“150 projects for the Ruhr area”: projects pick up speed
To express its close ties with the Ruhr region and its population, the Krupp Foundation announced the €1.5 million funding program “150 years of Villa Hügel – 150 projects for the Ruhr area” in 2023 to mark the anniversary of Villa Hügel. The interest was immense: a total of 510 project applications were submitted from Essen, Dortmund, Duisburg, Bottrop, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Oberhausen, among others. The jury selected 150 projects to receive between €500 and €25,000 in funding. In order to be able to realize the selected applications, the total funding amount was even increased to €1.77 million. Since then, the projects, which are scheduled to run for up to two years, have been closely monitored and supported by the foundation’s funding team. A comprehensive evaluation with interim reports and feedback loops takes place continuously. This helps the foundation to identify potential for its further funding activities.
The majority of the funded projects run for several years and have gained momentum, particularly in recent months. The foundation is closely monitoring the project participants and sees future potential for its funding activities: “The unique program that we have launched to mark the 150th anniversary of Villa Hügel will not only contribute to the development of the Ruhr region, it has already generated an enormous amount of knowledge for the foundation – about the cities in the Ruhr region and the needs of their associations, museums, universities, schools, daycare centres, artists and other institutions. This is invaluable for us and our future funding activities,” says Prof. Ursula Gather, Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
Strengthening sustainability and educational opportunities
One of the many projects made possible by the funding is the “Barefoot, healthy, at peace – our new classroom ” project at the Duisburg-Nord school, which is a school for children with special needs. The aim of the project is to introduce pupils to entrepreneurial thinking and sustainable action. Accompanied by student companies, the participants learn the individual steps of project implementation, from budget planning to execution. As part of the redesign, raised beds were created for planting fruit and vegetables, a barefoot path was set up, a relaxation room was created and an insect hotel was built. The result is a new classroom in a green setting that is not just for learning, but also for recreation and promotes a sustainable approach to nature.
Another project that will run until the end of the year is the “Reading with children for parents – Transformation in the Ruhr region for a strong education ” program run by the Institute for School Development Research at TU Dortmund University. The aim of the project is to motivate parents and children to engage in reading together and thus enable better educational opportunities. So far, nine in-depth educational videos for parents have been produced and made available to over 300 elementary school in the region. The demand from elementary school was so high that another video is now being produced with a focus on multilingualism. The existing videos are also being translated into Arabic, Turkish and other foreign languages.
The “rethought – already found ” project from the Institute for Energy and Environment in Duisburg, which is dedicated to recruiting trainees for the profession of chemical laboratory technician, will soon be entering its third round. As part of a short internship, pupils were introduced to laboratory work as well as the industrial sites where the training takes place. Trainees have already been recruited in the first two internship rounds. The program, which is designed to be sustainable with three rounds, aims to counteract the shortage of skilled workers and create potential for the region.