Annual Report 2000

The shock caused by the devastating attacks of September 11, 2001 is still palpable. The debate on how to most effectively counter the threat of terrorism has returned endeavors to develop a comprehensive, global domestic policy to the forefront. Such a policy encompasses intercultural dialogue and protection of human rights, active conflict prevention on the regional level, environmental policies of international scope, as well as a reform of the global economy. The Heinrich Böll Foundation addresses all of these issues in its international activities.

This report is designed to provide a brief overview of our work during the past year, thus satisfying the increasing demand for information on the Foundation’s activities abroad. It introduces a few of our approximately 200 project partners throughout the world, as well as highlighting the political issues addressed by our work.

Examples include our preparations for the “World Summit on Sustainable Development,” scheduled to take place in Johannesburg beginning on September 3, 2002. Ten years following the global summit in Rio de Janeiro, this two-week conference will assess the progress on the implementation of Agenda 21. It will also address the question of the environmental and development policy goals which the world community will set for itself during the next decade, as well as the concrete measures necessary for their achievement. The Heinrich Böll Foundation has invited personalities from around the globe to draw up a political memorandum for the Johannesburg World Summit. We have also initiated an essay series, the World Summit Papers; as of Autumn 2001, our activities in this regard will be accessible on the Internet at the address www.worldsummit2002.de. Our foreign offices are participating in regional conferences and alliances on several continents.

The Foundation’s activities were also significantly influenced by the sweeping changes in Southeastern Europe, the continuing tensions in Kosovo and Macedonia, and the fall of the Milosevic regime. In October 2000, the Heinrich Böll Foundation invited Milosevic opponents representing the contemporary Serbian art and culture scene to a podium discussion in Berlin. The exhibition “The Serbian Dossier – Assessing the Reality of the 1990s,” which emerged from that encounter, was shown with great success in Berlin’s Academy of Arts. With an investment of approximately DM 2.2 million from the years 2000 2003, the Heinrich Böll Foundation is a participant in the Balkans Stability Pact special program. These activities focus on democracy, sustainable development, and equality for women. The project is being coordinated by the Foundation’s regional office in Sarajevo, along with its branches in Zagreb and Belgrade.

The Middle East represents another focus of our work. We are continuing to work with partners in Israel and the Palestinian autonomous areas in attempting to make a contribution toward halting the spiral of violence and extremism in the region.

The Foundation meanwhile supports 15 foreign regional offices on four continents, which assist in maintaining contact to our project partners in the respective regions and promote the global political dialogue with events and visitor programs.

Berlin, October 2001
Executive Board of the Heinrich Böll Foundation
Ralf Fücks        Dr. Claudia Neusüß        Petra Streit