The following report comes from Frank Swift of Christchurch who was one of two New Zealanders who attended the annual congress of the Universal Esperanto Association in Berlin in 1999.
"I was one of the two representatives of the New Zealand Esperanto Association who took part in the 84th Congress of the Universal Esperanto Association held in Berlin, Germany, from 31 July to 7 August 1999. It was quite an inspiring event with more than three thousand people from some sixty countries all able to converse with one another in the one universal language, Esperanto. Those taking part included diplomats, university professors and representatives of just about every major religion and occupation you can think of. Discussions during the Congress covered scores of subjects ranging from music, health and physical education to philosophies and international short-wave radio. Every speaker had equal status, no matter how important he or she was in the outside world. The well known figure of Dr Helmut Kohl, former leader of Germany, was noticeable among the audience at the closing ceremony. All in all, an enlightening experience."
Frank sent us this photo which he took of the congress venue in Berlin with all the flags displayed outside.
