COMPETENCE AND PASSION
Since 2013, the volunteer board of WES, together with eight highly motivated and experienced development cooperation specialists, has been working with great commitment to plan, build, and sustainably operate our educational projects.
We would also like to express our special thanks to the numerous contributors in kindergartens, schools, and training centers – educators, teachers, craftsmen, cooks, and many other specialists and assistants.
They all share a common goal: to improve the living conditions of people – especially those in informal settlements or with disabilities – through education and to create new perspectives.
‘World peace may be a utopia, and complete equality of opportunity for all people may seem unattainable. But every step in this direction helps to make our world a little more liveable and secure.’
Werner Erkes, Chairman and founder
Act with conviction, make a lasting contribution
Designer, entrepreneur and philanthropist Werner Erkes can look back on a long and successful career. He is well aware that his path was not shaped solely by personal talent or achievement. Rather, it was the necessary luck and, above all, the opportunities he was given in his childhood and youth – in the form of an appreciative upbringing and unrestricted access to an outstanding education system. These conditions enabled him to rise from rather modest, lower middle-class circumstances to become a successful entrepreneur.
Over time, however, he also came to realise that individual success in privileged positions is often achieved at the expense of those who are denied such opportunities. This insight was the main impetus for the establishment of the foundation – as an expression of responsibility and social commitment to greater equality of opportunity.
Excerpt from the statutes
The foundation pursues exclusively and directly charitable and benevolent purposes within the meaning of the section ‘Tax-privileged purposes’ of the German Fiscal Code (AO) in its currently valid version.
The purposes of the foundation are the promotion of
- education, public and vocational training, including student assistance
- youth and elderly care
- internationalism, tolerance in all areas of culture and the idea of international understanding, and
- development cooperation
Foundation
Recognised in 2013 by the Düsseldorf district government
Legal form
Non-profit charitable foundation under civil law with legal capacity
Founder
Werner Erkes, Düsseldorf
Foundation body
Executive board with three honorary members
Employees
Eight permanent employees
Finances
The core assets are invested in ETFs.
The annual budget is approximately €3 million
Affiliated NGOs
Werner Erkes Foundation East Africa, Masaka
Werner Erkes Foundation West Africa, Kaolack
Werner Erkes Foundation Southern Africa, Swakopmund
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Werner Erkes
Chairman of the Board
and Founder
Volunteering
Werner Erkes is a qualified graphic designer and managing partner of TASKOM Werbeagentur GmbH & Co. KG, based in Düsseldorf. Over many decades, he has not only built up a successful company, but also gained valuable professional and personal experience. In the process, he became increasingly aware of what a privilege it is to have access to a high-quality education system – a foundation that has had a decisive influence on his own life.
This realisation gave rise to a desire to give something back: to make a contribution to people who do not have the same opportunities. He focused in particular on children and young people in regions with inadequate educational infrastructure.
In 2013, Werner Erkes put this idea into practice and established the Werner Erkes Foundation. Since then, the foundation has been committed to promoting educational projects with conviction and vision – especially in the Global South.
Manfred Belle
Vice Chairman
Volunteering
Manfred Belle is a political scientist and is currently responsible for advising associations and foundations at the Eine Welt Netz NRW, among other things. In the 1990s, he coordinated municipalities from the Münsterland region in supporting climate projects in Ecuador and headed an association that set up school projects in Zimbabwe. Project visits also took him to Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. Since 2018, he has been deputy chairman of the North Rhine-Westphalia Foundation for the Environment and Development. His engagement consultancy brought him into contact with various philanthropists and donors, whose commitment he supports with respect and joy.
With his voluntary work on the board of the Werner Erkes Foundation, he wants to help achieve the fourth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
Katrin Schillings
Member of the Board
Volunteering
Katrin Schillings is a tax consultant and partner at the tax consultancy Schillings & Reichhardt PartGmbB, Steuerberater, Neuss.
Through her voluntary work in various sports and social clubs in the region, she has extensive experience and professional expertise in association and foundation tax law.
