Patrons
We thank our Patrons for their kind support.
Member of the European Parliament, Germany
Angelika Niebler is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) representing the Bavarian party Christian Social Union (CSU), which is part of the EPP group. She currently serves as Party Vice Chair of the CSU and as Chairwoman of the Bavarian Women’s Union.
In 2011, she founded the Interest Group on Maternal and Neonatal Health in the European Parliament together with Dr Peter Liese, MEP. The interest group collaborates closely with EFCNI.
Since 2009, she has been lecturing at the Faculty of Business Management at the Munich University of Applied Sciences where she was appointed Honorary Professor in 2016. In 2017, she has been awarded with the German Federal Cross of Merit with Ribbon thanks to her commitment to EFCNI.
Celebrity Chef de Cuisine, Germany
Top Chef Stefan Marquard is well-known for his creative and somewhat distinct cuisine. In his kitchen he listens to punk-rock music. He states that all is allowed what tastes nice, even if it sounds initially bizarre. His unconventional methods and his distinct outfit (headband, goatee, skull t-shirt) have become an ID in the German chef milieu.
With his „Jolly Roger Cooking Gang“ – named after the great pirate – and his partner Wolfgang Weigler – he caters for road shows, exhibitions and other main events for companies such as Daimler, VW Group or the barbecue party of his friends, the punk music band “Toten Hosen”.
„We want to provide a special experience to our guests which they remember for a long time. We prepare the dishes in real time in front of our guests and we communicate with them at the same time – in this way they know what makes us work .”
Musician and Entertainer, Sweden
Raiser of the foundation Tummeliten (thumbstall) together with the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren(†).
Robert was a child prodigy on the piano and credits his success to his love of all forms of music and his ability to unite Jazz with classical, rock, swing and even big band into one spectacular show. This musical tour de force, titled ‘Rhapsody In Rock’ has brought him international fame and artistic recognition. The massive shows have featured illustrious guest stars from around the world like Lionel Richie, Paul Carrack, Ronan Keating.
Robert is also a prolific writer having co-written a track on the latest Celine Dion album and one of his original compositions with an arrangement by Oscar winner Tan Dun, was used as the Official Olympic fanfare in the Beijing 2008 Olympic games.
Robert’s personal life took a turn when his first son was born prematurely and he understood the difficulties of parents undergoing this type of situation. He started the Tummeliten foundation that very month his son was born, at the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm. Since that day, Robert has been continuously raising money and awareness on behalf of Tummeliten and the plight of premature infants by creating celebrity events like the Tummeliten Cup, a fundraising golf tournament as well doing benefit concerts, personal appearances and press conferences.
Robert has also been involved in a multicultural project Encounters – An Alliance for Children, a musical journey that leads us through the humanitarian, sociological and ecological hotspots of our planet. The artists invited work together to create an international network dedicated to supporting children in need, particularly those living in slums, ecologically-endangered or devastated regions, on reservations and those forced to live in areas ravaged by armed conflicts. In keeping with the project’s theme, only artists with strong records of humanitarian, socio-political and charitable involvement have been invited to participate in Encounters – An Alliance for Children.
Musician and Songwriter, Sweden
Jakob is a Swedish Singer and Songwriter and very successful with the rock band “The Poodles”.
“When Robert Wells suggested that we should do “Sing me another Song” as a charity song for EFCNI, it felt very easy to connect to the topic, since I’m father of four healthy children. It’s an honour and a pleasure to be able to contribute to the putting a spotlight to this subject and hopefully gain some finances to the research.”
Freelance painter
René Böll was born in 1948 in Cologne and studied painting and printmaking in Cologne and Vienna. In 1972 he undertook first works with Chinese and Japanese ink.
Since 1972, René Böll had numerous solo and group exhibitions in museums, art halls and galleries in China (including the Art Gallery of China in Beijing), Germany, Ecuador, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and the United States; and held symposia, training courses and lectures on Chinese ink, colors, painting techniques from the Middle Ages to the present day, the Irish monastery of Skellig Michael and many others.
In 1998 he was the only foreign artist participating in the first International Ink Painting Biennial of Shenzhen, China and is Honorary Professor of the Chinese Academy Beijing Nationality University since October 2002.
René Böll’s artistic inspirations stems from prehistoric art, which holds a lot of contemporary relevance, as well as East Asian art or pre-Columbian excavations. He cites a great admiration for Goya, Odilon Redon, Turner, Munch and Klee which continues to grow whilst his admiration for other artists diminishes. His work is not embracing ideological tenets or goals and does not seek to be “modern” or “trendy”.
At the moment, René Böll is working on a painting an research project about the “Cilliní on Achill Island”. Ciliní is the Irish word for a burial ground of unbaptised people, including preterm infants who lost in their fight for life. In addition, the artist is preparing his exhibition in the Bonn LVR-Landesmuseum to be displayed in October 2014.
3rd mayor of Munich, Germany
Christine Strobl is the third mayor of the Bavarian capital Munich. She has two children who attend school. She was elected second mayor in December 2005 for the first time, being re-elected in May 2008. In 2014, she was elected as 3rd mayor of Munich. She is responsible for the committees for social, school and sport, community plus citizen issues and districts. In addition, she is the chairwoman of the board of the Munich Zoo Hellabrunn AG and Münchenstift GmbH.
The Munich-born politician is particularly committed to education and family policies: “Munich must be home for all citizen, all should feel at ease. To this end, the community must make provisions to offer a variety of services ranging from child care to public transport and hospitals.”
Mayor Strobl is devoted that the political spotlight in Munich remains focused on social issues. Education is close to her heart: „The city will stay the engine for child-friendly and socially-balanced education policies via its public schools and projects.“
In particular, as a mother of two children, it is a natural desire for Christine Strobl that the youngest members of our society, especially premature children, are cared for in the best way. For this reason, she became the patron of the charity concert “Together for Premature Children” on the occasion of the First Prematurity Awareness Day on 17 November 2009.
