Hello and Moin!
My name is Henriette Javorek Runte, and I bring stories and conversations to life.
As a multilingual writer and performer with a flair for the theater, I offer services for the private and the corporate sector and initiate cultural exchange through my artistic projects and performances, as well as through my podcast and books. I always aim to bring culture to life, to offer language a stage, and to promote effective communication.
Here’s how you can hire me or how you can get involved.
info@cultureum.com
Seeking Cooperation Partners and Sponsors for:
- podcast episodes
- performance-related projects
- literary initiatives
- community outreach activities
Services for the Private and the Corporate Sectors:
- event moderator, presenter, or host
- cultural promoter through interviews with artists and audiences
- speaker on topics related to language, culture, belonging, education, etc.
- writer for corporate storytelling
- coach for
- public speaking and presenting
- language coaching (in English, German, and French)
- team building and conflict prevention
- burnout avoidance and creativity
Projects & Professional Activities
Podcast: Language and Culture with Dr.J
John Neumeier’s National Youth Ballet: the Dance, the Humanity, and the Power of Connection (Interviews with Kevin Haigen, Raymond Hilbert, and the dancers of the Bundesjugendballett) – Language and Culture with Dr. J
Belonging Beyond Borders with Megan Norton
Description
Do you know what the difference is between Third Culture Kids (TCKs) and Cross Cultural Kids (CCKs)? How about the difference between flux culture and core culture, or ethnocentric and ethno-relevant views? Do you know where to draw the line between acting as a cultural ambassador and being guilty of cultural appropriation? Do you know what these terms refer to: passport culture, code switching, heart homes, shared identity, global citizenship, or cultural markers?
Did you know that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives have of late added a B to the acronym DEIB – to also address issues of belonging? Well, all this is the topic of this episode, in which we “unpack belonging” and discuss the pressing cultural issues of today’s world.
Megan’s book: Megan Norton. Belonging Beyond Borders: How Adult Third Culture Kids Can Cultivate a Sense of Belonging.
cultureum.com @cultureumdrj
From Shakespeare to Fernando Arrabal
An Interview with Felicia Londré
Description
This is an interview with one of the leading experts on Shakespeare, Felicia Londré, who also happens to be a personal friend of Fernando Arrabal. In the interview, we tackle questions such as: Why do Shakespeare’s plays still appeal to audiences today? Who actually wrote the plays? How has theater developed since Shakespeare? What are some of the problems with contemporary productions? What is the future of theater? At the end of the interview, Felicia tells us the story of how she met and got to know Fernando Arrabal, and how an initial regard for each other’s work developed into a life-long friendship.
cultureum.com @cultureumdrj
To the listeners, a quick reminder, this is one of the last episodes that I will bring out before my break. After this episode, I will bring you one more episode in German, with a brilliant musician and teacher, and then one more in English with an expert on Third Culture Kids. Afterwards, I will take a brief hiatus to concentrate on a few other projects, but I will be back with new episodes in the spring or summer of 2025. As always, if you’d like to keep up with my activities, please visit my website: culturem.com or my instagram page @cultureumdrj.
Ruth Van Reken
About Third Culture Kids and Growing Up Among Worlds
Description
An intimate chat with the woman who has paved the road for Third Culture Kid research and has influenced our views about multiculturalism and global mobility over the past 4 decades. It is with immense pleasure that I bring you this very personal interview that allows you to get to know the person behind the admired researcher and writer.
cultureum.com cultureumdrj
Just a quick note – this is the last episode I am bringing out this year. I am taking a brief hiatus to gather creative energy, to write two books that I have been meaning to bring out, and to rethink and restructure the podcast a bit. But, I will be back with new episodes sometime in the spring or summer of 2025.
Thank you for listening,
Dr. J
cultureum.com @cultureumdrj
Zwischen Sprache und Musik
Description
Die Geigerin, Orchesterleiterin, Autorin und Pädagogin Gesine Mielitz spricht mit mir über die Zusammenhänge zwischen Sprache und Musik, über das Spektrum, in dem sich Musik und Sprache bewegen, über die interessante Übersetzung, die beim Wechsel zwischen verschiedenen Kunstformen stattfindet, über die Auswirkung der Nationalkultur auf den Stil von Autoren und Musikern, sowie über die Doppelrolle des kreativen Schöpfers und Pädagogen aller, die als Künstler sowohl in der Musik als auch in der Literatur tätig sind. Ein sehr interessantes Interview, das es wagt, schwierige Fragen zu stellen, dessen Antworten jedoch für die zukünftige Entwicklung von Sprache und Musik sehr wichtig sind.
cultureum.com @cultureumdrj
Although the bulk of the podcast episodes is in English, I believe in promoting all languages, and I bring you occasional interviews in German, French, Spanish, and Hungarian.
