Statements

Volker Seitz

Former Ambassador and author

From experience, I advise supporting organizations such as "Bildung fördert Entwicklung" which have been working reliably and verifiably for years and which really help people in Africa. In 17 years in various countries on the continent, I have unfortunately only come across very few sustainable, transparent development projects. I am therefore all the more pleased that I was able to get to know this initiative some time ago in Trier through Dr. Nebe and Dr. Kraff. This successful project, which is financed through donations and which promotes education, is the most important area of ​​all. They give poor people in the slums of Nairobi who are willing and hungry for education a chance. If you are well educated, you don't need to be afraid of the future.

Malu Dreyer

Former Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate

Education is the key to equal opportunities and development. Nevertheless, access to school and university is unfortunately still denied to young people in many parts of the world. To offer them a perspective, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate has been involved in development cooperation for more than 30 years. We are not alone in this: many citizens have launched impressive projects on their own initiative to help on the ground. One of them is the association "Bildung fördert Entwicklung e. V.". With a lot of passion and energy, the volunteers are committed to improving the situation of students in Kenya. In cooperation with the University of Trier and Kenyatta University in Nairobi, numerous joint projects and a lively intercultural exchange have been established. I can only congratulate the helpers on what they have achieved so far - because education is the best investment. My heartfelt thanks go to them! For the future, I wish the young association and its supporters all the best and much success.

Wolfram Leibe

Lord Mayor of the City of Trier

As mayor of the small city of Trier in the heart of the Greater Region, the partnership and sustainable development of the cities on our planet is of great concern to me. An important condition for this is access to good education. This is also enshrined in the United Nations' Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which the city of Trier is committed to implementing. I am therefore very happy to support the committed educational work of "Bildung fördert Entwicklung e.V." and congratulate the association on what it has achieved so far. Not only has the commitment of the association's members and supporters made it possible for young Kenyans to receive a university education, but intensive friendships and contacts have also been established between people from Nairobi and Trier. We have had the great pleasure of welcoming young students to the city administration on several occasions and have learned an incredible amount from the committed and inquisitive guest students. I am happy when the students can pass on their experiences - made in our city - in their home country and use what they have learned to change our common world a little bit for the better. I wish the association all the best and much success in the future.

Klaus Töpfer

(29.07.1938 - 08.06.2024)

Chairman of the German part of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network

For eight years, I headed the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi. These eight years have made it very clear to me that for a peaceful world, it is essential to decisively improve economic and social developments, particularly in the so-called developing countries and thus especially in Africa. The great disparities in the choices available between North and South mean that the causes of flight are intensifying and destabilization is a consequence. For this reason, I very much welcome the fact that the association "Bildung fördert Entwicklung e. V." (Education promotes development) is very directly and very concretely committed to education across the borders of countries, indeed across the borders of continents. It is to be hoped that this important work will find many supporters. It is applied peace policy and currently more urgent than ever before.

Alexander Drude-Stumpf
Coordinating member of the AStA of the University of Trier

Education is a human right. In order to make this possible for people of all backgrounds, a great deal of commitment, heart and soul is required. Especially international projects, which enable the connection of young people from different cultural backgrounds, are in demand for this, because they make it possible to look beyond one's own nose and also to learn respect towards others and also the other. When you bring young people together and encourage them to think and rethink in a practical way, the world becomes a little bit better than it is. All this is done by the association Bildung fördert Entwicklung e.V. and should therefore be supported much more than it is. We as AStA of the University of Trier are therefore fully behind the idea and the projects of this association, which has been doing a very special and also very important work for many years now.