Federal Cross of Merit for Walter Wübben
The Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, today presented our founder, Dr Walter Wübben, with the Cross of Merit, First Class, of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in Düsseldorf. The award recognizes his many years of outstanding commitment to equal opportunities in education and to supporting research and science. We warmly congratulate our founder on receiving this distinction.
The official citation states: “For many years, you [Dr Walter Wübben] have been committed to supporting children and young people facing challenging circumstances and to promoting greater social responsibility. At the same time, your initiatives make an exceptional contribution to strengthening Germany as a centre of research and science. Through your work, you are helping to shape the future of our society in a particularly significant way. In doing so, you have rendered outstanding service to the common good in Germany.”
Dr Walter Wübben founded the Damp Foundation in 2012, providing targeted impetus for innovation in healthcare in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. One year later, he established the Düsseldorf-based Wübben Stiftung Bildung, which is committed to greater equality of opportunity and focuses in particular on schools serving disadvantaged communities. In 2023, he founded the Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft, through which he supports research at the highest international level. Finally, in 2025, Dr Walter Wübben and his wife Katharina Wübben jointly established the Katharina und Walter Wübben Stiftung, which will focus on promoting cultural education.