The Initiative D21 is Germany’s largest public private partnership. More than 200 representatives of enterprises, associations, parties, political institutions and other organizations are currently involved, including board members from companies such as Alcatel, AOL, Cisco Systems, debitel, IBM, Microsoft, Siemens and TNS Infratest. They are assisted by an Advisory Council.

The shared goal of all those involved is to improve the general conditions necessary to move on successfully into the information and knowledge society and to make Germany more internationally competitive and ready for the future. Their commitment is channeled toward promoting skills in the use of information and communications technologies among specific social groups, as well as in schools, government agencies, associations and enterprises.

The Initiative D21 is pursuing these objectives in some 40 practical projects, each headed by a representative of business and politics. The most well-known projects include the annual "Girls` Day," in which so far more than 508.170 girls have been able to learn more about specific occupational opportunities in the IT sector. The annual "(N)ONLINER Atlas" also meets with a huge response in the media and is the largest study on the use of the Internet in Germany.

The Initiative D21 is organized into three subject areas ("steering groups"):

• Digital Integration 
• Digital Competence 
• Digital Excellence

Membership in the Initiative D21 offers enterprises and institutions numerous advantages. For example, members demonstrate social responsibility through their involvement. They obtain direct access to decision-makers from business and politics and can help shape political and social processes. They are also given support by the D21 press office.

Launched in 1999, the Initiative D21 is a registered non-profit association with no commercial interests. It is funded from membership fees and donations and has its head office in Berlin. Its Managing Board consists of 22 members and is chaired by Bernd Bischoff, CEO & President Fujitsu Siemens Computers.

More Information:

Initiative D21 e.V., Reinhardtstraße 38, 10117 Berlin

Tel. ++49 30 526 87 22 - 50, Fax ++49 30 526 87 22 - 60