The Village of Oak Park | 123 Madison St.  Oak Park, IL 60302 | village@oak-park.us

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Panel Event

Wednesday, August 7, 2024 - 5:00pm

The Village of Oak Park, led by President Vicki Scaman, is set to host Mayor André Dora of Datteln, Germany on Wednesday, Aug. 7, for a full day of activities and culminating in a panel discussion at Village Hall at 5 p.m.The special panel event will take in place in Council Chambers (room 201) at 5 p.m., and members of the public are invited to attend.In addition to President Scaman and Mayor Dora, Oak Park resident Alan Hoffstadter will participate in the panel. According to a 2023 story in the Wednesday Journal, Hoffstadter recently traced his family’s German roots to Datteln, from where his mother fled in 1933 as a 15year old. Also, according to the article, he was awarded Datteln’s Etienne Bach Prize, which honors “individuals committed to promoting understanding and reconciliation between people of different and historically adversarial cultures.”The event, moderated by Oak Park resident and community leader Linda Francis, will open with a traditional German welcoming of dignitaries and a signing of the “Golden Book.” The discussion will center around the promotion of peace and unity within communities, especially in spaces that have been historically divided.