The Heinrich Böll Foundation (hbf) and its Arab Middle East Office (hbf-AMEO):
The Heinrich Böll Foundation (hbf) is a non-profit organisation, affiliated with the German party Alliance 90/The Greens. It is funded mainly by the German Ministry of Development and Economic Co-operation (BMZ). The foundation, central office is in Berlin, is federally organised and has a legal status and staff independent of the party.

The Arab Middle East Office (AMEO) was opened in Ramallah in 1999 and is part of the foundation’s regional Middle East desk. The AMEO is responsible for projects and programmes in Palestine, Egypt, and Jordan.

Other offices in the region are the Israel office in Tel Aviv, and the Middle East Office in Beirut, which opened in November 2004. 

Vision and Objectives:
The Foundation’s primary objective is to support civic education and promote democratic participation, socio-political activism, and cross-cultural understanding. We promote just and peaceful solutions to conflicts and the sustainable and self-determined development of people and societies.

On the international level, we advocate respect between people of different origins, cultural and/or gender identities and political viewpoints. We seek to encourage and facilitate cross-border initiatives and regional cooperation. Our activities are guided by the fundamental political values of universal human rights, ecology, democracy, solidarity, and non-violence.

Main areas of activities:

Our activities in the AMEO consist of five programme components: Democratic Participation, Media, Gender Democracy, Sustainable Development, Dialogue and Conflict Prevention.