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
THE 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.
THE MANAGEMENT
Werner Erkes
Managing Director
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.
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.
Dr. Djiby Diouf
Managing Director of
WEF West Afrika
Dr. Djiby Diouf has successfully completed his studies in sociology and educational science with a doctorate in Münster. Through his teaching activities at the Institute for Sociology and his employment in the context of international voluntary service in Münster, he is very familiar with the cooperation and networking with partner organizations in Germany and also in West African countries such as Senegal, Togo and Ghana. His doctoral thesis from 2009 deals with the problem of sustainable development in Senegal in the context of political guidelines and sociological obstacles, using the example of Kaolack.
Dr. Djiby Diouf has been the lead developer of the newly established Werner Erkes Foundation West Africa since August 2024.
Volkan Sazli
Managing Director of
WEF Southern Africa
Volkan Sazli has been active in Namibia since 2014. For his commitment, he received a nomination from the BMZ as a “young professional in development cooperation to achieve the 17 sustainability goals”.
His motto: We learn from defeats and failures and feel motivated to try even harder because we have the basic trust that everything will be fine. His life's goal is free, unrestricted access to education for all children and young people in Namibia. Consequently, he founded the non-profit organization Tangeni Shilongo Namibia in Swakopmund with like-minded people.
Since April 2024, he has also been in charge of the Werner Erkes Foundation Southwest Africa.
Theresa Rhode
Project Manager of
WEF Southern Africa
Theresa Rhode has been working in Namibia as a qualified social worker since 2015. Both her bachelor's and master's theses in “Management in Nonprofit Organizations” dealt with the challenges and opportunities of the nonprofit sector and civil society in Namibia. Since April 2024, she has been supporting the Werner Erkes Foundation Southwest Africa and coordinating existing projects on the ground.
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