1990 – 2015
25 years of successful foundation work

Twenty-five years ago, on August 22, 1990, the ASKO EUROPA-STIFTUNG was founded as a legally incorporated foundation by ASKO Deutsche Kaufhaus AG and ASKO Vereinigung e.V.

"We live for Europe!"

The foundation has been working very successfully, in line with this principle, for the last 25 years.

Since its foundation 25 years ago, it has always been pursuing the objective of promoting the idea of European integration through a wide range of activities, such as forums of dialogue and discussion, Franco-German future workshops and international educational seminars. It has furthermore aimed to influence effectively further developments through the participation of, if possible, all social classes in civic life.

As set forth in its charter, the foundation has been concentrating, up to this day, on the promotion of the Greater Region SaarLorLux, French-German relations and international seminars with focus on participant interaction at the European Academy of Otzenhausen with a view to positioning Europe in a global context.

The foundation organizes therefore a wide range of events dealing with the challenges Europe must meet in a globalised context. We seek answers to the question of how Europe should shape its relations to other parts of the world.

Since 2005, the issue of Sustainable development and its importance for Europe and the world have been other core elements of the foundation's work and therefore been put at the centre of an educational initiative. Together with the European Academy of Otzenhausen and the Stiftung Forum für Verantwortung foundation, the ASKO EUROPA-STIFTUNG foundation is a project sponsor and supports this initiative both in terms of funding and staff.

As a member of the Partners for Europe network, which was created in 2007 and also includes the Stiftung Forum für Verantwortung, the Stiftung Europrofession i.L., the Stiftung europäische Kultur und Bildung, the Stiftung Forum EUROPA Luxemburg foundations and the European Academy of Otzenhausen, the ASKO EUROPA-STIFTUNG foundation has actively continued the joint and networked activities of the former Europäisches Bildungszentrum (ebz) of 1999.

From the beginning, the ASKO EUROPA-STIFTUNG foundation has been cooperating with both the member organizations of the ebz and, later, the Partners for Europe networks and external institutions in order to conduct a wide range of projects. In this context the European Academy of Otzenhausen is the venue of conferences and seminars on the one hand and provides the necessary specialist expertise thanks to its competent heads of department and directors of study on the other hand.

Last but not least another important step with a view to strengthening the foundation was taken in the anniversary year: the merger of the ASKO EUROPA-STIFTUNG with the Stiftung Europrofession foundation. Its objective is to strengthen and develop the foundation's activities further over the long term.

With the aim to implement its purpose, the foundation continues to focus on winning over a large part of society for the implementation and strengthening of a united, democratic, sustainable, peaceful and free Europe through appropriate events, projects and sponsorships.