Zzzzzooooom Medoc – long live inter-generation working!

Yes, we have Zoom, the conference search engine, and enough friends and acquaintances to give a quick briefing. Furthermore, our contacts with German and French people, ready to take part in an adventure like this, caused no problem either. Finally, as luck would have it, we found a receptive ear for this event at the German Consulate in Bordeaux in the shape of the Countess von Roedern, the Consul General herself, who was happy to moderate the conference.

And now, the icing on the cake: Paula and Christian had the same idea at the same time and Paula, who is employed in paid work, immediately found a business partner through which she could take care of the formal administrative procedures: ALEA. Supported by Franco-German citizen funding, this guaranteed financial support. Christian, as a volunteer, organised the contacts: with the aid of his portable computer he was able to help a Frenchman, Jean-Paul Lescorce, who didn’t have his own computer, to take part.

Then Emma arrived, a trainee at the the German Consulate in Bordeaux, with her knowledge and experience in up-to-date presentation skills. So there we were! We were complete as far as covering all generations was concerned: Emma, still a student, Paula, in mid-career, and Christian, in retirement (but very active for a retiree!)

“Germans in the Medoc” - now also available on line – was a marvellous cooperative venture at this time of Covid 19, as much for those taking part as for the inter-generational team. A model of team work and something worth repeating. Long live Franco-German friendship!

2021 Christian Büttner (Saint Vivien) / Emma Cox (Bordeaux) / Paula Scholemann (Montalivet), translated by Richard Beasley