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The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) is a German organisation.
It works in many countries around the world.
The FES helps people learn about:

• Politics
• Fair work
• Human rights
• Peace
• Democracy

The FES believes in social democracy.

That means: Everyone should have equal rights and chances in life. 
The state should support people who need it.

The FES is named after Friedrich Ebert. He was the first President of democratic Germany.
He wanted freedom, justice, and peace for all.

In 2016, the FES opened an office in Vienna, Austria.
This office is called:
FES Regional Office for Cooperation and Peace.

It works on peace and safety in Europe.
It also works with the OSCE.

OSCE is short for:
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

The OSCE is a group of 57 countries.
These countries work together for:

• Peace
• Security
• Human rights
• Free elections

The OSCE helps countries solve problems without war.
It also watches elections and makes sure they are fair.
The OSCE works in Europe, but also in Asia and North America.

The OSCE has its main office in Vienna, Austria.

In February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine.
This was a big turning point for Europe.

Since then, there has been more conflict between Russia and Western countries.
Some people say a new Cold War has started.
At the same time, we face big world problems like:

• Climate change
• Pandemics

To solve these problems, countries must cooperate.

The office works with many people:

• Experts
• Politicians
• Peace builders

They come from:

• Eastern Europe
• Russia
• The European Union (EU)
• The United States (US)

They want to:

• Solve conflicts
• Make peace last
• Protect everyone equally

The FES wants to share new ideas and bring them into politics.

The FES ROCPE office works on many projects:

• It does workshops to talk about peace in Europe.
• It supports a network of young people who work for peace.
• It does surveys to learn what people think about safety.
• It works with the OSCE on:
  • Politics and the military
  • The economy and the environment
  • Human rights