German Consumer Protection Foundation

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
German Consumer Protection Foundation
Logo of the German Consumer Protection Foundation
Legal form: Foundation under private law
Purpose: Strengthening consumer work in Germany. Promote projects to better inform, advise and train consumers. Enabling consumer interests to be asserted and improving the consumer's position in the social market economy. Providing a forum for civil society, business, politics and science to work together for consumer protection.
Chair: Lukas Siebenkotten (CEO)
Managing directors: Daniela Lucassen (Managing Director)
Consist: since 2010
Founder: Federation of German Consumer Organizations and its member organizations , Federal Republic of Germany
Balance sheet total: € 10.874 million (2013)
Seat: Berlin
Website: www. Konsumerstiftung.de

The German Consumer Protection Foundation is an organization with the aim of tapping additional sources of finance to promote consumer work. Projects to provide information, advice and training to consumers, to assert consumer interests and to improve the position of consumers in the social market economy are financed . In addition to financing through corporate donations, the foundation relies on close cooperation with companies.

history

The German consumer advice centers are associations organized at state level which, on the basis of a state mandate and predominantly equipped with tax revenues, are dedicated to consumer protection and provide advisory services. They are recognized as non-profit and are part of the political umbrella organization Konsumentzentrale Bundesverband e. V. (vzbv) merged.

In October 2009 the vzbv found that the financing of the consumer advice centers was insufficient and not needs-based. He demanded additional financial resources from the federal and state governments, a participation of the economy in the development and financing of independent advisory structures by means of legally fixed, earmarked tax obligations of the providers and the establishment of a German Consumer Protection Foundation "in order to additionally finance specific tasks of consumer work".

On December 16, 2010, the vzbv presented the German Consumer Protection Foundation to the public. The German Bundestag had promised endowment capital of ten million euros for 2011. The ING-DiBa was the first sponsor from the economy to support the foundation with an amount of 500,000 euros. In the press release of the vzbv the aim of the foundation was stated to develop additional financial sources to promote consumer work.

Self-image

The foundation states that its goal is to strengthen consumer work in Germany. It therefore promotes projects to provide consumers with better information, advice and training. It wants to make it possible to assert consumer interests and to improve the consumer's position in the social market economy . The German Foundation for Consumer Protection also wants to offer civil society, business, politics and science a forum in which they can get involved in consumer protection.

The organization names concrete goals of the foundation's work

  • promoting dialogue between business and consumer organizations
  • informing consumers and strengthening consumer rights
  • improving the consumption skills of children and young people
  • the promotion of innovative ideas and future-oriented solutions in consulting practice
  • promoting the presence and competent presentation of consumer issues in public and in politics
  • strengthening the work of consumer organizations through better funding

Projects

The foundation is a supporting foundation that realizes the foundation's purpose by acquiring and passing on funds and its own projects. The Federation of German Consumer Organizations and its member organizations and partner organizations are eligible to apply for funding measures. Regional associations of the partner organizations can submit applications through the respective federal association. Funding is made available to the applicant (federal association), who is therefore also accountable.

Funding areas

Funding areas were defined for the foundation in which projects are funded and model projects carried out.

Digital world & information technologies
The foundation supports projects that ensure fair rules and competition in the digital world and enable consumers to use the web independently and safely. The acquisition of media skills should be an important component.
Health, Nutrition & Care
In the field of health and nutrition, the foundation supports both preventive information offers that are based on the living environment of different consumer groups and projects that encourage providers and politicians to act.
Financial market & old-age insurance
This is about projects that should lead to fair competition and more transparent sales methods on the financial market. The aim is to represent the interests of consumers vis-à-vis providers and politicians and at the same time strengthen the financial competence of consumers.
Sustainability & climate protection
The foundation finances projects in the field of sustainable consumption and climate protection and actively supports approaches to a climate-friendly and consumer-oriented energy transition.
Consumer law
In order to strengthen consumer rights, events (e.g. consumer parliaments, congresses, etc.), reports in the run-up to legal disputes or targeted campaigns are supported. Consumers who have become victims of fraudulent and unlawful practices by companies can in individual cases be supported in a judicial dispute within the framework of a “legal aid fund”.
Consumer research
The foundation promotes scientific studies, invests in political advice and the networking of research activities in consumer science.
Consumer education
Projects are funded that support the education system in Germany and teach children and young people consumer skills in the five consumption areas of nutrition and health, finance, consumer law, media and sustainable consumption.
Volunteering and empowerment
Consumers are increasingly discovering and using the possibility of having a direct impact on the production of food, textiles or entertainment electronics with their shopping behavior in order to express their ideas about quality or social issues. Funded projects are intended to empower consumers to participate in political decisions and social discourses. At the same time, voluntary work in consumer protection is to be expanded.
Consumer Work Innovations
In order to further develop the consumer work of the clubs and associations in Germany, experience with innovative and future-oriented approaches should be collected and this knowledge fed into the consumer protection network.

