On September 18th, the Alliance of Community Foundations in Germany organised its first digital congress. The topic “Seeing the crisis as an opportunity” raised the interest of aproximately 80 participants who discussed the cohesion of civil society in times of Corona and the challenges that community foundations have to face in the field of digitisation and financial development.
The subsequent discussion in smaller thematic groups was kicked off by a conversation between Ulrike Reichart, head of the Alliance, with Roland Löffler, Director of the Saxonian Agency for Civic Education, and Jan Holze, Managing Director of the newly established German Foundation for Engagement and Volunteering. In interesting 30 minutes. They discussed the question of “Commitment and Social Cohesion in Times of Corona”.
The discussions in the thematic groups focused on the global Sustainable Development Goals: how to better promote equal opportunities in education and the question of what are characteristics of sustainable cities and communities.
The Community Foundation Congress sees itself as a network and forum for the more than 410 community foundations and founding initiatives in Germany. In addition to the – this time digital – opportunity for personal exchange, the stakeholders of community foundations could listen to professional input and participate in a training.
Last but not least, the results of the forthcoming Community Foundations’ Report show that community foundations are crisis-proof organisations, reliable partners, and flexible helpers in times of need.
The feedback on the digital congress also showed a positive attitude towards this change: most found it a good substitute in the current situation and would participate again in a digital event.
September 2020
