Former member of the Board of Directors of Misereor becomes ombudsperson of KOLPING INTERNATIONAL: At its November meeting this year, the Membership Meeting of KOLPING INTERNATIONAL Cooperation e.V. elected Dr. Martin Bröckelmann-Simon as the new ombudsperson.
To this position of an external and impartial arbitrator Bröckelmann-Simon (65) brings decades of experience in development cooperation. Until his retirement in September 2021, he worked as managing director for the international cooperation division and as a member of the Board of Directors for the episcopal relief organization MISEREOR for 22 years. In addition, he was a member and advisor in numerous other organizations of international as well as church cooperation. Msgr. Christoph Huber, General Praeses of the worldwide Catholic social association and Chairman of its development organization KOLPING INTERNATIONAL Cooperation e.V., welcomed the election: “We are extremely pleased to have Dr. Bröckelmann-Simon on board as ombudsperson, as he is one of the most distinguished experts on church development cooperation and current development policy. He will be the right contact person to analyze problems and point out solutions with a sense of proportion and intercultural competence when conflicts or problems arise in project work”.
In March 2023, Bröckelmann-Simon will take over the honorary office from the previous ombudsperson, attorney Ruth Schmidt, who did not run again after 10 years in office. Dr. Markus Demele, Vice Chairman of KOLPING INTERNATIONAL Cooperation e.V., thanked her for her many years of service: “When the office of ombudsperson was introduced in 2012, Ms. Ruth Schmidt was immediately willing to take on this important task. Fortunately, she has only rarely had to take action since then. We sincerely thank her for her outstanding commitment over such a long time”.
The ombudsperson of KOLPING INTERNATIONAL Cooperation e.V. is the contact person for internal and external complaints from employees, project partners and other persons or institutions. He/she follows up on justified information and complaints and, in accordance with the statutes of the association, tries to bring about clarifications or – where necessary – to initiate legal steps. The term of the honorary office is three years. For contact details, please see www.kolping.net/en/about-us/ombudsperson/
