies in five European countries and European artists produce artworks in the public space of five cities across Turkey.

We are also about to launch the 3rd “MIPEX”, the Migrant Integration Policy Index. It is a unique long-term project which evaluates and compares what governments are doing to promote the integration of migrants in all EU Member States and several non-EU countries.

And our “Famelab” programme is going to hit the headlines soon: the British Council supports this extraordinary competition for young scientists who present interesting aspects of their work in an appealing way.

I am also curious about “Unlimited International”: The project commissions high quality, ambitious work by disabled and deaf artists on the occasion of the Paralympic Games 2012 in London.”