Happy Holidays 2012!

A tumultuous and exciting year draws to an end. The ongoing reverberations of the global recession and the European debt crisis were as much at the forefront of global events as the Arab spring and the fight for democracy and freedom of speech. Despite natural disasters such as Sandy which shook many countries, only limited progress was made during the last UN climate talks in Doha. And, according to some, both the Higgs particle experiments at Geneva’s CERN and the Maya calendar are threatening to end our future right here.

 

But the year 2012 also brought many other stories. Of great new ideas, innovations and initiatives that were started around the world.  Stories of the many, many courageous individuals who believe in themselves and bring about ventures that benefit communities across the globe.

 

For us, 2012 saw the opening of the D&F Academy Hamburg and amazing projects bringing together Dr Jane Goodall, DBE, Jens Lehmann and Christoph Poppen to challenge the next generation of talented young adults to learn from experienced leaders and develop new and beneficial ideas. 2012 saw our Fellows in over 45 countries working on their businesses, on environmental campaigns, artistic initiatives and NGOs, covering a range of issues from social housing to education and poverty reduction. The 2012 cohort alone is planning to reach an estimated 5000 beneficiaries with their ventures. We also saw over 100 leading experts and mentors take the time to teach in the D&F Academy and pass on their experience to the next generation. Have a look at the video message below for further insights into the D&F Academy year 2012:

We are very proud and thankful to be able to offer learning for the 21st century and to empower our Fellows to create so many small but powerful, positive stories around the world. We are convinced that education for the future is about supporting individuals to use their talents to work on an issue they love, whilst reflecting on the role they want to play in their society. 

 

We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in the D&F Academy, for your support and for seeing the value in our work. We look forward to keeping in touch in 2013 and to continuing to offer great educational programs to as many talented young adults as possible. 

 

We wish you a fantastic and relaxing holiday season and a great start to 2013. See you next year!