Wittenberg Academy is a non-profit organization based in Germany. In this inaugural issue of its Newsletter, we're showcasing an interview that I conducted with Göran Airijoki, CEO & founder of the Wittenberg Academy. Read on to find out more
AG: What was the force behind the formation of the Wittenberg Academy (WA)?
GA: My work as a manager in the iron and steel industry for some twenty-five years involved traveling all over the world. Iron ore mines and steel plants are also situated in so- called "developing" and "transition" countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Site visits, in-depth discussions and working relations opened my eyes to the conditions of people in poor countries. I often met with people who have extensive experience in different fields of aid and development cooperation. One of them, Dr. Heide Richter-Airijoki, a public health specialist, is now my wife, and a constant source of inspiration. In my work within industry, I have experienced the powerful positive impact of synergy-oriented management strategies. Wittenberg Academy was founded to promote such skills, applied to the management of subsidies and development aid.
AG: When did you set up WA?
GA: The process of setting up WA started about a year ago. By now, WA has been registered as a non-profit corporation in Wittenberg, Germany, and established its office in Wittenberg. My wife and I have been living in Calcutta, India during the whole of last year, due to the work of my wife. I've had to do most of the work for WA on distance. However, we must not forget that several people in India have already contributed to the work of WA. In that respect the year here in India has had both its pros and cons.
AG: What is the mission of your organization?
GA: WA is a non-profit organization working for societal development. We want to contribute to the best possible use of resources made available for societal development with public and private funding. We do this by providing interdisciplinary expertise for synergic resource management, with applications in the areas of health, education, environmental management and civil peace work. WA works with an international network of experienced experts, both from "industrialized" and "developing" countries. These include independent consultants as well as affiliates of development agencies, universities and companies who are deputed by their respective organizations for specific short-term assignments.
AG: What is the organizationīs legal status?
GA: The legal status is "gGmbH" according to German corporate law. The "g" stands for"gemeinnuetzig" ("for public benefit"); GmbH is the form of corporation. This implies that Wittenberg Academy has a special status, prohibiting it from leaving the path defined by its mission and set out for its future development. The status of "gemeinnuetzig" is also a guarantee for being non-profit in a strict sense, as defined and controlled by the German tax authorities. This will create a very stable platform for long-term collaboration with our clients and partners throughout the world.
AG: Could you explain to our readers the concept of Synergic Resource Management for Societal Goals?
GA: Synergy can be described as 1+1= >2. Societal goals concern the improvement of living conditions for entire communities and population groups, measured by indicators for health, nutrition, education, income distribution, etc. Development aid, for example in the form of loans, grants and technical assistance, is one of the vehicles used to pursue such goals in poor countries. Aid typically comes from a variety of different sources - from other governments, multilateral organizations, international non-government organizations, private foundations, etc. Since so many players are involved, it often comes in ways which are difficult to plan, predict and coordinate. Overlaps can exist without being known, or available funds and resources are not utilized. Sometimes there can even be antagonistic circumstances created by lack of resource management and coordination. The same is often true for the use of subsidies intended to address structural inbalances within industrialized countries. Special skills for synergy-oriented resource utilization are required to manage aid and subsidies. Such skills are needed to validate every input and multiply the combined effect of all inputs. WA aims to build such skills.
AG: Is this a new concept, or are you applying a concept that already exists?
GA: Synergic Resource Management is already an established concept in industry and environmental management. The need for more synergy of resource use, and ways to achieve this, are current topics in development cooperation. What is new in this regard, is the transfer of experiences from industrial management to aid and subsidy management. A similar transfer has taken place over the last few years with the concept of Quality Management. Synergic Resource Management for Societal Goals incorporates Quality Management approaches for development initiatives, and adds a special focus on their linkages, interactions and combined effectiveness.
AG: What are the particular types of activities that WA is aiming at?
The two main types of activities are training and consulting, mainly for people and institutions who are involved in the planning and management of aid and subsidies. We want to give managers a broader understanding and better tools to perform their tasks at the consumptive cost of least resources. In our training programs, we will also include a facilitated exchange of experience between people facing similar challenges in different parts of the world. For example, we are currently conceptualizing a course for managers of environmental management and employment generation projects in former mining regions in Russia, Sweden, Germany, Brazil, India and possibly Zambia. We also aim to help broader population groups develop skills for synergy-oriented management, so that they can make better use of available resources for health, education and income generation at the community level. This can involve, among other field activities, the testing of new concepts for the use of multi-media libraries, together with NGOs in Bangladesh and India.
AG: What is your source of funding?
GA: The costs for start-up, basic operation and small initiatives of WA are funded by private donations. Training courses and consultancy services are offered on a fee-for-service basis, for example, to government institutions, international organizations, development agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs) and foundations.
AG: Do you have plans to generate revenue from sources other than aid?
GA: WA is not limited to provide know-how only for aid projects. We also see a potential demand for our services in the emerging global private market. For instance, cultural differences and lack of communication create problems irrespective of whether it is within aid or in the commercial market. We can contribute to overcome these hindrances, for example by seminars conducted by resource persons who are very experienced in practice and theory of intercultural management.
AG: Who do you think would be interested in your work? How would you describe your target audience?
GA: In the beginning I believe that the target audience will be fairly limited, containing mainly initiated people already working within societal development, particularly, within development aid. The ambition of WA is to broaden the audience, and to generate a broader interest in the synergic management of resources for societal goals. The establishment of a Newsletter is an important step in this direction. We are aiming at communicating development processes and results in a format that also attracts the interest of the layperson. The general public is a very important target audience when it comes to the management of aid and subsidies.
AG: Is there a particular reason behind the naming of your organization? Did you choose Wittenberg because of its rich cultural and reformatory history?
GA: We have many good reasons to establish and name our organization in Wittenberg. Wittenberg has been known for centuries as a city of reform, and the Academy wants to promote skills for societal development, which includes both, building on traditions as well as innovation and reform. Wittenberg already has a good infrastructure for higher education and training with, for instance, the famous Leucorea, now an institution of the University of Halle-Wittenberg, being located there. Global communication is good, with Berlin being in reach in one hour. The city of Wittenberg attracts visitors from all over the world, and it is continuously developing. It is a very charming city with many historical buildings and a pleasant and beautiful environment at the river Elbe.
AG: Are you looking for partnerships and tie-ups in the future?
GA: The essence of the conceptual idea of starting and developing the WA is to create and provide demand-oriented solutions in a flexible way, and to work through collaborations rather than a cemented institutional structure. This requires networking with others who share the same goals and the same basic concept. In that sense WA is intended to be more virtual than institutional. A network is of course already there and it will be expanding in the future.
AG: Where do you see Wittenberg Academy in a few years from now?
GA: Wittenberg Academy will develop into a well-known provider of training and consultancy services for synergy in the management of aid and subsidies, operating through a global network of experts.
Interviewed By
Amrita Ghosh
Editor, Newsletter, Wittenberg Academy. |
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