German unity jigsaw puzzle
The Federal Foreign Office has invited creative people around the world to design large-format puzzle pieces. Under the title “Together for Unity” the pieces will be fitted together to form maps of reunited Germany
It is said that the jigsaw puzzle was invented in England: in the 18th century, a London cartographer pasted a map of his home country onto a board and sawed it into numerous pieces to create a geographical game requiring patience. Today, virtually every child enjoys the pleasure of fitting the pieces together to complete the picture and make the puzzle perfect. So it is very fitting that this popular pastime will come to symbolise a special anniversary in 2015: throughout the world people are working creatively and hand in hand to congratulate Germany on its reunification 25 years ago. At the same time the campaign offers an opportunity to say thank you to the countries who took part in the historical change and shared Germany’s happiness.
The puzzle-project venues are 34 German missions abroad and Goethe Institutes. Together with sponsors each is shaping 28 pieces and interlocking them to form a more than 25-square-metre map of Germany. In this way a many-voiced greeting will be circling the world in the days around 3 October 2015: “Together for Unity”.
PASCH schools and other partners are joining in
Many of the participating missions are including various partners. The embassy in Asunción in Paraguay will be inviting school students and young artists to join in the event. In Egypt the 28 pieces will be created by students from the 28 Egyptian schools in the PASCH Initiative (Schools: Partners for the Future). The embassy in Tashkent in Uzbekistan is inviting its very creative Facebook community to join in the fun. Each puzzle will be capturing elements of the atmosphere and the history of the respective country. The puzzle of the embassy in Rabat, Morocco, will be reflecting the traditions of handicrafts and storytelling. The embassy in Windhoek is already busily building a puzzle, especially because Namibia is also celebrating an important anniversary in 2015: 25 years of independence.
Everybody can follow the project’s progress on the internet at www.zusammen-zur-einheit.de and see how the different works of art develop in different places to finally form a general picture. The missions abroad will be providing blogs, photos and videos to keep people informed as the event progresses, and the different puzzle venues will be shown on a world map.
25 Years of German Unity on 3 October 2015
