Wishing our Royal Patron, HRH Duke of Kent, a very happy birthday!

A wonderful first in-person meeting and workshop in Oxford last Thursday! 🇬🇧🇩🇪 We brought together Oxfordshire-based people passionate about strengthening connections between Oxfordshire and Germany, and the wider British-German relationship.

What a wonderful evening of German hymn singing at St George’s German Lutheran Church last week! We were delighted that BGA members could join this special event, organised by Philip Price and With Cheerful Voice.

Have you been thinking about delving into your heritage? The AGFHS (@a-gfhs.bsky.social) is a fantastic organisation with a wide range of resources and invaluable connections to help you achieve just this! Info on how to become a member is below:

The Anglo-German Family History Society@a-gfhs.bsky.social · 2mo ago

If you’re curious about your German or Austrian heritage, we’d love to welcome you. Membership info is on our website — and we’re always happy to help you get started. www.agfhs.com/about-us/joi...

Last week we were delighted to host our first in-person workshop for our Regional Representatives in Birmingham! Our Regional Reps are volunteers, all from various regions and walks of life with their own unique connections and contributions to the British-German sphere in tow.

Very much looking forward to our event with @annettedittert.bsky.social ! Livestream is also available

Annette Dittert@annettedittert.bsky.social · 4w ago

..and for my followers in London: There are a few tickets left for this 👇 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dear-brita...

#WordyWednesday: Have you heard of the German word ‘Eigengrau’? Literally translating to ‘own/intrinsic-grey’, it’s typically used to describe that peculiar grey tone you see when you close your eyes in total darkness (1/3)

Germany’s schoolkids are heading back to school, and ‘Schultüte’ time begins for those in first-grade classes! A Schultüte is an iconic symbol for first-years, filled to the brim with different sweets and treats to enjoy when coming back from their first ever day of school.

#FunFactFriday: GCSE Results edition! A great year again for GCSE German, congratulations to the over 30,000 students who sat the subject, and thank you also to the fantastic teachers who have taught them!

We’re saddened to hear of the future plans to scrap German GCSE and A-Levels in Northern Ireland. If you would haven’t yet signed the petition and would like to show your support, head to the petition below: www.change.org/p/maintain-c...

Sign the Petition

Maintain CCEA's German GCSE and A level qualifications in Northern Ireland

change.org

Harking back to our AGM again with some ‘behind the scenes’ footage at ctn group ‘s London studio. Thank you again to ctn’s Nicholas Ashley and Carol Lamb for their guidance, and of course to Stephen Watson - ctn group ‘s CEO and BGA’s President.

The English-language final report of the “NRW Meets UK: 80 Years of Friendship” Town Twinning Summit is now available! The BGA was represented by Rafe Courage (Regions and Partnerships Lead) and Robin Phillips (Chair for the North-West). (1/3)

#BritishGermanStories: Kew Gardens is currently home to a number of Henry Moore sculptures, up until January 2027! But did you know that one of them has a distinct British-German story?

Germany hires Jürgen Klopp as men's national soccer team coach.

Jürgen Klopp named new Germany coach after World Cup failure

Germany has hired Jürgen Klopp to coach its national team, giving the ex-Liverpool manager a daunting task to turn around the fortunes of a squad which failed yet again at the World Cup.

bit.ly

A few snippets of the Hidden German Histories walk by Marcus Durst of Visitour.London! A lovely summer evening walk packed full of info on German-speaking immigrants and their impact on the Big Smoke. Thanks again to our attendees, and to Marcus for being our guide!

#WordyWednesday: have you ever heard of the German word 'Kopfkino'? It's a lovely, catchy word that perfectly describes a moment when you truly allow yourself to delve into a 'movie in your mind'.

As Andy Burnham walks into 10 Downing Street, we walk down memory lane! In 2021, the BGA initiated the strategic partnership between Greater Manchester and the Ruhr region. During the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, the now Prime Minister sported our BGA tie!

Good luck to England tonight! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 We’re bringing out a bit of German for good luck - maybe Thomas Tuchel will be using the phrase too today! “Fußballgott” means ‘football god’. Let’s hope ‘he’s on our side’ tonight… you can even use the phrase to describe a remarkable player on our ‘11-a-side’ team 😉

Thank you to everyone who attended our AGM last week via Zoom! During the meeting, three new Trustees were elected. We’re looking forward to having Ross McEwen, Isabella de Taranto and Robin Phillips on our Board and seeing the paths we can pave and strengthen.

#FootballFridays: sadly the World Cup came to an end for Germany on Monday, after a highly dramatic game with Paraguay that ended in a penalty shootout - the first one Germany has ever lost.

Take a look at our Karneval Mask Competition winners - our Spring BGA schools project in collaboration with @EYFOLNE. Thanks again to all of the students who participated - it was fantastic to see such creativity, great use of the language and nods to German culture.

Happy Pride, London! To mark #PrideInLondon 2026, we're flying the rainbow flag to show our support for LGBTIQ rights. #diplomatsforequality

Come and join us for summer drinks at Albert's Schloss on 7th July, from 6:30pm! Everyone is welcome - if you are interested in coming along then contact Tamara at t.aberle@britishgermanassociation.org. Looking forward to seeing you all there!

We were delighted that BGA’s Rafe Courage and Robin Phillips took part in the ‘NRW meets UK: 80 Years of Friendship’ summit in Düsseldorf this week. It was held at the NRW’s Regional Parliament with its President André Kuper and Minister Nathanael Liminiski in attendance.

This #TwinningTuesday we’re celebrating Perth’s 70-year anniversary with the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg. Our Scotland Convenor, Ross McEwen, was delighted to attend the city of Perth’s Twinning Anniversary celebrations this past weekend. (1/3)

Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of organising a discussion on the Merz government, one year on from its beginning, in the Houses of Parliament. Dr Ed Turner and Baroness Julie Smith spoke on areas like domestic policy, defense, and implications for the 🇬🇧-🇩🇪 relationship

Something we’re all hoping for in this heat - a cool side of the pillow! If you wanted to say this in German, it would be ‘Kissenkühlelabsal’. It’s made up of ‘pillow’ (Kissen), ‘cool’ (Kühle) and ‘refreshment’ (Labsal).

🇩🇪🤝🇬🇧 Today marks 75 years since the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and the UK. Join us in celebrating this friendship by sharing a photo that captures a personal connection between our countries. Send the photo and a short description to 75years@lond.diplo.de.

On 17 June, Robert Keeling from the BGA (London Boroughs Representative) chaired a successful roundtable discussion at the British Embassy in Berlin with representatives from Berlin boroughs twinned with London, the Berliner Senat and DIFGL.

Are you based in Berlin? The Deutsches Institut für Gutes Leben is continuing their 'Berlin x London im Dialog' series with another discussion on urban voices in democracy this Thursday.