Sunday June 28 2009

Today the group of 22 participants from 21 different countries meet for the first time. We are more women than gentlemen, but that is quite typical for librarians. Six of us are from Europe, three are from Asia, nine from Africa and four from Central America.

A special tour of Washington has been arranged for us. We learn a lot about key historic facts. Freemasonry was an important concept for the forefathers. Turn a one dollar note around and you'll find symbols such as the pyramid and the eye of God who will never be reached by buildings erected by human beings. We are lucky, the tour guide is excellent. Compared with my stay in Washington in 1997 I must admit that things have become far more complicated after 9/11. You have to prebook for many sights such as the Capitol, the White House or the Washington Monument. In 1997 I could just go there and perhaps wait in a queue to be admitted.

Our next stops are the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. The model for the Lincoln Memorial is the Greek temple Parthenon from the Akropolis. There it was on August 28 1963 that Martin Luther King said the famous words "I have a dream" adressing more than 200.000 people. Today 77% of the population in Washington is Afro-American. After the end of our tour at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial I walk over to the National World War II Memorial which was only opened in 2004.

In the evening our group meets for a first intragroup discussion in the hotel. This meeting gives us a chance to present our countries and our careers and to get to know each other better. Group photos are an important tool to get closer!