DHL supports the German Federal Foreign Office in its 'German - Language of Ideas' international initiative

DHL Express transports two chests for the campaign 'Echo 2010: the German Language Goes on Tour', an initiative run by Germany's Federal Foreign Office. This project forms part of the 'German - Language of Ideas' initiative. The chests will be sent to German embassies and consulates to help raise awareness of both the German language and culture around the world. Cornelia Pieper, German Minister of State, and Dr Rainer Wend, Head of Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility at Deutsche Post DHL, saw them off today and sent them to their first stop of the journey to Johannesburg in South Africa. In order to follow their entire trip in real time around the globe, which is due to end in the German capital in mid-December, a GSM receiver has also been fitted in the chests by DHL.

"The Group Deutsche Post DHL is present in over 220 countries and territories around the world and is keenly involved in promoting education. Therefore it was an easy decision for us to back this Federal Foreign Office initiative. In its everyday business DHL facilitates the exchange of goods between individual countries and through this campaign we are also helping to promote a mutual understanding of cultures," confirms Dr Rainer Wend.

At the start of their journey the campaign chests contain a foldable map of the world, which will be used to mark off every new destination reached. The chests will also be filled with information on local projects and countries at each stop-off. After South Africa, their round-the-world trip will take them to China, Brazil, the USA, Japan, Egypt, Australia and Russia.

"There are many good reasons to learn German and we wish to promote this through this campaign: the German language is key to accessing a commercially attractive market, the globally networked German economy. The German language opens doors to one of the best educational systems in the world and to more than 350 universities. Last but not least, the German language opens doors to one of Europe's major cultural traditions," German State Minister Pieper said in Berlin.

To ensure that this 'educational trip' can be followed at all times, DHL has fitted the chests with a state-of-the-art GSM locator module, similar to those used in mobile telephones. This enables the journey to be fully tracked online and in real time. Information on the status of the chests can also be retrieved, for example whether the chests have been opened or whether they have been shaken about during the journey. This solution was developed by the DHL Innovation Center and is currently being prepared for market launch, enabling DHL customers access to high-quality supply chain tracking services in the future.

Supported by GoGreen, Deutsche Post DHL's global climate protection program, the transport will be carbon neutral, with the calculated emissions offset by promoting recognized environmental projects around the world. The projects benefitting from Deutsche Post DHL's  investment include a hydroelectric power plant in Brazil, a biomass power station in India and a wind farm in China.