Dear all,

located on the Rhine, Cologne owes its development and cosmopolitanism to its easy accessibility. While arrival by ship has significantly lost importance, Cologne is equally well suited for air and train traffic.

Thus, when you start thinking about your trip to IFTR 2025, please note that you have various options: Whether via the major international airports such as Amsterdam, Brussels, London, Paris and Frankfurt am Main or the nearby Cologne-Bonn Airport – from all these places, you can easily reach Cologne Central Station by train. This will take you directly to Cologne Cathedral and the city centre.

From here it is also only a short distance to the campus of the University of Cologne, where the IFTR will take place. If you want to experience something of the everyday internationality of the city besides the conference, follow the tip of my colleague Enes Türkoğlu and visit Ehrenfeld: »In Cologne, 42.4 percent of residents have a migration background, and around one in five are not German citizens, according to the city's data sheet Population in Cologne 2023. This multicultural fabric is a deeply valued and celebrated aspect of life here. In districts like Ehrenfeld, one can experience how enriching it is to live in a neighbourhood where diverse voices coexist in harmony. If you stroll along Körnerstraße and visit the cosy grocery store ›Markthalle‹, you’ll catch a glimpse of Cologne's vibrant culture. The Tosun family, owners of the store, came from Türkiye to Cologne 60 years ago. The family's father, chef and butcher Atila Tosun, is a well-known figure in Cologne. He is celebrated not only for his exceptional culinary creations (his secret döner is considered one of the best of its kind) but also for his contributions to the cultural scene in Ehrenfeld, particularly on Körnerstraße, one of the hippest streets in the city.«

»Where am I supposed to go now? « wonders the Fool of the Week, after he was thrown out of heaven and landed on earth. In the silhouette film »Harlequin«, created by silhouette artist Lotte Reiniger in 1931, he prances around, drinks and flirts, plays tricks on the townspeople and falls in love, which leads to some surprising twists: Even the devil is defenseless against that girl.

Alaaf - meaning as much as au fou de partout, to fools everywhere, we greet you and looking forward to you!

Mathilde Frank
for the Cologne team