Representatives and Committees
The governing bodies of the foundation consist of three members of the Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees meets at least twice a year in a public assembly, chaired by a presiding officer,
to discuss and determinate the foundation's activities and to oversee their implementation.
President:
Friedrich Schenk, Austria - “How can I help?”
“Christoph, what are you doing now in our area near Vienna, in Hungary?”
“We bought land — for the concert hall of a foundation promoting talent in the service of the uplifting.”
“What? How can I help? I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
Privately, he and his wife have been following a meditative path for many years. Its founder once told his students:
“A significant source of power in the longed-for shift in consciousness will be the positively creative arts.”
Friedrich loves spending time with his wife and children, singing in a choir, composing songs and poems, and cultivating the richness of inner life. With this attitude, he now contributes to the growth of our initiative for enfolding. His motto is:
“Life is beautiful — let’s tell it around.
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Board Member:
Barbara Szegedi – “Moral Support”
An educator with a heartfelt mission: to accompany children in their natural curiosity and individuality. In her free time, she is committed to giving children access to natural spirituality, so they can understand the simple, universal laws of life and learn to apply them meaningfully in everyday life. Through this holistic approach, Barbara supports young people in developing stable life foundations and cultivating thoughtful, self-confident action.
In intensive shift work with particularly vulnerable youth, she — like many colleagues in similar institutions — experienced that fighting alone, without the moral support of a positive community and without knowledge of something 'greater', quickly leads to limits.
This is why she is committed to the Widukind Foundation. Here, she helps create an emotional space in which patience, generosity, sufficient energy, and emotional buffer zones exist — conditions that young people need in order to open up and act with confidence, responsibility, and in harmony with the fundamental principles of life.
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Board Member:
Daniel Steinmacher – “Doing what is good.”
At 19, he left Hungary to explore the world, seeking meaning and kindred spirits. In Germany, he began as a dishwasher and laborer. Nature became his spiritual recharge station. Heworked his way up to self-employment in gate and fence construction, spending 20 years in hard work.
During this time, he tested spiritual sources, friendships, and relationships for authenticity — and underwent many personal tests of his own authenticity.
His hobby: connecting people and translating. Then a call from a good acquaintance:
“Daniel, someone from a Hungarian funding foundation is looking for translation.”
The next day — right in the middle of a meeting — he encountered the idea:
“Fostering development and values,” followed by the invitation:
“Please, would you like to help as a board member and build this together?”
A year later, he relocated back to Hungary, to Szakony, to do what is good, in the place where he belongs.
Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board is to be composed of professionally trained, knowledgeable, and experienced experts in the fields relevant to the Foundation’s work. Its members are responsible for quality assurance, as well as for advising and supporting the development and implementation of the Foundation’s activities. For the Widukind Foundation, these fields include in particular music and other uplifting forms of expression, finance, building physics and room acoustics, as well as event management.
Dr.-Ing. Natalia Ivanova, Bulgaria
Building physicist; lecturer specializing in architectural and room acoustics.
She obtained her degree in building physics in Bulgaria and Germany and completed her doctoral dissertation in the field of room acoustics. She is the author of several books, including works on topics such as acoustics in schools and acoustic research in connection with environmental protection.
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Dusica Bijelic, Bosnia and Herzegovina / Serbia / Germany
Opera singer.
Her musical journey took her from the music academies in Belgrade and Vienna—via full scholarships—to Rome, and on to a Master’s degree from the Graduate Vocal Arts Program at the Bard College Conservatory in Berlin. Her professional experience includes leading roles and guest performances at major opera houses, recordings, and international tours in collaboration with renowned conductors and musicians. After a creative break devoted to starting a family, she joined the ensemble of the Bielefeld Opera in Germany as a soloist in 2019.
