With the help of booster funds, student run companies and cooperatives are supported in developing or expanding their own sustainability strategy. The young companies deal with topics such as Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), sustainability in general, Economy for the Common Good, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations and the circular economy.

The project youstartN is accompanied by a project website and a social media channel, which makes knowledge available on ESD and founding student run companies. Flagship companies are presented on a special website in German: www.stiftungbildung.org/youstartn-gefoerderte-projekte/ 

The team of the Stiftung Bildung advises and supports with applications and answers questions throughout the funding period. In the first year of funding 170 applications reached the Stiftung Bildung. Three of them have been awarded with prize money of €5.000 for their outstanding work in the field of sustainability and ESD.

The award will be hosted again in December 2023 at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in Berlin. The Top20 student run companies of the applications from the current funding period, which were significantly more and 270 in total, are invited. Out of these twenty, three will be awarded with €3.000 in prize money.

On the website of the Stiftung Bildung the 17 SDGs can be found in Englisch and Arabic to make the information available to a broader audience: www.stiftungbildung.org/youstartn

For further information you can send an e-mail in German or English to youstartN(at)stiftungbildung.org. Please note that this programme can only accept applications from German schools based in Germany.

About Stiftung Bildung:

Children need a good base to develop, evolve and grow beyond themselves. The Stiftung Bildung advocates for just opportunities to learn for all children and young adults and for making their education more diverse. It is the first foundation with this cause that acts all throughout Germany.

She promotes participation of children and young adults in all matters which them concern. She empowers the people, for example the parents, who volunteer in kindergarten, preschools and schools and the network of their organisations and associations.

Donations make sure that the Stiftung Bildung can stay independent from the government and are used for projects and ventures in kindergartens, preschools and schools.

The Stiftung Bildung is part of a thriving community of volunteers of all ages in the education sector. This is most important for a functioning democracy. For that reason, the Stiftung Bildung wants to empower those people and their commitment and make sure that the voices of children and young adults are heard and that their concerns are taken seriously and into account when deciding something that is about them or concerns them directly.

For this cause the Stiftung Bildung lobbies actively and supports projects and ventures in kindergarten, preschools and schools which improve the educational routine by taking topics like diversity, sustainability and participation more into account.