Message from Klaus Wowereit

“Asia-Pacific: Changing the World“ is a virtually indisputable thesis. No one can deny that the importance of this booming global region is growing by leaps and bounds. But where do we find interaction, economic opportunities, and cultural connections in a world that is rapidly growing ever smaller?

The 2007 Asia-Pacific Weeks (APW) helped to answer these questions. Three specialist conferences featuring high-caliber speakers from Asia and Europe addressed urban infrastructure issues vital to our future: urban planning and architecture, transportation and mobility, energy, water, waste management, life sciences, and information and communications technology.

The APW cultural program aroused our curiosity about the latest trends and illuminated the opportunities for new projects in, for instance, the creative industries. Fashion, design, film, music, architecture, and new media: these are fields in which Berlin boasts enormous potential, also with regard to greater cooperation with partners in the Asia-Pacific region. Cultural energy is being set free here, along with economic processes that add value and create jobs.

My thanks go to the ambassadors and the many other stakeholders who contributed to the very diverse program - especially the Asia-Pacific Forum Berlin and the House of World Cultures, which - in addition to coordinating the cultural program - has been inspiring cultural exchange between Germany’s capital city and the rest of the world for many years now.

To paraphrase a German saying, “After the APW is before the APW.” You can already start looking forward to the 2009 APW. Contribute your energy and your ideas to help make the contacts between Berlin and the Asia-Pacific region one of the 21st century’s success stories.

Klaus Wowereit
Governing Mayor of Berlin