The Companions
Franziska Pesch, DE / AT
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Florian Pitthan, AT / DE
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Rita Schenk, AT
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Matthias Pesch, DE
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Thomas Krotil, CZ / LU
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Mihailo Arsenski, MK / DE
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Heide Sommerfeld, DE
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Vanda Pochazka, CZ
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Henrich Oberholthaus, DE
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Isolde Tamme-Schmitz, DE
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Ines Kell, DE
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April Lynn James (PhD), US
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Matthias Krispien, DE
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Peter Rehlinger, DE
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Uwe Rachov, PT
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Karin und Andreas Karstens, DE
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Katharina Schmitt, DE
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Eva Plüer, DE
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Heike Pesch, DE / HU
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Anni Pesch, DE
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Konstantin Adamov, BG
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Christof Hülsmann, DE / AT
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Lilia Yakova, BG
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Jutta Kröll, DE
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Vaclav Kocur, CZ
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Wolfgang Vogelsberger, DE
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Corinna Bachmann, DE
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The Founder
Christoph Michael Pesch
As a teenager, he was driven by the urge to make an impact, even if something got broken along the way. He bought an electric guitar, formed a rock band, wrote and sang songs — it sounded like aimless rebellion and a clenched fist, but it achieved nothing truly significant.
Then, through a spiritual experience, he discovered a different form of expression — new compositions emerged, in which fists opened and people reflected on uplifting effects. In a moment of clarity, he realized: transformative power does lie in in creating, connecting, and lovingly touching hearts. Music and expression became tools for giving inner support and joy.
With the Widukind Foundation, he wants to bring together people who feel similarly: those who value openness, creativity, and encounter; who want to create a space where personal development can flourish — like plants blooming when nurtured in a supportive environment.
“It fulfills me to meet people and create projects together. But most important to me is encouraging many to make room in their lives for the uplifting” — for experiences that nourish the heart and foster peaceful coexistence.
Widukind Pesch – Spiritual Patron of the Foundation
Heike Pesch, registered successor founder, and Christoph Michael Pesch, recall: through his always friendly, nonjudgmental, and people-connecting nature, Widukind profoundly shaped the identity and direction of the foundation. It filled us with great joy and confidence that he wished to one day lead the foundation as a founding successor.
But fate had other plans. On September 29, 2023, at the young age of just 20, he had to yield to his destiny here in Hungary after a long and courageous struggle. Despite the severity of his suffering, we never saw him despondent. Widukind faced life with a dignity, serenity, and grace that could be likened to that of a child of royalty.
From an early age, he was distinguished by his cheerful, people-connecting nature — an expression of prejudice-free lightness and genuine optimism. Like many young people, he searched in his youth for the meaning of his existence — sometimes rebelliously, sometimes curiously. Yet, despite, or perhaps precisely because of, his fate, he found answers that allowed his personality to mature. Even as his physical strength waned, he brought his essence to full bloom through engagement with uplifting and spiritual literature: a conscious guardian of peace and simplicity.
At his farewell ceremony, all present emphasized that he was at peace with everyone and would be missed as a unique personality. His way of forging connections, his unshakeable optimism, and his ability to spread joy remain unforgettable. For this reason, we consider it fitting to appoint Widukind Pesch as the spiritual patron of the foundation. The foundation shall bear his name, and his exemplary attitude shall remain an enduring basis for all encounters within it. Especially for the supported youth, he will be a forever-young point of reference. May the foundation continue in accordance with his focus on what truly matters. (“Widukind” means “forest child” — a name expressing strength, closeness to nature, and freedom.)
A special memory will always remain close to us: after years of correspondence with the Hungarian authorities — due to the politically questionable old Germanic name “Widukind” — our optimistic lawyer finally invited us, surprisingly, to the decisive founding signing: on March 26, Widukind’s birthday. This time, successfully.
We remember him as the heart of the foundation, as a role model. The fresh “wind” (one of his nicknames) will live on in every encounter, every project, and every support carried out in the spirit of the foundation. His life and attitude remind us that true strength lies in humanity and wise serenity: the ability to touch the essence of life, affirm it sincerely, and pass it on joyfully. Widukind Pesch, an incomparable spirit, who will now forever stand as the patron of the foundation.