Welcome
The Visitors Programme
Participants of the themed trip “Women in economy” © AA
The Visitors Programme of the Federal Republic of Germany enables foreign opinion leaders to see Germany with their own eyes and thus gain an authentic, up-to-date and nuanced insight into the country. Participants usually spend a week in Germany at the invitation of the Federal Foreign Office.
Participants are usually invited by the Federal Republic of Germany to spend a week in the country. In this short time, they complete a packed programme of engagements tailored to them. Guests come from the fields of journalism, culture, politics, business and research as well as wider society and work in roles where they shape Germany’s image abroad.
The international guests are nominated for the Programme by their local German mission abroad based on the thematic focus.
Themed trips and regional trips
The themed trip is a particularly successful format. These trips bring together participants from various countries and regions of the world who are invited to Germany for a programme exploring one specific topic. This could be Germany’s role in Europe, the role of the media in a pluralist society, climate policy, skilled worker immigration to Germany, or Germany’s engagement with the history of the twentieth century.
The Visitors Programme also includes regional trips designed for a group of experts from the same country or geographic region.
History of the visitors’ trips
Since the first journalists were invited on visits to Germany in 1958, more than 65,000 international multipliers have spent time in our country as part of the Visitors Programme. Until the 1980s most guests came from European countries. Following German reunification, the focus of the Visitors Programme shifted to include participants from other regions as well. It now brings around 550 multipliers from all over the world to Germany each year.
The Federal Foreign Office has been responsible for the Visitors Programme of the Federal Republic of Germany since 2003. It was previously the responsibility of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government.
Since the start of the new millennium, the trips have been planned with a greater focus on dialogue on issues of shared interest and global issues. However, the goal remains to give guests a greater understanding of Germany through firsthand experience and targeted information.