Model projects

  • Consumer school
  • Federal consumer protection award

Alliance for Consumer Education

The “Alliance for Consumer Education” was initiated by the foundation and is led by it. It was founded on March 12, 2013 to promote consumer and everyday skills in children, adolescents and adults. Alliance partners are Arbeiterwohlfahrt , Bertelsmann Foundation , Federal Working Group of Senior Citizens' Organizations , Federal Working Group Lernort Bauernhof, Federal Association of German Industry , Federal Association of German Banks , Federal Association of Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media , Caritas , Commerzbank , Commerzbank Foundation, German Evangelical Women's Association , German Family Association , German Women's Ring , Deutscher LandFrauenverband , Deutscher Mieterbund , Deutsche Telekom , Edeka , Germanwatch , Handelsverband Deutschland , ING-DiBa , Metro , Naumann ( German Society for Housekeeping ), REWE Group , Tchibo , consumer service in the Catholic German Women's Association and the national consumer organizations.

Funded projects (extract)

  • Study days to strengthen consumer education
  • Media portal on copyright
  • Consumer Education Fund
  • Video spots "Consumer protection in 100 seconds"
  • Consumer education pilot
  • Wilster consumer school
  • Survey of teachers
  • Action days on consumer skills
  • Alliance for consumer education in Saxony-Anhalt
  • Quality control of consultation protocols
  • Development of an advisory service on loans with residual debt insurance
  • Congress "What does the world cost?"
  • Education on climate protection
  • Consumer quiz "Who asks wins"
  • Judgment database on the Internet
  • Benefits of consumer work

Partner organizations

organization

The board is supported by the office and controls the office. The direction is given to the board by the foundation board. The Board of Trustees advises the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees.

Members of the foundation committees

  • Foundation Board
    • Chairwoman of the board: Ulrike von der Lühe, board member of the Rhineland-Palatinate consumer organization,
    • Deputy Chairman: Lukas Siebenkotten , Federal Director of the German Tenants' Association
    • Executive board: Manfred Westphal, Federal Association of Consumer Organizations
  • Board of Trustees
    • Mechthild Heil , Member of the Bundestag, CDU
    • Elvira Drobinski-Weiß , Member of the Bundestag, SPD
    • Nicole Maisch , Member of the Bundestag, Alliance 90 / The Greens
    • Caren Lay , Member of the Bundestag, Die Linke
    • Erik Schweickert , FDP
    • Christian Grugel, Head of Consumer Policy, Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection
    • Ulrich Ott, Head of Corporate Communications, ING-DiBa
    • Andreas Eichhorst, Head of Central Services, Federal Consumer Association
  • Board of Trustees
    • Joachim Betz, Managing Director of the Consumer Center Saxony
    • Sigrid Lewe-Esch, member of the federal board of the German Evangelical Women's Association
    • Marion Breithaupt-Endres, Managing Director of the Bavarian Consumer Association
    • Hubertus Primus , board member of Stiftung Warentest
    • Christoph Hahn, Head of Consumer Policy, German Trade Union Confederation
  • Office
    • Managing Director: Melanie Weber-Moritz

criticism

In March 2013, Foodwatch criticized the too strong influence and participation of company representatives in the work of the alliance. In particular, it was criticized that company representatives sat on the Consumer Education Strategy Advisory Board, that companies were represented on the Foundation's Board of Trustees, that it was considered that company representatives would be sent to schools under the seal of the Alliance for Consumer Education and that teaching material would be produced directly by the companies.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Purpose of the German Consumer Protection Foundation. In: verbraucherstiftung.de. Retrieved October 4, 2015 .
  2. ↑ a b http://www.bedarferstiftung.de/ueber-die-stiftung
  3. ↑ http ://www. Konsumerstiftung.de/ueber-die-stiftung/ffekten
  4. ↑ German Consumer Protection Foundation: Annual Report 2013. (PDF; 1.5 MB) (No longer available online.) In: verbraucherstiftung.de. German Consumer Protection Foundation, responsible for the content: Julian Fischer (Managing Director), August 2014, archived from the original on October 7, 2015 ; Retrieved October 4, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bedarferstiftung.de
  5. ↑ a b Starting shot for the German Consumer Protection Foundation - audio contribution. In: www.vzbv.de. Retrieved October 4, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Expand independent consumer advice | VZBV. In: www.vzbv.de. Retrieved October 4, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Funding guidelines. (PDF; 77.4 kB) German Consumer Protection Foundation, January 2012, accessed on October 4, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Funding areas. In: verbraucherstiftung.de. German Consumer Protection Foundation, accessed on October 4, 2015 .
  9. ↑ Alliance for Consumer Education | German Consumer Protection Foundation. In: www.konsumerstiftung.de. Retrieved October 4, 2015 .
  10. ↑ Partner - Alliance for Consumer Education | German Consumer Protection Foundation. In: www.konsumerstiftung.de. Retrieved October 4, 2015 .
  11. ↑ Martin Wittmann: McDonald's advertises a nutrition initiative . In: sueddeutsche.de . March 12, 2013, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed October 4, 2015]).
  12. ↑ Fact check March 19, 2013: The “Alliance for Consumer Education”. (PDF; 204 kB) foodwatch, March 19, 2013, accessed on October 4, 2015 .