Counterparts
The Dubrovnik city libraries have found a new – and perhaps unusual – patron: Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. This is the first time the consultancy has supported a cultural project of this scale outside of Germany.
Together with the Goethe-Institut Zagreb, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants have committed themselves to boosting the role of the Mediterranean city's libraries, making them the heart of its cultural life. While culture sponsoring of this kind has a long tradition for the consultancy, this project is the first supporting venture of that scale outside of Germany. CEO Burkhard Schwenker underlined the importance of the program– fittingly named 'Counterparts': "With our initiative, we can invest in education and help foster the cultural understanding of the people in the region."
The company's involvement has been instrumental in helping the library with its acquisition of books and periodicals related to economics and management subjects, creating the so-called Roland Berger Library, and volumes on the cultural history of the Dalmatian region. In addition, it has facilitated the creation of a music department with hundreds of CDs and equipment as well as the purchase of a number of shelves and bookcases, not to mention the air conditioning - all of which had to meet the stringent standards of the historical buildings' preservation status. Analysts from the consultancy also offered their help in devising plans to attract more readers and assuring long-term sponsorship as a pro-bono project.
This was not a straight-forward donation. Vesna Cucic, the Director of the Dubrovnik libraries was especially pleased with the continual involvement of both the Roland Berger consultants and Goethe-Institut representatives: "We were in touch by email at least once or twice a week and the people from Roland Berger followed the process very closely."
Together with the Goethe-Institut Zagreb, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants have committed themselves to boosting the role of the Mediterranean city's libraries, making them the heart of its cultural life. While culture sponsoring of this kind has a long tradition for the consultancy, this project is the first supporting venture of that scale outside of Germany. CEO Burkhard Schwenker underlined the importance of the program– fittingly named 'Counterparts': "With our initiative, we can invest in education and help foster the cultural understanding of the people in the region."
The company's involvement has been instrumental in helping the library with its acquisition of books and periodicals related to economics and management subjects, creating the so-called Roland Berger Library, and volumes on the cultural history of the Dalmatian region. In addition, it has facilitated the creation of a music department with hundreds of CDs and equipment as well as the purchase of a number of shelves and bookcases, not to mention the air conditioning - all of which had to meet the stringent standards of the historical buildings' preservation status. Analysts from the consultancy also offered their help in devising plans to attract more readers and assuring long-term sponsorship as a pro-bono project.
This was not a straight-forward donation. Vesna Cucic, the Director of the Dubrovnik libraries was especially pleased with the continual involvement of both the Roland Berger consultants and Goethe-Institut representatives: "We were in touch by email at least once or twice a week and the people from Roland Berger followed the process very closely."
For Burkhard Schwenker the creation of the Counterparts program is a key contribution to the understanding of diversity within Europe. At the opening ceremony for the Roland Berger library, attended by leading Croatian politicians, business representatives, opinion leaders and – above all - citizens, Schwenker highlighted the importance of intercultural exchange of knowledge as a basis of a wider discussion on European values. "The term 'counterparts' perfectly addresses the current situation in Europe. In a growing Europe, we need more exchange between the diverse national cultures", he stated in his welcome speech. The opening day marked the beginning of the "Month of the Croatian Book". The city libraries displayed valuable 15th-century printings (incunabula), which are usually not accessible to the public.
The reaction to the grant, which has enhanced the attractiveness of the libraries, was overwhelmingly positive. According to Cucic "the people were very touched and moved and proud that something like this happened here. The opening ceremony on October 15 was needed to inform the citizens of Dubrovnik of the changes to the library, but since then things have developed very quickly." The music department is now the most visited department in the libraries, she reports, with all 900 CD's having been checked out in the first two weeks of its opening. The close collaboration with the partners made it possible "to show people that we are an important cultural aspect of life in Dubrovnik and that there is a link between tradition and the future."
The reaction to the grant, which has enhanced the attractiveness of the libraries, was overwhelmingly positive. According to Cucic "the people were very touched and moved and proud that something like this happened here. The opening ceremony on October 15 was needed to inform the citizens of Dubrovnik of the changes to the library, but since then things have developed very quickly." The music department is now the most visited department in the libraries, she reports, with all 900 CD's having been checked out in the first two weeks of its opening. The close collaboration with the partners made it possible "to show people that we are an important cultural aspect of life in Dubrovnik and that there is a link between tradition and the future."
The connection between the consultancy and Croatia goes beyond the support of the Dubrovnik libraries: it is also sponsoring a cross-cultural art-exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb. Nada Beroš, Senior Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, developed the exhibition concept on "Criss-Cross – Five Positions in Croatian and German Contemporary Art" and selected 11 artists from Croatia and Germany all of whom are internationally renowned artists with distinguished careers.
To find out more about the exhibition, which will be showing until 30 December, please click on the Counterparts website.
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