On June 23, Mayor Dr. Peter Kurz welcomed the secretary of state for Baden-Württemberg, Stefan Mappus, to Mannheim on his inaugural visit to discuss local politics. High on the agenda were the possible opening of a Fraunhofer research institute in Mannheim,

the expansion of Mannheim’s Cooperative State University in the new municipal area Mannheim 21 and Mannheim’s possible application as European Capital of Culture. Education, integration, economy and research dominated talks with the suburban municipalities. In the evening, Secretary of State Mappus signed the “Golden Book” of the city. He concluded, “Mannheim is a city of opportunities. Today its many initiatives and ideas showed me what it is made of".