ABSTRACT
Sometime around 1994/1995 we had the 25th meeting of our
association (aim: the development of the International Solar
Centre-ISC), the goal was noble (the salvation of humanity?),
the participants were pretty much the solar scene in Berlin (four
professors, five solar NGO representatives, a former spokesperson
for the Green Party, a solar artist, two solar freelancers), but
somehow the implementation was taking a while. The centre was
supposed to be financed through the renting of rooms to companies
operating in related industries, but as a result of the “reunification”,
there were not only rooms but also whole streets available in Berlin
for almost nothing. As well as that, nobody was brave enough to
try to talk the individual participants out of their beloved favourite
projects (a solar boat hire, a solar cre´che, a solar school, a giant solar
art exhibition) with the aim of drastically reducing costs. We had
received support from the Berlin Senate, but this was just enough to
turn the association into a GmbH (limited company) and to finance
Jo Leinen (a former anti-nuclear activist who made a career through
the State, Federal, and European Parliament).