Social Commitment

For me it is important that my personal engagement catalyzes and drives forward essential social, societal and environmental projects. Apart from implementing individual projects, I also want to raise people’s awareness for particular topics, initiate ideas and get something going that others can pick up on and develop further. Merely donating money is simply not enough if you want to change things for the better in the long run. The guiding principle of all my initiatives and foundations is therefore that they should take fresh approaches and contribute to the sustainable development of our society. In doing so, there has to be a win-win situation for everyone involved. That’s the only way that these projects have a chance of surviving in the long term and creating permanent change.

My father wanted to share his great successes – including the financial ones – with others and give something back to society. His personal motto was always “People come first”. And so he used his money for many numerous cultural projects. But the most important commitment for him was for those who are always described as the weakest members of society: handicapped children. In order to give effective help and to lessen human suffering, he created the Werner Otto Foundation in 1969. This foundation promotes medical progress and steps in where the state does not provide funds or does not provide them quickly enough.

My father was a role model for me in the sense that he stood up for the employees early on. If the company is doing well, the employees should also be doing well – that was his belief. Of course, my family has also influenced me. I was taught from the beginning to also think of others.

Yes it is. HANZ originated in 1999 under the name Initiative for Employment or the Hamburg Secondary School Model. Since then, the network has successfully pursued the goal of making it easier for young people to start an apprenticeship by providing specific offers and close support, yes, in the spirit of “helping people to help themselves”.
However, HANZ not only supports disadvantaged young people, it is also a central platform for all young people on their way to a making a career. The focus is always on the idea of strengthening the image of work/training schemes and actively doing something to counteract the shortage of skilled workers in Germany.
For me, it is quite clear that young people should not be left alone on their path towards vocational education and training. A speedy and smooth transition from school to vocational training is not only crucial for the young people themselves, but also for our society, our economy and our social systems. We in the business community are very much dependent on a well-trained young workforce.
The Hamburg Training Network has established itself as an effective instrument to facilitate a successful start on the job market – especially when it comes to integrating students with an immigrant background or from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. It has become a real contact point for young people who are open to developing their work skill set and who want to become something. It is precisely this lasting effect that delights me about this project.