PODCAST STATISTICS
167,000 downloads
82 episodes so far
Listened to in 117 countries
in existence for nearly 5 years
Interviews conducted in 5 languages:
English, German, French, Spanish and Hungarian
Most listeners come from:
The power of the written word is something I discovered at a very early age, and I have been using it and developing it for a good part of my life. Through my books, you find out about the many facets of the woman that I am today. I bring you different genres, and I show you how there is a book for every occasion!
Literature can enrich every aspect of our lives, and this is something I can nurture in you as well!
DESCRIPTION
In Life with Coach Pop, Henriette Javorek takes her teenage novella and responds to it as a grown woman. She juxtaposes the vivid impressions of her childhood with her adult views and commentaries about her father’s immigration. Life with Coach Pop is by turns emotional, philosophical, and humorous. It is innocence revisited and history told through personal memories.
In 1982, while at an international competition in West Germany, national Olympic weightlifting coach, István Javorek defected, leaving behind his wife and only daughter in a country still under the control of the Ceausescu dictatorship. Separated for over two and a half years, the family was reunited in the United States. Seven months after coming to the US, Henriette Javorek, then 12 years old, wrote a little novella that traced her family’s journey from Transylvania to Texas and depicted with great naiveté and emotion the dramatic events and hardships surrounding this turning point in her life.
DESCRIPTION
We Fade to Green explores a family’s struggle to come to terms with cultural differences. It tackles the question of how we grow old, and it offers a beautiful alternative to how life could be, with the answers hidden in our front yard! Written from the perspective of Margit, a highly perceptive and mischievous middle child, We Fade to Green is a humorous, emotional and imaginative modern-day fairy tale that is sure to entertain and touch young and old alike.
When Margit’s Transylvanian grandparents no longer manage to live on their own, they move in with their daughter and her family in the US. Throw in three kids of different ages and a black cat, and you might think you’ve figured out the story. But We Fade to Green will surprise you and take you on a family adventure that will both tickle your funny bones and pull on your heartstrings.
BIOGRAPHY
Having been born in Romania to Hungarian parents who later moved to the USA, I was destined to learn multiple languages.
My early childhood was spent in the Carpathian Basin, where I picked up Hungarian, Romanian, and a little Russian. During my teenage years in Texas, I was introduced to English, French, and Latin, but continued to speak Hungarian at home. My affinity with France intensified while I completed a PhD in French Literature and could take advantage of extended stays in the Hexagone. During my college years, I learned Spanish through close friendships with Latin American exchange students.
Theater and literature have always tied together my love of languages and cultures, and I have been writing and performing from a very early age.
My academic career has allowed me to gain 30 years of teaching experience from working at universities around the world. I have also been active as a communications consultant, both in the private and the corporate sectors.
Hamburg, Germany has been my home since 2001. I am married to a German anesthesiologist and we have three wonderful children together. Since 2008, I have been the Academic Head of Modern Languages at the university here, in Hamburg. Since 2024, I have been an active member of the Rotary Club Hamburg Maritime Motion.
In 2020, I created CULTUREUM to share the expertise I have gathered over the years, to further delve into questions of effective communication and identity, and to channel my creativity through speaking and writing.
DONATIONS
Services for the Private and the Corporate Sectors:
- event moderator, presenter, or host
- cultural promoter through interviews with artists and audiences
- speaker on topics related to language, culture, belonging, education, etc.
- writer for corporate storytelling
- coach for
- public speaking and presenting
- language coaching (in English, German, and French)
- team building and conflict prevention
- burnout avoidance and creativity
Seeking Cooperation Partners and Sponsors for:
- podcast episodes
- performance-related projects
- literary initiatives
- community outreach activities
info@cultureum.com
Cultureum 