Wings of Hope Deutschland

Wings of Hope Deutschland (officially Stiftung Wings of Hope Deutschland) is a non-profit church foundation based in Munich, Germany. It was founded in 2003 as a foundation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, growing out of a relief initiative that began in 1994 during the Bosnian War. The organisation supports people suffering from the consequences of war and violence, with a particular focus on children, adolescents, their families and the professionals who care for them. Its work combines trauma therapy and counselling, training and qualification in psychotraumatology, peace and dialogue work with young people, and public advocacy on the social consequences of violence. The foundation describes its mission with the triad "Trauma heilen, Frieden stiften, Versöhnung leben" — healing trauma, building peace, living reconciliation. It is predominantly operational, running its own seminars, training courses and therapeutic offerings, while grants are directed exclusively to established project partners in its partner countries. Wings of Hope is active in Germany and works with local partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Ukraine, Central America, the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Palestine and Israel, and Liberia. In Germany, it offers trauma training, seminars, supervision, in-house training and trauma counselling and therapy, largely in Bavaria, including at the Labenbachhof in Ruhpolding, a centuries-old mountain farm used as a seminar and conference centre. The foundation is a legally independent church foundation under civil law within the meaning of the Bavarian Foundation Act. Its supervisory authority is the Regional Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. It is a member of the Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen (Association of German Foundations) and has joined the Initiative Transparente Zivilgesellschaft (Transparent Civil Society Initiative), committing to publish ten categories of information about its structure, finances and governance. The foundation employs a small staff and is governed by an honorary board (Vorstand) and a board of trustees (Kuratorium) whose members include figures from politics, academia, journalism and the church. The name Wings of Hope derives from a child's painting from Sarajevo: a girl displaced with her parents had painted butterflies and called the picture "Butterflies live briefly." The image moved people to organise help, and they called themselves Wings of Hope. The foundation sees its work as more than therapy — it regards trauma work as peace work, based on the conviction that only when people have overcome and processed experiences of violence can they be free for peaceful coexistence across the boundaries between supposed enemies.

The origins of Wings of Hope lie in the Bosnian War. In 1994, during the first war on European soil since the Second World War, the Kuratorium of the Evangelical Church of Reconciliation at the Dachau concentration camp memorial wanted to set a sign of peace. Under the name Wings of Hope, they organised help for the children of Sarajevo. The name came from a child's painting: a girl displaced with her parents had painted butterflies and called the picture "Butterflies live briefly." The image moved people so much that they organised help and called themselves Wings of Hope. In 2003, the project became a foundation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. The foundation's statutes record that it is "in a special way committed to the legacy of the former prisoners of Dachau, to give new impulses of reconciliation between peoples and generations." It was established as a legally independent church foundation under civil law within the meaning of the Bavarian Foundation Act, with its seat in Munich. The supervisory authority is the Regional Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. From its beginnings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the foundation expanded its work to other regions affected by war and violence. Over the years it has worked with local partners in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, El Salvador and Central America, Brazil, Palestine and Israel, Liberia and Ukraine. Its approach combines training and qualification of professionals in psychotraumatology with youth network work for dialogue and reconciliation, trauma counselling and therapy through partner trauma help centres, and public awareness-raising about violence and its social consequences. In Germany, the foundation offers trauma training, seminars, supervision, in-house training and trauma counselling and therapy at various locations in Bavaria. At the Labenbachhof in Ruhpolding, a centuries-old mountain farm with leisure and conference facilities, it conducts projects and training with a trauma-pedagogical and trauma-therapeutic background. The foundation has been the subject of several television documentaries, including reports by Bayerischer Rundfunk, ZDF and 3sat. Wings of Hope Deutschland is a member of the Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen and has joined the Initiative Transparente Zivilgesellschaft, committing to publish ten categories of information including its name, seat, address, founding year, statutes, tax status, governing bodies and finances. The foundation is predominantly operational and employs a small staff; grants are directed exclusively to established project partners in its partner countries. Its board and board of trustees work on an honorary basis.

• 2022

  Tax exemption confirmed by the Munich tax office for the 2019–2021 assessment period.

• 2020

  Hans-Jochen Vogel, former Federal Minister and long-time trustee, dies.

• 2012

  Johannes Faber's film "Die Sprache des Friedens" documents the Summer Academy for Intercultural Dialogue.

• 2007

  Bayerischer Rundfunk films the Summer Academy; 3sat Kulturzeit reports on the children's camp in northern Iraq.

• 2006

  ZDF reports on Wings of Hope in the series "Sonntags – TV fürs Leben".

• 2003

  The project becomes a foundation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, with its seat in Munich.

• 1994

  Initiative begins during the Bosnian War; the Kuratorium of the Evangelical Church of Reconciliation at Dachau organises help for the children of Sarajevo under the name Wings of Hope.

A church-affiliated, transparency-committed non-profit foundation that treats trauma work as peace work, operating its own programmes and funding established local partners in post-conflict and crisis regions.

• Trauma continuing education for helping professions

  Training and qualification in psychotraumatology in Germany and abroad.

• Youth networks for dialogue and reconciliation

  Network work with adolescents and young adults in Germany and abroad.

• Trauma counselling and therapy

  Offers for individuals and groups at partner trauma help centres.

• Labenbachhof seminars and conferences

  Seminars, training and continuing education at the Labenbachhof in Ruhpolding.

1. 1Stiftung Wings of Hope – official websitewings-of-hope.de
2. 2Gremien | Stiftung Wings of Hopewings-of-hope.de
3. 3Transparenz | Stiftung Wings of Hopewings-of-hope.de
4. 4Die Stiftung | Stiftung Wings of Hopewings-of-hope.de
5. 5Wings of Hope Deutschland – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
6. 6Wings of Hope Deutschland – Wikidatawikidata.org