Saarland Democracy Foundation
The Saarland Democracy Foundation (SDS) is a non-profit institution for political adult education based in Saarbrücken . The political orientation is social democracy . It is also close to the labor movement ; however, the offers are aimed at everyone in the state.
Origin and structure
The foundation of the foundation goes back to the decision of the Saarland Landtag on November 5, 1969 to release the Saarbrücker Zeitung from state custody and to privatize it again. The newspaper, founded by Bernhard Hofer in Saarbrücken in 1761, was integrated into the NSDAP publishing empire in 1935 after the Saar was reintegrated into the German Reich and placed under French sequester administration after the end of the Second World War. In 1956 the newspaper was transferred to Saarland on the basis of the Luxembourg treaties. On the basis of the state parliament decision of November 5, 1969, the new ownership structure of Saarbrücker Zeitung Verlag und Druckerei GmbH was created. The two largest shareholders are currently the Rheinische Post Mediengruppe and the Gesellschaft für Staatsbürgerliche Bildung Saar mbH (GsB), to which the Union Foundation, the Villa Lessing - Liberal Foundation and the Democratic Society Saarland eV, the sponsors of the Saarland Democracy Foundation, belong. The Saarland Democracy Foundation was launched as a foundation under civil law on January 1, 1995 by the Saarland Democratic Society (DGS), which was constituted on December 16, 1994. The legal predecessor of the DGS was the Stiftung Demokratie Saarland eV, founded in 1991, which in turn emerged from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung-Saarland eV, founded in 1970.
A three-person board of directors manages the business and administers the foundation's assets. The chairman of the board is the former Saarland interior minister Friedel Läpple . The current business is handled by Bernd Rauls (managing director) and Karoline Bommersbach (deputy managing director). The supervisory body is the foundation board, which is appointed for a period of three years and consists of seven people nominated by the sponsoring company. The Board of Trustees monitors the business activities of the Board of Directors. The chairman of the council is the former federal minister and Saarland prime minister Reinhard Klektiven .
Political Academy of the Saarland Democracy Foundation
With the academy, premises have been created at the Eurobahnhof in Saarbrücken. It is barrier-free and has a lecture room for 200 visitors and several conference rooms.
The Federal Agency for Civic Education has given the foundation the status of “state-recognized institution for political further education” and has been certified according to ISO 9001: 2008 by the company CERTQUA - an independent testing institute . The lectures have become a permanent feature of the educational program and have found a large regular audience, especially in recent years. The speakers - experts from science - provide information on important socio-political topics in a generally understandable and stimulating manner and also reflect the current status of the social sciences and humanities.
aims
In accordance with its statutes, the foundation wants to contribute to spreading and deepening democratic ideas in society. The foundation also endeavors to encourage and support citizens in their social commitment.
deals
To promote democratic values and international cooperation, the foundation offers various types of events and publications. This includes:
- Seminars
- Lectures
- Exhibitions
- Excursions
- Publications
School price
The foundation awards the Saarland School Prize annually in cooperation with the State Parents' Initiative for Education eV, the State School Students and Parents Representatives . The aim is to promote and recognize schools that go beyond the mere transfer of knowledge with new pedagogical and didactic models to develop the individual, social and creative abilities of their students.
literature
- Series of publications history, politics and society
- Dialog series
- Single publications
- Exhibition catalogs