Horst Teltschik becomes CEO

Horst Teltschik, a longtime advisor to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, takes the helm of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Executive Board on January 1, 1991.


Our new home at Carl-Bertelsmann-Straße 256

As project work expanded and the number of employees grew, the Bertelsmann Stiftung building soon outgrew its headquarters in downtown Gütersloh. In June 1991, the Bertelsmann Stiftung moves to a new building across from the Bertelsmann AG corporate headquarters.


4th NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Contest

Together with Prof. August Everding, president of the Deutscher Bühnenverein (the German Theater and Orchestra Association), the Bertelsmann Stiftung hosts the 4th NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Contest in October 1991. Now recognized worldwide, this event gives young opera and operetta singers the opportunity to launch their international careers. The organizers provide an excellent showcase for their talents: In addition to nearly all theater and orchestra directors across Germany, who hold their annual conference as a parallel event, NEUE STIMMEN also draws many directors of European opera houses, representatives from major agencies, and the media. Of the 220 applicants competing in the preliminary round in Munich, 70 singers from 19 countries qualify for the final round in Gütersloh.

Sonia Zlatkova, a coloratura soprano from Bulgaria, wins the first prize of DM10,000. Second place (DM 6,000) goes to German baritone Michael Volle, and Annette Seiltgen, a German lyric mezzosoprano, is awarded the third prize (DM3,000). The jury divides the special award of DM6,000 between mezzosoprano Hadar Halevi of Israel and tenor Youriy Zhur of Ukraine. Four other young singers each receive an award for fostering talent, in the form of a two-week master class.

The singing competition concludes with a symposium on the topic "Limits of Artistic Freedom." The discussion starts with the question of what art and the public expect of each other, and what they can ask of each other, in a free and pluralistic society. With Professor August Everding as moderator, the panel discusses the interrelationships between the development of society and art and aesthetic, ethical and legal standards. Panelists include publicist and author Dr. Hellmuth Karasek; Professor Paul Mikat (former culture minister of North Rhine-Westphalia), Reinhard Mohn as CEO of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Professor Claus Roxin (a criminal lawyer from Munich) and Professor Rainer Volp (a theologian at the University of Mainz).


1991 Carl Bertelsmann Prize: Groundbreaking approaches to successful employment policy

The Carl Bertelsmann Prize of DM300,000 is awarded in September 1991 to Switzerland and the Saxon company Hoch-, Tief-, and Montagebau GmbH, Plauen.  
The award highlights groundbreaking approaches to employment policy. With more than 900 guests in attendance at the Gütersloh Stadthalle, Reinhard Mohn, chair of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, presents certificates to Swiss Economics Minister Jean-Pascal Delamuraz and to Gerd-Rainer Grundmann, CEO of the construction company in Saxony. The award is given annually for outstanding ideas and contributions to the structure and further development of democratic societies. With the prize, the Bertelsmann Stiftung intends to highlight innovative solutions to critical societal problems and give fresh impetus to public and political debate.


European Conference: "Europe's Response to the Mediterranean Challenge"

The core event of the project Strategien und Optionen für die Zukunft Europas (Strategies and Options for the Future of Europe) is the conference on "Europe's response to the Mediterranean challenge," which takes place at the invitation of and in collaboration with Catalonian Prime Minister Jordi Pujol i Soley on October 7 and 8 in Barcelona. The event brings together 120 participants from almost all of the European and non-European nations bordering the Mediterranean, as well as from other European countries, Russia and the United States. Speakers include Italian Foreign Minister Gianni De Michelis, State Secretary Pieter Dankert of the Dutch Foreign Ministry, former Turkish Foreign Minister Vahit Halefoglu, Prince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan and theologian Hans Küng. German President Richard von Weizsäcker and His Majesty Juan Carlos I of Spain serve as patrons, highlighting the significance of the conference. The event’s three plenary sessions deal with the relationships between Europe and the non-European Mediterranean countries, prospects for cooperation in the Mediterranean region, and the conditions necessary for a peaceful dialogue across the various continents involved.
 
 
Corporate culture and employee relations

In light of changes in social values, people's attitudes in general and the expectations that both business leaders and employees have, corporate culture – one of the most multifaceted subjects in the area management and leadership – is increasingly dominating discussions of corporate success and in-house employee relations. It is also fundamentally changing how companies do business and whether they remain competitive. New potential is now seen for creating more people-oriented structures and other forms of corporate management and organization. In a project carried out jointly with the Hans Böckler Foundation, economic, technological and social changes are examined to see how they are impacting everyday business life and whether they could alter the way employees at all levels interact within companies. Led by Prof. Hans G. Nutzinger and based on case studies and surveys of business leaders, the project focuses on how corporate culture functions in light of the increasingly complex challenges arising in the areas of management and controlling. Other factors and their interdependencies are also examined, including socioeconomic changes; the technical and social aspects of how businesses are structured; and values, standards, behaviors and corporate success. The project also focuses on how corporate culture in its various guises affects productivity, employee motivation and job satisfaction, as well as how industrial relations are approached within companies in practice.