{"id":26095,"date":"2026-03-11T17:18:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T09:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=26095"},"modified":"2026-03-11T17:34:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T09:34:35","slug":"bringing-germany-to-hong-kong-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/bringing-germany-to-hong-kong-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing Germany to Hong Kong and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Director of Goethe-Institute in Hong Kong shares his journey of cultural exchanges from Germany to the world, and how he thinks of Hong Kong as a work destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jette Kremer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving from Brazil, Latvia, Korea and then Hong Kong, Arendt R\u00f6skens, who is from Wilhelmshaven, a city in the north of Germany and around five hours away from Berlin, has lived in different parts of the world promoting German culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the director of the Goethe Institute in Hong Kong, a significant part of his role involves meetings with cultural departments and artists to discuss new project ideas. He is deeply involved in designing these cultural initiatives, which he finds rewarding due to the curiosity and spontaneity of the Hong Kong people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The institute, with 150 branches in 99 countries, is the official cultural institution of Germany, offering a platform for international cultural exchange as well as learning German.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The entrance to the building in which the Goethe-Institute is located<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Events like German film screenings offer a glimpse of Germany while promoting language learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe German language is not the central theme all the time but is always conveyed in some way,\u201d he\u00a0says. The director also enjoys attending various cultural events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R\u00f6skens has to rotate every few years to different countries. He came to Hong Kong before settling in the city two years ago. \u201cWhen I had to apply for a new position after my previous one, Hong Kong was advertised. I already knew Hong Kong and liked it a lot,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn terms of work, Hong Kong is extremely interesting due to its rich and dynamic culture. Hong Kong’s global connection is strong, hence there is an interest in the exchange with Germany too,\u201d R\u00f6skens says.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith all the Filipinas and Indonesians working in households here, and the large Indian and Western communities, particularly from Anglo-Saxon countries, Hong Kong is already a huge melting pot. Of course, this is also evident in the culture, which is less strict in many respects than in other East Asian locations,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Goethe-Institute library offers a quiet space for exploring German literature and language<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Based in Hong Kong now, R\u00f6skens particularly likes the natural beauty in the city and appreciates its large variety of landforms, from beaches to hills where there are hiking trails. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a city with a high quality of life. The infrastructure is very good. Everything works, from public transportation to healthcare,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food is another highlight for him here. \u201cIchitora Ramen\u201d in Wan Chai is his favourite food spot. \u201cIt is a vegetarian restaurant, which can be a little bit hard to find in Hong Kong, and they are very, very delicious,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R\u00f6skens finds it easy to build a social life in Hong Kong where English is one of the official languages. \u201cThere is no language barrier. One has the opportunity to build a diverse circle of friends here,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A glimpse into the art gallery space within the Goethe-Institute in Wan Chai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While enjoying all the fun living in the city, the 56-year-old father also faces challenges about handling family issues. \u201cWhen you have children, for example, you are facing questions such as education. Is there a German-speaking school, or will the child go to an English-speaking school, or perhaps something completely different?\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another challenge, he shares, is the working opportunities for spouses. \u201cThey are generally not allowed to work outside Europe if they move with their spouses, only under specific circumstances such as an independent work visa,\u201d he explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have to be aware that you\u2019ll be moving again every time. You always have to start from zero. That takes a lot of energy. I really enjoy doing that. But you have to want it,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not yet known where R\u00f6skens will be posted next. \u201cWhen you go abroad, it\u2019s important to have a job that you enjoy because otherwise you\u2019re bound to suffer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edited by <\/em>Mike Chu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sub-edited by <\/em>Alexa Lau<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Director of Goethe-Institute in Hong Kong shares his journey of cultural exchanges from Germany to the world, and how he thinks of Hong Kong as a work destination. By Jette Kremer Moving from Brazil, Latvia, Korea and then Hong Kong, Arendt R\u00f6skens, who is from Wilhelmshaven, a city in the north of Germany and around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":26110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26095"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26107,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26095\/revisions\/26107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}