Robert Bosch Stiftung continues to pursue Efforts for Ukraine
Foundation’s work pays off: Approx. 149 million euros spent on charitable causes in 2022
Stuttgart/Berlin, February 2, 2023 – The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine triggered horror around the world last year. The Robert Bosch Stiftung, which has a large network in the region thanks to its many years of support work in Central and Eastern Europe, was able to respond with speed. Within mere weeks, the Foundation had approved a special budget of 4.5 million euros to deliver emergency aid and strengthen civil society in both Ukraine and neighboring European countries.
“Putin’s war on Ukraine is also an attack on European values. Peace and stability, especially in Europe, were primary concerns for our founder Robert Bosch, a legacy to which we remain committed to this day,” says Dr. Bernhard Straub, Robert Bosch Stiftung Chief Executive Officer. Accordingly, the Foundation last year provided extensive emergency aid for Ukraine, supporting nearly 40 projects ranging from evacuations and other safety measures, the delivery of medical supplies and mental health first aid, to working with refugee students and teachers in Germany. “We will continue to pursue this commitment on a comparable scale in 2023. Moving forward, we are aiming to have a longer-term impact with our support for Ukraine and to align ourselves with the Foundation’s strategic objectives,” adds Straub.
Taking stock of the Foundation’s work across its three areas of support – health, education, and global issues – Straub concluded it had, on balance, been a successful year, with the Robert Bosch Stiftung spending in total around 149 million euros (preliminary figure) on charitable causes in 2022.
In addition to funding specific projects, the Foundation also invested nearly 61 million euros in renovating the newly established Bosch Health Campus at Burgholzhof in Stuttgart, Germany. As of last year, the Campus has drawn together all of the Foundation’s institutions and activities in the field of health care, including patient treatment, biomedical research, education and training for medical and nursing professionals, and the promotion and trialing of promising new ideas for better health care. As recently as December, the acquisition of the Sana Klinik Bethesda has seen the Robert Bosch Hospital open its new City site in central Stuttgart. In future, the site will, among other things, focus on strengthening geriatric medicine.
Global partnerships – active in over 25 countries
Beyond supporting its own institutions such as the Bosch Health Campus, the Foundation carries out its own projects and enters into partnerships around the globe. Last year, it was active in over 25 countries, launching more than 80 new projects. Under our Global Issues support area, we are committed to achieving peaceful coexistence and addressing core social challenges such as the climate crisis. At the 27th global climate conference in Sharm-El-Sheikh in November 2022, the Foundation enabled young people, farmers, and indigenous group representatives to attend the conference to help raise
visibility for those affected on the African continent.
In addition, the Foundation is preparing for the major mobility of people forced to leave their homes as a result of climate change in future. Supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the Africa Climate Mobility Initiative has forecast which regions on the continent will feel the greatest impact and where those affected will migrate. This creates tangible starting points for policymakers on the African continent to prepare for what has become known as “climate-induced migration”.
Learning for the future and sharing good school practice
Under its Education support area, the Foundation is committed to promoting a forward-looking, high-performance education system that considers both the opportunities and well-being of children and young people. Every year, it celebrates successful schools with the German School Award, among other things. In September 2022, the coveted award went to a vocational training center in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. With a range of other projects, the Foundation strives to share good school practice.
In addition, the Robert Bosch Stiftung regularly commissions representative surveys to provide an up-to-date picture of Germany’s schools. The German School Barometer allows us to spot developments at an early stage and develop relevant initiatives. In one such example, the Foundation last year brought an internationally grounded approach to German elementary schools to strengthen core skills such as reading, math, and writing. First launched in Baden-Württemberg in partnership with the German Ministry of Education, the idea behind the “Wir. Lernen” [We. Learn] project is to bring together elementary school principals and teachers with their respective school supervisors on a regular basis. In routine meetings, they work together to draw out weak points in their teaching and consider how these can be addressed.