Doing what he loves most

Michelline NawatisesDaniel Stoevesandt completed his masters in Middle Eastern studies, law and political science and it was therefore no surprise that he started working for the Goethe-Institut in different positions in Cairo and Alexandria. After seven years in Egypt, he spent a short time at their headquarters in Munich, before the transformation of the former Goethe Centre into the current Goethe-Institut in 2016 formed an interesting perspective for him.He is the director of Goethe-Institut and representing a German institution in Namibia is an extremely interesting task for Stoevesandt. After four years in this country, he shares he has learned a lot and is still learning more. He mentions that the two countries - Namibia and Germany - will always have a special relationship due to the colonial past. But also in modern times, there are also many connections. The thousands of German-speaking tourists that come to Namibia every year leads to a continued strong interest in German as a foreign language, but also many partners from German cultural institutions come to Namibia to initiate projects here. Therefore, it is a very interesting job that can also be challenging here and there.Some of the accomplishments for Stoevesandt was starting the new Goethe-Institut, which meant transforming the former Goethe Centre and giving the institute a new profile and integrating it into the network of the 15 other Goethe-Instituts in the region. “That was not always easy but I’m very grateful for the continuous effort that my team put in to reach this goal, so we can be very proud of this,” he says.When asked by Careers what his short-term goals are for the Goethe-Institut for the next two years he mentioned fostering the role of German as a foreign language in the national education system and strengthening the creative industries in Namibia. He says it’s not easy to simplify how he spends his typical day. “Unfortunately there is still a lot of time spent at my desk, but there are always meetings in town with partners of ours and here and there are a few trips in the country, which is often very interesting,” he says.One fact about him is that he is impatient; his wife once said he is the most impatient person she ever met. An interesting fact is that one of his hobbies is his job. This is adding to the list of countries and cultures he explores, as it is one of the most interesting things to experience and constantly broadens one’s horizons, Stoevesandt says.If he could turn back the hands of time, he would tell his younger self not to take things too seriously, as he learnt that life will always find its way. His best childhood memory is the moment when he managed to ride his bike for the first time.

Doing what he loves most

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-10

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Doing what he loves most

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-10

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