©DIE, from the left: Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge, Prof. Dr. Imme Scholz, Margret Heyen
On 23 March, DIE said goodbye to its deputy director Prof. Dr. Imme Scholz. Imme Scholz started at DIE as a research assistant in 1992 and headed various internal departments from 2002-2010. In 2009, Ms Scholz took on the position of deputy director for the first time, which she held until becoming acting director in 2018. From March 2020 to March 2022, Ms Scholz worked again as deputy director of DIE, from which she will move to the Foundation Board of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin in April. DIE thanks Imme Scholz for her many years of service and valuable leadership role and wishes her all the best in her new position. The virtual farewell on 23 March was addressed by Dr Ariane Hildebrandt, Head of Policy Department, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, State Secretary Dr Dirk Günnewig, Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Prof. Dr Anna-Katharina Hornidge, Director of the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), and Prof. Dr Dirk Messner, President of the Federal Environment Agency, Dr Mark Furness, Chairman of the Works Council, German Development Institute, and David Ohlig, Portfolio Manager, KfW Entwicklungsbank & DIE Alumni. In their speeches, both Dirk Messner and Anna-Katharina Hornidge reflected on how the war in Ukraine affects international development cooperation in general and the work of DIE in particular. Against this background, both emphasised that the transformation towards sustainability and international cooperation patterns are facing new challenges, but that the war should not be allowed to set the international agenda alone. Imme Scholz’s internal farewell took place on 24 March. On this occasion, DIEs staff gathered for a farewell party in the Institute’s garden. In addition to an organised bicycle parade from Ms Scholz’s home to DIE, the various programmes and departments had prepared games and stalls that collectively represented ‚Imme’s Village‘. With a rehearsed dance choreography, the dance floor was then opened in a flashmob-like manner.
