Freundeskreis
Kay Otto / offenblende
Making Contacts and Friendships
The Friends of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation brings together around 1,600 politically interested people who are close to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and support it in further developing and strengthening the fundamental Christian democratic values of our society. The Circle of Friends celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2024.
The supporters meet at regulars' tables, seminars and study trips in Germany, Europe and countries on other continents. Together, they learn about political, economic and cultural issues. In addition to the traditional seminars in Banz Abbey, Kiel and Cadenabbia (with Milan and Turin as optional extensions), study trips to Andalusia, Scotland, Finland, the Baltic States, Warsaw and Krakow are planned for 2024. The highlight of the year will be the anniversary celebration to mark the 25th anniversary of the Circle of Friends on 8 November in Berlin.
Objective
The entire work of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation is characterised by one goal: to convey moral and political values. In youth and educational work, in the material and non-material support of particularly talented young people and, of course, in adult education and political work. However, as important and beneficial as moral support is, the material basis must also be guaranteed in the long term. In the words of Konrad Adenauer, "material possessions are not the decisive factor in human life", but they are one of the prerequisites for "sharing in the intellectual and cultural goods of our time". And this applies today more than ever; projects and programmes at home and abroad require both non-material and supplementary private support and sponsorship.
You are welcome to support our circle of friends with a donation:
Bank für Sozialwirtschaft AG, Cologne
IBAN: DE72 3702 0500 0008 1674 00
Board of Directors and Members
The Chairman, the Secretary General and the Treasurer of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung belong ex officio to the Circle of Friends’ Board of Directors, an additional Board member is elected every two years at the meeting of members. The Articles of Associations allow for up to 25 members.
Board of Directors and Members of the Circle of Friends
Board of Directors of the Circle of Friends
Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert
Chairman of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, former President of the Bundestag
Michael Thielen
Secretary General of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Dr. Christoph Brand
Treasurer of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Dr. Konrad Adenauer
Lawyer, Cologne
Members of the Circle of Friends
Konrad Adenauer
Notary retired, Cologne
Dr Claus-Michael Allmendinger
Of counsel, Baker Tilly GmbH & Co. KG
Dr Erik Becker Becker
Former Ambassador of Venezuela
Henrik Braun
Head of Finance at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Heinrich Otto Deichmann
Chairman of the Administrative Board Deichmann SE
Uta Hellweg
Head of Internal Communication and Networks at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Christoph Kannengießer
Deputy Secretary General of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung until 01/10/2007, Managing Director Afrika-Verein der deutschen Wirtschaft e.V.
Dr Lothar Kraft
Deputy General Secretary of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung until 01/07/2000
Dr Thomas de Maizière
Federal Minister (ret.)
Dr Gisela Meister-Scheufelen
State Secretary (ret.)
Dr Beate Neuss
Deputy Chairperson of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Dr Hans Reckers
State Secretary (ret.)
Dr Franz Schoser
Treasurer of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung until 07/06/2019
Dr Johannes von Thadden
Deputy Secretary General of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung until 03/12/2003, President and CEO Airbus Group Polska
Dr h.c. Josef Thesing
Deputy General Secretary of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung until 31/12/2002
Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker MdB
Judge (ret.)
Become a Sponsor
As a sponsor in the Circle of Friends, you support the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s work and enjoy a number of privileges. The regularly published friends’ letter will provide you with the latest information about particularly interesting events, seminars and workshops as well as forward-looking projects of the foundation. Upon request, you will receive individual informational material on domestic, foreign and socio-political topics covered by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Larger foundation events afford you the opportunity to establish and maintain contact with other sponsors of the Circle of Friends via a special “meeting place”. You are a warmly welcome guest at concerts, readings, exhibitions and other cultural events held by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, and can participate in the Circle of Friends regulars’ tables in Berlin and Bonn.
Get involved! As a sponsor in the Circle of Friends, you will help to ensure the variety and high quality of what the foundation has to offer in the long-term.
If you do not yet belong to the Circle of Friends, we look forward to receiving your declaration of membership.
