Time foundation

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ZEIT Foundation Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius
logo
legal form charitable foundation
founding 1971 in Hamburg
founder Gerd Bucerius
Seat Hamburg
motto Promote knowledge - enrich culture - strengthen competencies - enable understanding - think networked
purpose Science, culture and education
Chair Michael Göring (CEO)
Burkhard Schwenker (Chairman of the Board of Trustees)
sales 27,657,342 (2019)
Foundation capital 793,908,667 (book value 2019)
Employees 39 (2020)
Website www.zeit-stiftung.de

The non-profit Zeit-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius (spelling ZEIT-Stiftung ) based in Hamburg aims to promote science and research, art and culture as well as education and training. The foundation was established in 1971 by Gerd Bucerius and bears the name of the founder, the title of the weekly newspaper Die Zeit , which he co-founded, and the nickname of his second wife, Gertrud Ebel, Ebelin .

Early grants from the founder

The first funding in the 1970s went to young journalists who were able to work at Harvard University in Cambridge in the USA with the Zeit Fellowship . In the 1980s, Gerd Bucerius was committed to increasing competition in the German higher education system and supported the private University of Witten / Herdecke with considerable funds. To strengthen the Hamburg literary scene, the foundation acquired a villa on the Outer Alster and has since made the Literaturhaus Hamburg, which opened in 1989, available to the city and the Literaturhaus-Verein rent-free. In the 1990s, the foundation stepped up its activities in the field of science and launched the Gerd Bucerius law program, a scholarship program for young lawyers . Up until the death of Gerd Bucerius, the foundation had funded 90 individual projects with a total of 15 million euros. With the death of the founder in 1995 and his wife in 1997, the couple's entire private assets were transferred to the foundation. In the last ten years, the foundation has spent more than 155 million euros in funding.

Bodies

The organs of the foundation consist of the board of directors and the board of trustees . After the death of the founder, Michael Göring was appointed managing director in 1997; he has been CEO since 2005, and Michael Berndt has been CFO since 2010. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees was Manfred Lahnstein from 1995 to 2019 , and Burkhard Schwenker has been the chairman since 2020 .

Mission statement

The mission statement of the foundation begins with the statement: “Civil society is challenged, it has to find solutions to the diverse challenges of the present and the future. In the tradition of its founders Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius , the Zeit Foundation sees itself as part and promoter of a liberal, cosmopolitan civil society. "

Funding conditions

The foundation would like to concentrate its funding on projects it has initiated itself, but also supports external projects, preferably from applicants from Hamburg. In 2019, a total of around 24.2 million euros were available as income from the foundation's assets. As one of the largest privately established German foundations with a foundation capital (market value) of around 1 billion euros (end of 2019), the Zeit Foundation is also establishing its own institutions. Large parts of the annual budget are spent on the independent institutions Bucerius Law School and Bucerius Kunst Forum .

Projects (selection)

"Science and Research"

The Bucerius Law School in Hamburg is a private law school initiated by the foundation in 2000 and has been supported by it ever since. In addition to this commitment, the Zeit Foundation would like to promote “talented, internationally and interdisciplinary young academics”. She supports projects in the humanities and social sciences and focuses primarily on Hamburg, Haifa and the USA.

"Arts and Culture"

In addition to its own Bucerius Kunst Forum exhibition house, which has existed since 2002 , the Foundation supports Hamburg museums , in particular with the development and presentation of their holdings. It would also like to promote “the diversity of cultural forms of expression and presentation in music, literature and theater”. Ultimately, monument preservation projects are carried out in northern and eastern Germany in particular.

"Education and parenting"

The foundation sees it as one of its central goals to “design educational transitions with equal opportunities”. It is particularly about the educational transition from international preparatory classes to regular classes, but also about the transition from primary school to secondary school. In addition, the foundation would like to get involved in lifelong learning. In view of demographic change, this is "the key to improving one's own life and work opportunities".

"Politics and society"

The foundation aims to stimulate public debates on current issues and debate on controversial political and social issues. It connects young executives from all over the world at the “Bucerius Summer School on Global Governance” and the “Asian Forum”. In addition, an engagement in Eastern Europe is intended to support independent journalism.

"Bucerius Lab"

The “Bucerius Lab” is to address the “consequences of digitization” in the form of events, a fellowship program and key projects. This includes the draft for a “ Charter of Digital Fundamental Rights of the European Union ”, which was drawn up and put up for discussion in 2016 by network activists, politicians, scientists, writers, journalists and civil rights activists at the initiative of the Foundation.

Publications

In his own book series “Hamburger Köpfe”, “influential Hamburg personalities” are portrayed, most recently Douglas Sirk . The volumes are published by Ellert & Richter Verlag . The Bucerius Law School and the Bucerius Kunst Forum also have their own publication series.

Web links

References and comments

  1. https://www.zeit-stiftung.de/stiftung/mitarbeiter/
  2. Mission statement. In: zeit-stiftung.de. Retrieved May 12, 2020 .
  3. ^ Andreas Hoffmann (Ed.): Cultural preservation in East Germany . ZEIT Foundation Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius, Hamburg 2012.
  4. Education and Upbringing. In: zeit-stiftung.de. Retrieved May 12, 2020 .
  5. ^ Bucerius Lab. In: zeit-stiftung.de. Retrieved May 12, 2020 .
  6. Charter of Digital Fundamental Rights. In: digitalcharta.eu. Retrieved May 12, 2020 .
  7. Hamburg heads. In: zeit-stiftung.de. Retrieved May 12, 2020 .