Eberhard-Schöck-Stiftung

The Eberhard-Schöck-Stiftung (ESST) is a non-profit foundation based in Baden-Baden, Germany. It was founded in 1992 by Eberhard Schöck and is named after him. The foundation's mission is to contribute to understanding between Germany and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, primarily by promoting the building trades under the motto "Wandel durch Ausbildung" (Change through Training). It also supports the German language in Germany and abroad and awards various prizes and scholarships. The foundation is predominantly operational, running qualification programs for construction workers, vocational school teachers, students, entrepreneurs and managers, largely in cooperation with German city partnerships. Since the programs began in 1994, more than 5,400 participants from ten Central and Eastern European countries have taken part. The foundation also provides microcredit programs for young entrepreneurs in the region and has carried out model projects to modernize vocational training, such as the German-Russian model project in Yekaterinburg. In Germany, the foundation is active through awards such as the Schöck Bau-Innovationspreis (Schöck Construction Innovation Prize), the Nachwuchspreis Betonbauteile (Young Talent Prize for Concrete Components), the Kulturpreis Deutsche Sprache (Culture Prize for the German Language), and Eberhard Schöck scholarships. It also supports the German University Building Prize and the DEUTSCHLAND Scholarship. The foundation is funded primarily from the income of its endowment, which largely consists of shares in Schöck AG, of which the foundation is the largest single shareholder. It is governed by a board and a board of trustees (Kuratorium). Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, all foundation projects in the Russian Federation were suspended, though reconciliation and understanding between Germans and Russians remains a long-term goal.

The Eberhard-Schöck-Stiftung was founded in 1992 by Eberhard Schöck, an entrepreneur and founder of Schöck AG, a construction components company. The foundation was established to support the development of private-sector building trades in the transformation economies of Central and Eastern Europe under the motto "Wandel durch Ausbildung" (Change through Training). One year after its founding, preparations began for the first qualification program for construction workers, which was launched in 1994. Since then, more than 5,400 craftsmen, vocational school teachers, students, entrepreneurs and managers from ten Central and Eastern European countries have participated in the programs. From the late 1990s, the qualification programs were predominantly carried out within the framework of city partnerships. The concept, consulting and the majority of financing came from the Eberhard-Schöck-Stiftung, while the partner cities organized and supervised the participants on site. Since the city partnership programs began in 1996, German cities such as Speyer, Pforzheim, Karlsruhe, Ettlingen, Freiburg and Rheine have participated, some multiple times. In 2007, a pilot project for vocational school student exchange was conducted between Pforzheim and Irkutsk (Russia), followed by further exchanges between Karlsruhe and Krasnodar, Lahr and Yekaterinburg, and Pforzheim and Yekaterinburg. These exchanges were supported by the German-Russian Youth Exchange Foundation. The largest single project of the foundation was the German-Russian model project "Förderung des Handwerks durch Berufsausbildung" (Promotion of Crafts through Vocational Training) in Yekaterinburg, Russia, which began in 1998. Together with the Ministry of Education of the Sverdlovsk region, vocational training programs for painters/designers, tilers and mosaic layers, and carpenters were reformed and adapted to European standards, and an additional qualification as master/manager was introduced. In Germany, the foundation awards the Schöck Bau-Innovationspreis, the Nachwuchspreis Betonbauteile, Eberhard Schöck scholarships, and the Kulturpreis Deutsche Sprache. It also supports the German University Building Prize and the DEUTSCHLAND Scholarship. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, all foundation projects in the Russian Federation were suspended, though reconciliation and understanding between Germans and Russians remains a long-term goal.

• 2022

  All projects in the Russian Federation suspended due to the war against Ukraine.

• 2007

  Pilot project for vocational school student exchange between Pforzheim and Irkutsk.

• 1998

  German-Russian model project in Yekaterinburg started.

• 1996

  City partnership programs began.

• 1994

  First qualification program for construction workers launched.

• 1992

  Foundation established by Eberhard Schöck.

Non-profit foundation promoting vocational training and German language, primarily in Central and Eastern Europe.

1. 1Startseite - Eberhard-Schöck-Stiftungeberhard-schoeck-stiftung.de
2. 2Eberhard-Schöck-Stiftung - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
3. 3Eberhard-Schöck-Stiftung - Wikidatawikidata.org