“Vision J” – Offers for Young Sponsors
Konrad Adenauer, the first German Federal Chancellor, has, with this policies and unforgettable character, inspired generations of politicians who stand for Christian Democratic principles, a peaceful, cleverly innovative and culturally thriving Germany and Europe. Our Circle of Friends that has been in existence for over 20 years, would now like to increasingly appeal to the young generation and win them as sponsor members. In the Circle of Friends, you will find people with interesting life stories, you can network and establish friendships that sometimes last a life time as well as building professional bridges. Last but not least, we hope that the Circle of Friends will appeal to an even greater extent to all generations wanting to exchange ideas.
We are delighted to have gained three testimonials to contribute: Nikolaus Adenauer, Philipp Amthor MdB and Diana Kinnert. Events are scheduled with them in Berlin and at regional level.
Nikolaus Adenauer
Nikolaus Adenauer, great-grandson of the first German Federal Chancellor, was born and raised in Cologne, before moving to England at 16 years age for his school-leaving qualification and university degree. There he attended Bedford School and London School of Economic and Political Sciences. Following successful graduation, Nikolaus worked for a real estate company Bauwens in Cologne, was employed as a Business Consultant in Berlin and managed the international expansion of Fielmann AG. Since 2019, Adenauer has been completing his Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Harvard Business School after which he will be employed in the real estate sector in New York.
“For my great-grandfather, Konrad Adenauer, politics was not an end in itself, but rather a service to the people, democracy and freedom. For the sake of our joint future, it is important for these values to be firmly established among and actively lived by the younger generation, too. The KAS Circle of Friends brings together sponsors who are committed in this sense – especially in the social sphere – and who play a role in creating a society fit for the future. I am very happy to be able to support them with this and to attract younger members to our association.”
© Foto: Fulvio Pagani
Philipp Amthor
Philipp Amthor is a former scholarship holder at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. With his entry into the German Bundestag in 2017, the lawyer was the youngest member of parliament to have won a constituency.
“It is with gratitude that I look back on my life as a student, during which the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung supported me with a scholarship. The foundation’s Circle of Friends brings together sponsors who, despite their diverse life stories, have one thing in common: the desire to advocate the values of Christian democracy and the ideas of Konrad Adenauer. Given that these are also my core beliefs, I am now happy to give something back of what I learnt at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, and support the Circle of Friends.”
© Foto: Tobias Koch
Diana Kinnert
Political Scientist and Philosopher Diana Kinnert joined the CDU at the age of 17. Between 2015 until the end of 2016, she was employed in the Office of the Vice President of the German Bundestag Peter Hintze and is a member of the CDU’s Federal Commission for “Social Cohesion” and in the “Federal Network Integration”. Kinnert was a member of the Youth Advisory Board at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and ambassador of the foundation for the rights of future generations.
“In addition to providing financial and ideological support to the foundation, the Circle of Friends stands for protected discussion across generations. Here, pioneers from various disciplines reaffirm their values and visions within an intimate setting and thus herald a culture undergoing permanent transformation. In a world in transition, certainties, institutions and even places for reflection are fading away. The Circle of Friends acts as a counterweight to this – by means of openly exchanging ideas in a spirit of trust.”
© Foto: Dominik H. Müller
Sponsorship Contribution:
The minimum sponsorship contribution per year for:
Individual persons € 60.00
Spouses € 80.00 (joint contribution)
Companies/institutions € 500.00
Students and scholarship holders € 40.00
You are already a sponsor and have friends and acquaintances who are also interested in politics and cultural events? Then recruit new sponsors for the KAS Circle of Friends – you will receive a gift as a token of our appreciation.
Cycling Tours
Cycling tours represent a new format in our event portfolio, aimed primarily at sponsors of the KAS Young Circle of Friends.
Cycling Tours 2023
-
Discovering Europe step by step
Cycling tour from Bonn to Brussels in October 2022
Programme and registration
Study Tours and Seminars
Trips with the circle of friends at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. are exclusively open to sponsors and their spouses. The circle of friends reserves the right to decide on any exceptions.
