Counterparts

Cultural exchange

"Counterparts" cultural sponsorship project: Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and the Goethe-Institut are promoting culture and education in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The goal of this public-private partnership is to build bridges between the peoples of Europe through intercultural dialog.

"Roland Berger has a long tradition of sponsoring culture. This is because, like top rate consulting, fine arts merge excellence and creativity with the desire and ability to create something new," says Dr. Burkhard Schwenker, CEO of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. "We are building bridges between various disciplines and cultures. We are promoting diversity that is also characteristic of multiethnic Europe."

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants' newest "Counterparts" project includes funding a new production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" at the Teatr Wielki, the Polish National Opera. In honor of the official "Mozart Year 2006", the performance in Warsaw has been staged by the acclaimed German director Achim Freyer. Freyer is one of the most renowned contemporary set designers and painters of opera stage. The premiere performance was organized in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut in Warsaw.

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants started its "Counterparts" initiative in Croatia in 2005. The international strategy consultancy and the Goethe-Institute continue to support the municipal libraries in Dubrovnik, enabling the libraries to expand their collection on the cultural history of Dalmatia. The consultancy has also helped establish a music library, acquire standard works and current literature on economic and management topics and better furnish their reading rooms. Schwenker said: "Our initiative involves investing in education while at the same time helping to promote the cultural self-awareness of people in the region." Working on a pro bono basis, Roland Berger's consultants looked at how the libraries could attract new readers and sponsors.

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants also sponsored an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb in autumn 2005. Entitled "Criss-cross – Five positions in Croatian and German contemporary art", the exhibition included the works of eleven internationally recognized artists from Croatia and Germany.