Association founded to promote cooperation between San Francisco and Schleswig Holstein

A total of 24 founding members from all over Schleswig-Holstein, including the state of Schleswig-Holstein, came together today to found the association at the Kiel Science Center.

Just over a year ago, a private initiative by Kiel-based business consultant Thomas Ewoldt began to bring the cities and regions of Kiel and San Francisco closer together through a partnership. After the idea was initially discussed in a small circle, this initiative has gained many supporters from all over Schleswig-Holstein over the last 12 months, so that today the association The Bay Areas e.V. was founded. The association aims to connect people and organizations in the San Francisco, Kiel and Schleswig-Holstein regions. The development of new partnerships and contacts is to be promoted by the association and existing partnerships and contacts are to be enriched and made accessible to other association members.

The founding meeting elected the association's board of directors from among its members, which immediately constituted itself. In future, the association will be led by Axel Schulz (1st Chairman), Frank Bösenkötter (2nd Chairman) and Gerrit Müller-Rüster (Treasurer). The three board members agree that the intensive preparations for the founding of the association must now be followed by equally intensive work on the content. "It is a long-term project," says Chairman Axel Schulz, "for which we need a lot of support and cooperation". "A similar organization was already founded in San Francisco at the end of last year. The signing of the declaration of intent to establish a city partnership between San Francisco and Kiel in September of this year was a decisive milestone for the new partnership," added Frank Bösenkötter and Gerrit Müller-Rüster.

The planned exchange encompasses such diverse topics as culture, science, business, education, politics and sport. This is why people from very different areas are involved in the association, such as universities, schools, sailing, the digital economy, renewable energies, industry, business development, technology, service provision and politics. The individual subject areas are the responsibility of the respective contacts in San Francisco and Schleswig-Holstein in order to create a strong network that connects the regions on a long-term basis and promotes their development. Individuals, companies and organizations can become members, with the options of ordinary membership and supporting membership. Membership offers the opportunity to become involved in already identified subject areas or to take up new subject areas. The state capital of Kiel is also expected to become a member in the near future. "In addition to the private commitment of companies and citizens, the city and state have already been involved in the run-up to the founding of the association, everyone is pulling in the same direction," reports the enthusiastic chairman. The association is looking forward to more members and active cooperation. Please get in touch with us.