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Christian-Liebig-Stiftung e.V.
IBAN: DE20 700 700 240 7003700 00
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Deutsche Bank München
A fortunate coincidence brought Beatrice von Keyserlingk, founder and chairwoman of Christian-Liebig-Foundation e.V. (CLS), and Juliane Köhler together, and their shared love of Africa helped welcome Juliane Köhler as a new member of the CLS board of trustees.
The actress, who got to know and value the country and its people during her filming of “Nowhere in Africa”, spoke to us about her motivation and vision for her role in the foundation and emphasised her conviction that education is the key to sustainable development and equal opportunities.
Juliane Köhler with a little girl during her filming in Africa.
Juliane Köhler’s experience in Africa: local challenges and cultural sensitivity
What motivated you to get involved with Christian-Liebig-Stiftung e.V.?
I was lucky enough to meet Beatrice by chance. We got talking about the foundation’s work and I immediately found the idea and vision fascinating. I spent three months in Africa a few years ago, during the filming of Nowhere in Africa, where I saw the local challenges and asked myself how to best provide support without ignoring the local culture.
In the past, development aid often followed the principle of “we’ll show you how it’s done”, which is fortunately now outdated. It’s not about pushing our methods on others, but about providing support that enables local people to develop their own solutions. I noticed this during filming too. For example, we built a road that the local community wanted to promote trade. It was important to us not to force anything on anyone.
Ultimately, however, donations in kind and material support may not always be the perfect solution. It is much better if people can help themselves, and that is what CLS does. The foundation focuses on education, which is crucial. Education enables people to shape their own future and that of their children and to decide for themselves what they want to build in their country. Education enables them to improve their living conditions and make independent decisions. That is what real help is all about, helping them to help themselves.
The role of education in conflict prevention
Textbooks at a school in Malawi
Can you tell us about an encounter or an experience that particularly touched you during your time in Africa?
There were hundreds of moments that touched me. One particularly positive experience was how open the people are. We were warmly welcomed, people were very interested and wanted to help us everywhere. The children, in particular, were curious and enthusiastic. They even got involved in our film. Shooting these scenes with the children was an incredibly moving experience.
But there were also some less pleasant experiences. The hotel was broken into and two team members were threatened. We were also mugged once. These events were terrifying. But it is precisely incidents like these that show how desperation and poverty can drive people to extreme behaviour. When people have access to education, they can create alternative ways to improve their lives, ones that are not rooted in crime. Education also enables people to think beyond the present and make good decisions for their community. That is why I think the work of CLS is so great, they focus on schools and education.
‘Access to education is not a given, especially in Africa’
What would you say is the biggest challenges that children and families in Malawi face and how should these be addressed?
Access to education is not a given, especially in Africa, as many children – in rural areas in particular – do not have easy access to educational facilities.
This is where CLS comes in and improves educational opportunities. Children also often have to travel long distances to get to school, which is not only difficult physically and for concentration levels at school, but can also jeopardise their safety, especially that of the girls. I am therefore very pleased that CLS supports the construction of girls’ dormitories near the schools. The girls are safe in these dormitories and can reach school more easily, which in turn enables them to concentrate better on their education. The education of girls in particular is crucial for the promotion of equal rights and equal opportunities. When girls gain access to education, they not only acquire knowledge, but also the self-confidence to stand up for their rights and position themselves on an equal footing with men
Pupils talk in the schoolyard in Malawi
Teaching key competences for pupils
As a new member of the board of trustees, what aims and visions do you have for the future for the foundation and its projects in Malawi?
I am determined to support the foundation as much as possible, even though I am not that familiar with Malawi yet, as I have never been there personally. I would like to use my fame to motivate others and encourage donations for the projects in Malawi. I hope to have the opportunity to visit Malawi soon and be able to experience and develop the projects in person.
One specific example of my work in Germany so far is the “Kunstlinge” project in Munich, where I am an active patron. We offer workshops to youths who are looking for an apprenticeship, we focus on self-presentation, body language, self-awareness, and self-confidence. I can quite imagine doing the same for the pupils in Malawi. After all, these are key skills that you need to be successful in job interviews, seize professional opportunities and actively shape your own future.
Education as a universal right and a means against poverty
Pupils are looking forward to their new school.
How important do you think it is to support educational opportunities across national borders?
After my experience in Africa, I can say that everything that has to do with education and furtherance is worth supporting. In doing so, it is preferable to get involved beyond one’s own national borders. After all, equal opportunities are important for everyone and education should be accessible to everyone worldwide. And, of course, it is also a powerful tool in the fight against poverty because it equips individuals with the knowledge and skills they need to improve their living conditions, which helps to reduce poverty. This in turn can have a positive impact on the economy. There are more qualified workers, productivity increases and the economy can grow. Such developments not only have positive effects locally, but also globally.
In a globalised world, we should no longer only be tending to our own garden. A country or continent’s problems and challenges are often also global in nature. By supporting educational projects in Africa, people are helping to combat global problems. I therefore recommend that anyone who is considering getting involved to take the plunge and become part of the solution, so we can create a fairer and more sustainable world together.
We are delighted to have Juliane Köhler on our Board of Trustees and look forward to working together on projects that will enable children and young people in Malawi to have a self-determined future.
Photos: Juliane Köhler, Göran Schattauer