To London with Dortmund

Sometimes a single email changes your entire week.

I open my inbox. And right in the middle of the usual messages sits an invitation from our Lord Mayor Alexander Kalouti to a delegation trip to London. The occasion was the Wizz Air route that has been connecting Dortmund directly with the British capital since March. Just under 70 minutes of flight time, affordable and uncomplicated.

London has moved noticeably closer to Dortmund.

Who came along

Invited were the managing directors and leaders of Dortmund's top companies.

Among them: the EU CEO of WILO, the board of DSW21, the managing director of Borussia Dortmund, the head of the Dortmund Theater, and a director from Adesso, alongside representatives from our city's universities. Plus, of course, the Lord Mayor himself and representatives from economic development.

At Dortmund Airport, things started off a little tentative. You don't know everyone yet, you're just getting acquainted — but reuniting with familiar faces was a real pleasure.

What we saw

In London we visited the German Embassy, got to experience the AI startup InstaDeep at their offices, and met several other exciting AI startups.

All genuinely fascinating. But the real highlight was something else entirely.

The actual highlight

What really stuck with me in the end were the conversations among the delegation members.

On the return journey to Dortmund at the latest, it became unmistakably clear how much we all have in common, how deeply each of us cares about this city — and that together we can achieve far more than any of us working alone. It almost felt like a school trip: everyone talked to everyone, intensively and on equal footing, contacts were exchanged and meetings scheduled.

Meetings that, just a few weeks later, have already largely taken place. And will continue to take place.

The takeaway

We had to fly to London first for Dortmund to grow closer together.

But that only makes me feel more strongly that something big was set in motion here. The full consequences of this trip are still hard to gauge today. Still, I have no doubt that it will make big waves — in, from, and above all FOR Dortmund.

A huge thank you to the City of Dortmund, to the Lord Mayor, and to everyone who made this trip possible.

Until then