Düsseldorf, 9th October 2015. On invitation of the Ministry of School and Further Education of the state of North Rhine- Westphalia Annette Bleß, chairwoman of the Elena Bleß Foundation, and Katy Wenning, leader of the Department of International Exchange and International Affairs, discussed possibilities of intensifying the spreading of work placements abroad for pupils. The conversation put the main emphasis on the promotion of existing programmes and the further development of information for pupils, parents, and teachers. Sabine Nemec, leader of the Department of International Exchange in the District Government Düsseldorf, took part in a further conversation on 26^th October 2015. The exchange of information is to be continued.

Marl, 28th September 2015. While the pupils of Colegio Cristo Rey were visiting their partner school in Marl, Annette Bleß (2^nd from left), chairwoman of the Elena Bleß Foundation, and Melisa Cervera (left), Spanish teacher at Albert-Schweitzer-/Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium, exchanged stories with Maribel Escudero (2^nd from right) and José Manuel Fernandez Oltra (right) from Colegio Cristo Rey. The Elena Bleß Foundation supported the exchange so that the Madrid school could also make participation possible for those pupils who could not have financed it otherwise.

Haltern am See, 21st August 2015. The gastronomic highlight “ Haltern invites to dinner” has supported the Elena-Bleß Foundation with the proceeds of the cutlery donations this year. Together with her colleagues Max Schmitz (Tannenhäuschen), Matthias Pfeiffer (Sythener Flora), Daniel Georgiev (Ratsstuben), Peter Booken (Lindenhof) und Stefan Himmelmann (Restaurant Himmelmann) the chairwoman of the local hotel and restaurant association, Marianne Teltrop, presented a cheque for 1700 euros to Annette Bleß, chairwoman of the foundation committee. “We are very pleased about this great donation”, Annette Bleß thanked the gastronoms and reported in this circle on the current activities of the foundation.

Marl, 25th June 2015. From 25th September 2015 until 2nd October 2015 pupils of Cristo Rey Colegio in Madrid visit the Albert-Schweitzer-/Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Marl. The exchange is supported by the Elena Bleß Foundation. One of the pupils expresses her joyful expectation of the exchange like this: “I think that the exchange is the best way to travel to another country, to learn about their traditions and live with a German family during the week, to learn the language, new for us, German, and practise English, the official language of the project. It is a special opportunity for the students of Cristo Rey School and we are going to remember this experience forever.”