Rebuilding a sense of community in Germany
By
Sandy Weiner,
Country Career Advisor
sandy.weiner@one-focus.org
www.1-focus.org
We talk about building your network to find a job,
building a new life or helping your spouse make new connections in a foreign
country, but where do you look? Who do you contact?
Germany offers lots of ways to network in English
(and in other languages, too). You can network in person, over the Internet
or by phone.
Networking clubs (Vereins) take on many faces
and purposes, from social, political and interest groups to business groups;
for women, men or both.
Moving to a foreign county, whether you speak the
language or not, is a challenging transition. Not only must we get our
families settled, but finding a network of people for support, to explore
our new environment with, to meet for tea/coffee, or to share ideas with can
be a major step to rebuilding the sense of community that is often lost when
making a move.
Some of these women’s organizations offer subgroups
for men and children, as well. As the number of expats is growing rapidly in
Germany so does the number of clubs and groups. It seems that new ones are
starting every week!
A sampling of these is:
Berlin
American Women's Club
(030) 79 70 65 23
www.awc-of-berlin.de
Berlin International Women's Club
(030) 844 906 50
www.biwc.de
American German Business Club-Berlin
www.AGBC-Berlin.de
John F. Kennedy Friendship Center
http://www.jfkfriendshipcenter.org/
Hashing Club (open to men and women)
(030) 770 23 91
www.berlinhhh.20m.com
English Football Club- Berlin
http://www.english-football-club.com/
Bonn/Cologne/Düsseldorf
American Women's Club Cologne
www.awccologne.org
American Women's Club Dusseldorf
www.awcduesseldorf.org
American Women's Club Cologne
http://www.awccologne.org/
International Women's Connection Bonn
www.iwc-bonn.de
Hashing Club
www.gthhh.com
Frankfurt
American Women's Club Taunus
61 71 58 08 35
www.awctaunus.org
British Club of the Taunus
(06173) 60 46 10
www.british-club.de/
Wiesbaden British Women
(06127) 79 427
English Club Darmstadt
(06150) 44 70
Pickwick English Club
http://privat.schlund.de/p/pickwicks/index.htm
International Women's Club of Frankfurt
(069) 65 52 95
German American Club
(06103) 24 93 5
GBA Social Group
GBASocial@aol.com
English Speaking Club
(06174) 62 69 2
English Round Table
http://www.ert.from.de
Munich
German-English Association Munich (GEA)
www.gea-muc.de
Hashing Club
www.munich-h3.com
Munich Dining Club
http://www.MunichDiningClub.com
Munich Futurists
http://www.mcfuturists.com
Deutsch-Australischer Stammtisch München
Tel: (08131) 928 22
English Speaking Union-Munich
http://www.esu-bavaria.de
Toastmasters-Munich
http://www.munich-toastmasters.de
German-English Associations
http://www.gea-muc.de
Deutsch-Irischer Freundeskreis
Contact Frank McLynn
Tel: (089) 679 24 81
Down Under group Munich Stammtisch
Tel: (089) 542 83 91
English Golfing Society
Contact R. Parry
Tel: (089) 53 42 75
English-speaking Entrepreneurs in Europe
contact Neil Phone
Tel: 08821 - 754 261 or 0175-443 39 45
English-Speaking Union
Tel: (089) 33 16 69 or 089 - 308 40 98
Business and Professional Women-Germany Network:
Munich
http://www.bpw-germany.de/
German-American Men's Club Stammtisch
Contact Sam Magill
Tel: 089 - 91 14 63
Toastmasters International
www.munich-toastmasters.de
Hamburg
American Club of Hamburg
http://www.americanclub.de
American Women’s Club of Hamburg
http://www.awchamburg.org
Anglo-German Club
http://www.anglo-german-club.de
Anglo-German International Women’s Association
agiwainternational@hamburg.de
Deutsch-Englische Gesellschaft
(040) 72 50 21 95
British and Commonwealth Ladies Luncheon Club
luncheonclub@hamburg.de
British Club of Hamburg
http://www.british-club-hamburg.de
The British Council
http://www.britcoun.de
Professional Women's Forum
(040) 82 18 58
Hashing Club
www.hamburghash.de
Women’s Council of Hamburg
http://www.landesfrauenrat-hamburg.de
Caledonian Society
http://www.caledonian-society.de
Other: Germany-wide:
American Chamber of Commerce
www.amcham.de
Toastmasters
http://www.district59.org/clubs.php?country=Germany
Women of the World
(069) 26 48 76 74
www.wow-net.org
Republicans Abroad-in most cities
Democrats Abroad- meets in most cities
Most universities have clubs throughout
Germany—check with specific university and college alumni services
for contacts
Women’s International Network
http://www.winconference.net/list_networks.asp
There is a range of associations for
English Teachers through TEFL and other organizations that can be found
through Internet searches
Federation of German–American Clubs (30
clubs throughout Germany)
http://www.vdac.de
Boy Scouts of America
http://www.tac-bsa.org/contacts.htm
There are also many religious and business groups
that can be found through major search engines.
Federation of German American Clubs
http://www.federation-ger-am-clubs.com/
Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas
http://www.fawco.org/
Most embassies and consulate offices offer business club and networking
meetings. Some offer clubs exclusively for women. Most also post an updated
listing of local networking clubs in their area on their websites. More
information can be gained by checking with each location you are interested
in directly.
About Author
Sandy Weiner, MEd, is a Master Certified Coach (ICF, ECI) and Managing
Director of 1-Focus International, Wiesbaden and Berlin, Germany, a firm
focused on helping people and organizations live from their passion
www.1-focus.org.
She is an American living and thriving overseas. Sandy is and author of
numerous coaching, management, career and organizational change articles.
Her practice is focused on life and business coaching and provides coach
supervision. To share your thoughts, drop her an email at:
sandy.weiner@one-focus.org
|