She has been involved in various associations in board work for years and would like to support the foundation with her knowledge and experience.
Her goal is to provide children and young people with a good education, no matter where they live in the world.
MANAGEMENT
Peter von Heyking
Managing Director
Peter von Heyking is an industrial engineer with many years of experience in senior management. After many years in the private sector, he made a conscious decision to move into the non-profit sector, driven by his conviction that he could combine entrepreneurial thinking with social responsibility and make a lasting impact.
In addition to his practical management experience, he has various international certifications, including in the areas of sustainable development (Yonsei University), child protection (Harvard University) and global diplomacy (University of London). These complement his business expertise with in-depth knowledge of sustainable development, protection concepts and global contexts.
As managing director, he leads the foundation both strategically and operationally. He is convinced that education is the most powerful lever for sustainable change. That is why he is committed to positioning the organisation for long-term success and further strengthening its social impact.
Aglaia d'Aligny
Project Manager
As a qualified conflict manager, Aglaia d’Aligny brings more than ten years’ experience in project and programme management within humanitarian aid and development cooperation. She has gained professional experience in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, most recently during a five-year assignment in Lebanon. She is equally at home in complex contexts and in structured project work.
Her focus lies on education and health projects, as well as on a context-sensitive and people-centred approach. She is convinced that development is sustainable when projects are locally rooted, jointly designed and responsibly implemented. This practical approach also shapes her work at the Werner Erkes Foundation.
She has been working as a project manager for the foundation since April 2026 and is responsible for the implementation and further development of educational projects, with a particular focus on Senegal.
Christian Roßbach
Project Manager
Christian Roßbach is an economist specialising in German-African economic relations and the integration of development cooperation with private-sector engagement. He gained professional experience in cooperation with African countries at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. in its Ghana office, as well as in foreign trade promotion at the Wirtschaftsnetzwerk Afrika, whose secretariat is a project of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. He subsequently worked as an Africa officer at Terre des Hommes e. V., developing projects that combine traditional development cooperation with private-sector initiatives in Africa.
He has a particular interest in approaches at the intersection of education, economic development and the private sector. He is convinced that education, combined with sustainable employment and economic prospects, are key prerequisites for social participation, stable institutions and long-term development in Africa.
Jasmin Geisler
Project Manager
Jasmin Geisler is a social worker and project manager specialising in sustainable development, educational work and international cooperation. For more than 20 years, she has been committed to fostering exchange between Germany and Namibia and to development cooperation based on partnership and equality.
In her professional capacity in Germany, she led nationwide projects in the field of education for sustainable development, developed concepts for local authorities and educational institutions, and established national and international networks. Several of her projects have been recognised for their innovative and sustainable approach, including the Fairtrade Award, the Zeitzeichen N Sustainability Prize and an award from the European Commission.
Thanks to her long-standing commitment and her current life in Namibia, she combines international experience with a deep understanding of local conditions. Since July 2026, Jasmin Geisler has been a project manager at the Werner Erkes Foundation and, based in Namibia, supports the further development of educational projects in southern Africa.
TEAM ON THE GROUND
Oumar Sow
Project Coordinator
WEF Senegal
Oumar Sow has been Project Coordinator at WEF West Africa in Senegal since May 2026. Following his training in information technology, he worked for Senegal’s Ministry of Youth, at the regional Centre for Education and Sport and the Youth Counselling Centre. Through these roles, he gained extensive experience in designing and implementing socio-educational activities, supporting youth, promoting civic education, and contributing to community-based development. He later joined the Universal Health Coverage programme, further strengthening his skills in project management and the coordination of high-impact social initiatives.
Today, Oumar Sow brings his expertise to WEF West Africa. He coordinates the organisation’s programmes in Senegal, particularly the multifunctional educational complex in Kaolack, which promotes inclusive education, vocational training, civic engagement, and sustainable community development.
Support us!
Together we can achieve great things
Help us to realize our vision of a better future. Support the Werner Erkes Foundation and become part of our mission to give hope and opportunities.