Prof. Werner Weidenfeld steps down from the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Executive Board 

Long-time board member Prof. Werner Weidenfeld leaves the Bertelsmann Stiftung on November 30, 2007.A political scientist, he headed the foundation's "Politics" division for over 20 years.


Prof. Dieter Vogel is appointed chair of the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Board of Trustees
 
Following the departure of Prof. Ernst Buschor, Prof. Dieter H. Vogel has been selected to succeed him as chair of the foundation's Board of Trustees.Formerly CEO of the Thyssen Group, he has been a member of the Board since 2004.


The Bertelsmann Stiftung celebrates its 30th anniversary

Reinhard Mohn, then CEO of Bertelsmann AG, signed the document establishing the Bertelsmann Stiftung on February 8, 1977.In keeping with the longstanding commitment of its founder, the Bertelsmann Foundation has since dedicated its efforts to promoting the public good."The Bertelsmann Stiftung still has a great deal of work to do," Reinhard Mohn says, "both in the business world and in the context of political and governmental leadership.We need to recognize that we too are responsible for civil society.Rather than sitting back and waiting, we need to act!"On September 12, the Bertelsmann Stiftung celebrates "Stiftung Day" to mark the anniversary of its founding.


2007 Carl Bertelsmann Prize:Educating role models – Civic engagement as an educational goal

This year's Carl Bertelsmann Prize is awarded to the UK's Citizenship Foundation in recognition of its programs to encourage children and young people to participate in society, as well as its role as a mediator between nonprofit organizations and schools. A special prize is given to TOP SE (Topic-Oriented Project: Social Engagement), a program for secondary schools in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.This program has shown that in Germany, too, it is possible to motivate even schoolchildren to play an active role in civil society.In her keynote speech on September 6 before an audience of more than 700 guests from the political and social spheres, German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel underscores the important contribution of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s “Educating Role Models” initiative in strengthening our society.


2007 NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Competition

Preliminary auditions are held in 24 cities around the world.More than 1,100 young singers from 66 countries apply to compete in the 12th NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Competition.A total of 46 talented opera singers qualify for the finals in Gütersloh.Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka wins first prize (€ 15,000).Experts agree that the quality of the performances is higher in 2007 than ever before. Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka, 27, impresses the jury with the arias "Qual fiamma" from Ruggero Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci and "È strano, è strano" from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata.Second prize (€ 10,000) goes to Argentinian bass Fernando Javier Rado, who is only 21 years old. The third-prize winner, Mexican tenor Diego Torre, 27, receives a cash award of € 8,000. The fourth through sixth prizes, each with an award of €4,000, go to Australia’s Anita Watson (27, lyric soprano), Yali Wang from China (26, soprano) and Germany's Christiane Karg (27, soprano).Seventh prize goes to 22-year-old Kosovo Albanian Krenare Gashi (soprano).She is offered engagements at the Frankfurt Opera and the Chicago Opera Theater. Eighth-place winner Sung-Kon Kim from South Korea (32, lyric baritone) is also offered an engagement at the Frankfurt Opera.The people's choice award, a certificate for sheet music worth € 500, goes to Russia's Julia Novikova (24, coloratura soprano).Winner of the 20 Years of NEUE STIMMEN prize is Australian soprano Emma Pearson.