May 25, 2016, I had two guests on my radio talk show called “Lets Talk” which airs every Wednesdays from 6pm – 7:45pm on Topafric.com. The guests were Dr Werner Russ and Daniel Jedmann.
Dr Russ who has been working for the past 35 years for one of the conglomerates in Hamburg as a Marketing and Event Manager, attended the Africa Day 3 years ago and felt the need to be part this great event that is organized yearly by Imic e.V. and since then he has been a volunteer in organizing the event.
Me: Dr Russ you´re working with Immic e.V. in organizing the Africa Day, so tell us a bit about it.
DR Russ: Yeah I am a volunteer at Immic e.V.. I attended the Africa Day for the first time 3 years ago and I said to myself “Werner you want to be a part of this”… so I walked up to Mrs Gerlich and told her I would like to work with her on this one and since then we´ve been working together.
Me: Did you know her before, I mean were you friends before that day?
DR Russ: No. I was at the open air event at Wandsbek Markt and was moved by what I saw and experienced that day; the people, the music, the food and the free interaction between the Africans, Germans and other people with migration root who were present. It was so interesting to see elderly Germans moving to the live music.
Me: Is that all you do at Immic, organizing the Africa day?
Dr Russ: Well, there is a whole lot of work to be done at Immic and Mrs Gerlich is doing almost everything alone starting from administration to giving a helping hand to some African families who every now and then need help in tackling some official issues. As we are here right now, she is entertaining the Delegates from Africa; trying to get them settle in because they just arrived this evening and that is why she couldn´t make it down here today. But the good thing is, since I volunteered others have joined in, so we have a team of five volunteers who are also helping out as much as they can.
But to answer your question, yes I mostly work on organizing the Africa Day which actually entails a lot like renting the tents to sellers and that is not always easy, trying to get sponsors for the event etc…
Me: I noticed a lot of changes in this year´s event for example the Business Forum, the car to be won etc, were these all your ideas?
Dr Russ: No. They were basically Mrs Gerlich´s and I support in actualizing them. There are other changes too like this year we have the tents for lots of African nations so that people can easily find their country people and also guests can get to meet people of their favorite countries in Africa and also very interesting is that this year we having a joint Muslim and Christian service at the beginning of the event on both days Saturday and Sunday. That’s going to be a very good one for us Germans and Africans alike.
Me: Have you been to Africa?
Dr Russ: Yes but only in the Northern parts but since my encounter with Imic, I´m planning a business trip to West Africa because there are lots of business opportunities down there. Africa is not just all about holiday and fun.
Me: Wow… it´s been great talking to you. Do you have one last word for our listeners?
Dr Russ: Yes. I encourage everyone who can to come out because the Africa Day is a family program; an interaction and integration ground for everyone.
Before now I didn’t know how to interact with Africans because was I wasn’t so sure if they´ll understand me but to my surprise a lot of them can speak good German, especially the ones who were born here and those who cant speak fluently can easily be interacted with too and I know a lot of Germans have the same problem too.
Now I can walk into an African restaurant, order and feel at home.
Me: Thank you Dr Werner Russ for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be here.
Dr Russ: Thanks for having me.My interview with Daniel Jedmann was very short because of his very tight schedule. He actually had to be somewhere else at that time.
Me: Daniel Jedmann it´s nice to see you again, so what have you been up to lately? Frankly speaking I was so surprised to see you´re one of the organizers.
Daniel: Well, I´ve been busy with a lot of things on my hands and yeah it´s a surprise to others too that I´m involved in this project.
Me: So what´s your part in this whole thing?
Daniel: My major role is to mobilize the youths to be interested and active in the program and also in other social and communal activities.
I will also be speaking at the program and I´ll be talking about the life of African youths in Hamburg.
Me: And you´re also presenting I heard?
Daniel: Yes. I will be presenting the event.
Me: Wow… multitasking. I didn’t know you are this versatile.
Daniel: Yeah I have a lot in me but finding the right platform was the issue but since I met Mrs Gerlich, she´s given me room to explore my abilities and right now we are working on a lot of projects together. She´s been quite encouraging.
Me: I know her, so I can testify to that. There is a lottery and the first price is a car and then there´s a trip to be won too and shopping vouchers, how can one participate in this lottery?
Daniel: Tickets are available for 2 Euros at Imic center
Me: So cheap?
Daniel: Yeah so cheap, two Euros and they can also be bought at the open air event at Wandsbek Markt on Saturday and Sunday. The draws will be made on Sunday at the end of the program.
Me: I know you as Gospel Artist, so apart from all these other activities, are you performing as well?
Daniel: Yes I will be performing with a band on Sunday
Me: Ok. So what are you singing, gospel or circular music?
Daniel: Gospel of course
Me: I guess as much. Thanks for taking out your time to be here but, before you leave, you´ll song us a song.
Daniel: Really?
Me: Yes. It´s a tradition that if we have a musician in the house, he´ll sing a song or two before he leaves. So I´m all ears
Daniel: OK.And he sang the beautiful song You Lift Me Up and dashed out….
You can listen to most of the radio interview by clicking on the link below.
LILLIAN
Lillian Talks With DR Werner Russ and Daniel Jedmann About Africa Day 2016 in Hamburg.
