The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) was established in 1925 and is the oldest of Germany`s political foundations. It is a private and non-profit organization which is committed to the ideas of social democracy. Its name derives from the first democratically elected German President, Friedrich Ebert, and the foundation continues following his ideals of shaping politics in the spirit of freedom, solidarity and social justice. This is the mandate the foundation has adopted in its programmes for political education, international cooperation as well as scholarship programmes and research.

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung maintains its own representations in over 100 countries of Africa, Asia , the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and North America. Approximately 90 German staff are posted worldwide at present and – with the assistance of numerous local staff – are engaged in the fields of socio-political development and international dialogue. The FES spends approximately half of its annual budget on international activities. Its partners come from politics, business, associations, trade unions, academia, and also from the communication sector and cultural institutions.

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung sees its international activities as a contribution to:

• promoting peace and understanding between peoples and inside its partner countries,
• supporting the democratization of the State and society and strengthening civil society,
• improving general political, economic and social conditions,
• reinforcing free trade unions,
• developing independent media structures,
• facilitating regional and worldwide cooperation between states and different interest groups and
• gaining recognition for human rights.

For a detailed overview of our international work, please see the following publication

Promoting Democracy, Creating Peace, Shaping Globalisation. The International Cooperation of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bonn, 2005

and visit our website www.fes.de