Brigitte Schulze - Profile
Culture, music, languages – my worlds
Who says that the groundwork for special preferences and for a future career is not already laid during childhood? In my case, music at home, films about Moscow and Eastern Europe on television, university studies in music, sports, and Russian, culminating in a master’s degree (M.A.) and a teacher’s credential, as well as my feel for the fine nuances of intercultural communication opened innumerable possibilities for my career as a music critic and culture journalist for leading German media houses, such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (newspaper), the broadcaster WDR (television and radio), and many more – and, naturally, for my later work as Eastern Europe correspondent.
Journalistic work, decisive contacts, and recognition in Eastern Europe
At the beginning of the 1990’s I had advanced to being an ‘Expert for Russian Music’. In this capacity, I accepted an invitation to Russia and Ukraine to report on a nine-month Soviet music festival with contemporary German music. Intensive experiences and my constantly growing enthusiasm for Europe’s East and its people, led to my decision to expand my field of activity and to work as a correspondent in Kiev. That’s when it all began. Intensive encounters with artists, politicians, scientists, and normal citizens – many of whom became my friends – constant contemplation about exactly what it is that makes this country different, and a large portion of love, led to an immersion in the Ukranian culture and life-style with all its ups and downs.
The media and freedom of the press
Of course, I was soon confronted with the possibilities and limitations of the Ukrainian press. I saw that much development work still needed to be done for the quality and freedom of the Ukranian press. Based on my convictions and my faith in the abilities of my Ukrainian colleagues, I became the initiator and co-founder of an Academy of Further Education for journalists. From this time on, I was decisively involved in the active establishment and support of a free, independent, and readable press in Ukraine.
Promoting culture and tourism: cultural ambassador
One of my commisions as media consultant took me to Odessa – the city of humor. I was fascinated by the pulse of this vibrant city on the Black Sea – and in particular by the world-famous Odessa Opera – and had the opportunity to become active as a public relations consultant for the unique opera house, and for the entire city. In this important place, once again all of my abilities were united as a whole – a sound knowledge of music and culture and my love of language, writing, and cultural-political engagement and dialogue. In 2005, I wrote the first travel guide for Odessa. Several new editions of the book followed.
Travel books with heart
Soon after the end of my consultancy in Odessa, which lasted several years, I began writing a new book about all of Ukraine. This book differs from standard travel guides in its approach – the reader joins me in my travels. I take the reader along with me – “by the hand”, so to speak – on my tours through Ukraine by car, airplane, train or bus. I share my own very personal impressions of the country and its people. I have “pre-tested” every station of the journey. With this book, each reader can travel individually and independently throughout Ukraine.
Brigitte Schulze and her partners help build and promote
True to the motto “Helping to build something” I continue my work in and about the “country on the edge” (the literal translation of the word Ukraine). A series of more travel guides with heart are planned with the goal of furthering the intercultural and economic-political exchange between Germany and Ukraine.
Together with my partners from the media world, with my marketing advisors, with specialists in the fields of graphic design and distribution, with many friends in east and west who listen time and again and occasionally support my work free of charge, and also with my life partner, who remains calm and supportive even in the face of the most heated emotional outbursts that Ukraine can elicit, I would like to realize my mission/vision to make Ukraine better know in Germany and the western world and to invite people to travel there. The people who live in Ukraine deserve to be better understood – and these people are very close to my heart!
A good cause
For this reason, some of the proceeds of my books go towards supporting small cultural projects in Ukraine. For example, the flute class of the Odessa Conservatory of Music desperately needs new sheet music and would like to offer a master class with a teacher from Germany. And there are also the singers in Odessa, who – due to the (still) corrupt opera management – have little or no oportunity to appear publicly and earn a decent wage. These are the people I want to help – to help them expand their possibilities and to showcase their talents (also here in the West).
Each of my books about Ukraine, purchased either directly from me or through the book stores, helps a little to give these people – these artists and musicians – a voice.
