Staff members of Sparkassenstiftung’s German partner savings banks, members of its Board of Trustees as well as representatives from the donor institutions, such as the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) joined in Bonn for a virtual tour around the world.
Niclaus Bergmann, Managing Director of Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation, welcomed all visitors and thanked them for their attendance. Special thanks went to Sparkassenstiftung’s staff for preparing the event. All participants were invited to learn more about Sparkassenstiftung’s project work in the relaxed atmosphere of an exhibition.
Project work at first hand: Long-term experts report about their daily routine in Africa, Asia and Latin America
The discussions with the long-term experts did not focus on professional issues only. Their personal experiences, however, were a matter of strong interest, too. Ulrich Kienitz, Regional Coordinator for Central Asia, who looks back on a ten-year record of working in this geographical region, explained his central driving force as follows: “My work shows direct results. I can feel the joy of the young people and I can see that they take direct benefit from our work. In addition to that, I very much value the fact that our educational work helps paving the way for a better future for young people.”
Bernd Bähr has started his project work in Bhutan only eleven weeks ago. Prior to that he was employed by Kreissparkasse Köln and in charge of private banking. Until today, he has not for a second regretted his jump into the unknown. “It’s a great thing to work with the people in Bhutan. They are open-minded, honest, warm-hearted and hungry for knowledge”, Bernd Bähr describes his recent experiences.
Story of success “Made in Germany”: Parliamentary State Secretary Thomas Silberhorn thanks Sparkassenstiftung’s staff for their commitment
Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, appreciated the commitment of Sparkassenstiftung’s long-term experts to their project work in the different countries. “Taking the occasion, I would like to express my personal thanks to all of you for your efforts and the good work on site in your project countries. It is thanks to your work in the partner countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America that the people living there have the chance to take benefit from a story of success “Made in Germany”. Without you, Sparkassenstiftung’s motto “Act locally, think globally, cooperate internationally” could not be put into practice.
Heinrich Haasis, Chairman of the Board of Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation, underlined that for more than 23 years now, Sparkassenstiftung has successfully executed projects in developing countries and emerging markets. Thus, Sparkassenstiftung’s work corresponds with the social mandate of German Sparkassen (savings banks) to make financial services accessible to all segments of the population and promote local economic structures.
The work of Sparkassenstiftung’s experts focuses on three core issues: vocational training and human resource development, financial literacy as the basis of all economic activities of microentrepreneurs and broad population strata, as well as lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to help local economic structures grow and generate new jobs.
Working together makes a difference: Hundreds of experts are working for Sparkassenstiftung all across the globe
To be able to efficiently cater to the different aspects of work inherent in the above fields of priority and in support of the resident long-term experts on site, Sparkassenstiftung also cooperates with hundreds of short-term experts from German Sparkassen (savings banks) and associations. As a rule, these short-term specialists work in the respective project country for one or two weeks. They support the long-term experts with their special expertise and skills as consultants or lecturers in seminars. One of these short-term experts is Natascha Mundinger, Product Manager at the Kreissparkasse Heilbronn. For Natascha Mundinger working for the Sparkassenstiftung means getting the chance to impart her expertise and skills gained at her Sparkasse and thus improve the living conditions of the people in foreign countries. Mundinger adds: “It enriches my personal life to meet different people in different countries and get the feeling of making a change for the better.”
An article about the Expert Days event on 11 September 2015, which was published in the German savings banks newspaper “Sparkassenzeitung”, can be accessed <link http: www.sparkassenstiftung.de fileadmin user_upload pdf artikel _blank>here [German language only]
Contact partners:
Annika Peukert / Carina Lau
Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation
Simrockstraße 4
53113 Bonn / Germany
Phone: +49 228 9703-6622 / -6608
Fax: +49 228 9703-6613