Study Tours and Seminars 2023
-
Kloster Banz
Burgen, Ritter und Minnesang in Franken vom 8. bis 11. Januar 2023
Programme -
Budapest
Budapest – von der europäischen Mitte ins Abseits vom 3 bis 7. Mai 2023
Programme and registration -
Unsere Region erleben
Unsere Region erleben am 11. Mai 2023
Programme and registration -
Umbrien
Etrurien – Umbrien - Europa - eine Erfolgsgeschichte der frühen Migration vom 14. bis 25. Mai 2023
Programme and registration -
Athen und die europäische Kulturhauptstadt Eleusis
Athen und die europäische Kulturhauptstadt Eleusis. Ein urbanes Laboratorium, das mit Kreativität die Frage aufwirft, in welchem Europa wir leben wollen vom 6. bis 10. Juni 2023
Programme and registration (Cancelled) -
Nordschleswig
Auf den Spuren der Deutschen Minderheit in Nordschleswig am 17. Juni 2023
Programme and registration -
Cadenabbia
Quo Vadis, Christliche Demokratie?
Seminar vom 23. bis -27. Juli 2023
Programme and Registration | ausgebucht -
Kanalsineln
Kanalinseln - Steuerparadies mit französisch-britischem Flair
Poltische Bildungsreise Anfang September
Programme and Registration -
Berlin
Es muss nicht immer Mitte sein - Berlin am Rande
Exkursion vom 10.-15. September 2023
Programme and registration -
Belgien und Niederlande
Rotterdam – Den Haag – Brüssel. Vom Goldenen Zeitalter der Niederlande zur Europäischen Union von heute
Politische Bildungsreise vom 3. bis 7. Oktober 2023
Programme and registration -
Kiel
Glanz und Untergang: Kiel im Kaiserreich 1871-1918
Exkursion am 7. Oktober 2923
Programme and registration -
Albanien
Albanien – Land im Aufbruch
Politische Bildungsreise im Oktober 2023
Programme and registration | ausgebucht
Study Tours and Seminars 2022
- Zwischen Brexit-Brennpunkt und Nordlicht
Der Freundeskreis auf Tour in Irland/Nordirland und Norwegen
To the event report - Prag – Die Stadt an der Moldau
Politische und kulturelle Streifzüge vom 3. bis 6. April 2022 - Zagreb - Rijeka - Trieste - Lubiljana
Europa im Kleinen vom 28. April bis 5. Mai 2022
To the event report - Diagnose und Therapie
Seminar in Cadenabbia zur Zukunft der (Christlichen) Demokratie in Deutschland
To the event report
Events
When registering for any events of the Circle of Friends, please contact the address freundeskreis@kas.de. In addition to events, an annual cycling tour is also planned. The first starts on 7 May in the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Sankt Augustin and leads via Aachen, Maastricht and Waterloo to Brussels.
Upcoming Events 2024
Insights - Information from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Donnerstag, 11. Januar 2024, 17 Uhr
mit Dr. Christian Hübner, Referent in der KAS-Hauptabteilung Analyse und Beratung
Thema: „"Künstliche Intelligenz - Komplexe Algorithmen im Zusammenspiel mit Politik und Gesellschaft"
Via Zoom
Event and Travel Reports
The Circle of Friends creates interesting event reports on some travel reports and events, an overview of which can be found below.
Event and Travel Reports 2023
- Albania - A country on the move
The circle of friends in Albania
To the event report (in German) - From the Dutch Golden Age to the European Union today
The circle of friends in the Netherlands
To the event report (in German) - Welcome to the heart of Europe
The circle of friends in Budapest
To the event report (in German)
Event and Travel Reports 2022
- Prague - The City on the Vltava
Political and cultural excursions from April 3 to 6, 2022
To the event report (in German) - Zagreb - Rijeka - Trieste - Lubiljana
Europe in miniature from April 28 to May 5, 2022
To the event report (in German) - Diagnosis and Therapy
Seminar in Cadenabbia on the future of (Christian) democracy in Germany
To the event report (in German)
Event and Travel Reports 2021
-
100 years Thuringia
An excursion to Eisenach, Erfurt and Weimar between 11 and 15 October
To the event report (in German)
