With the city-wide festival “DortBUNT!” celebrating tolerance and diversity, our partner city Dortmund in Germany has marked the 71th anniversary of the end of World War II and its achievements in intercultural dialogue since. For two days the city centre of Dortmund has hosted seven stages with live music and over 100 stalls presenting the work of volunteers, cultural organisations and faith groups who are all contributing to tolerance and openness in the city.
To highlight the importance of peace between nations and the significance of city partnerships to achieve exchanges and friendship on the local level, Dortmund has invited all its partner cities to join the festival. Delegations from as far as China, Russia and the USA have attended along with delegations from France, former East Germany – and Leeds!
Having the partner cities there to attend “DortBUNT!” and to celebrate decades of an international dialogue and exchange on the local level was very important to the City of Dortmund. To capture this historic moment, the delegations have all signed the Golden Book of the city, a guest book for the most honoured guests of Dortmund.