its relations with frankfurt during its first ten years the ecb has developed excellent relations with its environment here in frankfurt, be it with the institutions of the city or with the population. at the beginning there were still some taxi drivers who did not understand immediately where to bring a passenger who just said : “ european central bank, please ”. today, the situation is quite different. and the ecb has endeavoured to spread the knowledge of what is happening in there. we do that via our publications or our website but also by inviting the public to come inside the ecb. therefore, we participated in the skyscraper festivals of 2001 and 2007, following the example of our forerunner, the european monetary institute which did so in 1996 and 1998. in the framework of our 10th anniversary we held an open day on 1 june, and about 1, 000 visitors could get first hand information of the role and functions of the ecb. in addition, we regularly explain our work to groups of visitors from around the world, and among them of course citizens from frankfurt and the rhein - main area. in 2007 their number reached 13, 500 altogether and each visitor did not only see the ecb but also the city of frankfurt. for completeness, i wish to also mention our taking part in the osthafenfest and in the luminale, during which the großmarkthalle was fantastically illuminated. also, ecb staff participated in dragon boat races and got the enthusiastic support from the public and their colleagues on the banks of the main. the ecb is a european body, and its staff is now composed of nationals from the 27 member states of the european union. every day, i enjoy the multi - cultural atmosphere at the ecb which is stimulating as it brings fresh ideas into our professional life because of the different experiences, work styles and cultural backgrounds only to name a few of the inspiring factors. our daily encounter with the richness of european heritage brought us to the thought to let the public participate in this understanding. we did so by launching the cultural days of the european central bank which we have organised every year since 2003. the basic concept is to feature each time aspects of the variety and affluence of the culture of one of the member states of the european union, and bring it to frankfurt to present it to the citizens of the rhine - main region and beyond, with events covering music, literature, film, and modern dance. furthermore, we offer lectures about different

jean - claude trichet : ehrenplaquette of the city of frankfurt am main – awarding ceremony speech by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the ecb, at the awarding ceremony of the ehrenplaquette of the city of frankfurt, frankfurt am main, 15 september 2008. * * * sehr geehrte frau oberburgermeisterin, sehr geehrter herr stadtverordnetenvorsteher, hochgeschatzte vertreter des konsularischen corps, meine damen und herren, hier im frankfurter romer habe ich seit meinem amtsantritt als prasident der europaischen zentralbank vor bald funf jahren schon ofter gestanden und zu geladenen gasten gesprochen. heute freue ich mich ganz besonders, das wort zu ergreifen. ich mochte mich aus ganzem herzen dafur zu bedanken, dass die stadt frankfurt mich mit ihrer ehrenplakette auszeichnet. zentralbanken eine heimat in seinen mauern. so zunachst der bank deutscher lander, dann der deutschen bundesbank und seit 1998 außerdem der europaischen zentralbank. fur die auszeichnung, die mir heute hier zuteil wird, gilt mein dank zunachst meinen kollegen im direktorium der europaischen zentralbank und den mitarbeitern. sie alle haben ihren nachhaltigen einsatz geleistet, um die zusammenarbeit mit der stadt frankfurt in so konstruktiver und professioneller weise zu gestalten und haben durch ihr personliches engagement den beitrag zum kulturleben dieser stadt erst ermoglicht. diese gemeinsame leistung ist die grundlage fur diese ehrung, die verleihung der „ ehrenplakette der stadt frankfurt “. ich bin glucklich, mich in die reihe der zentralbankprasidenten einreihen zu durfen, die vor mir die ehren