Commitment to Madagascar: Ernst-Bloch-Scholarship for law students in the Masters course in Antananarivo, Madagascar

TIGGES partner Dr. Georg Jaster worked from 2013-2016 as a lawyer for a non-governmental environmental organisation in Madagascar and lived with his family on the island state in the Indian Ocean during this time. Throughout his stay he was confronted with the harsh living conditions in Madagascar. During this time he also worked closely with the state university in Antananarivo and initiated the Ernst-Bloch-Scholarship for law students in the Masters programme. The scholarship is now in its forth year and supports selected students.

Background to the scholarship

The scholarship is intended to enable talented but financially weak law students to continue their studies up to a Master's degree. It is intended to give young Malagasy lawyers the opportunity and encouragement to learn the legal profession not only as a technical "craft", but also to deal with questions of law and justice in greater depth.

We have chosen the German philosopher Ernst Bloch (1885-1977) as the name patron for the scholarship, as Bloch was also interested in the question of the social responsibility of lawyers and jurisprudence in post-war Germany. His work "Natural Law and Human Dignity" in particular contains a wide range of suggestions in this regard. Ultimately, Ernst Bloch is concerned with what he calls the "upright walk". According to Bloch, the "upright walk" is "a legal discipline of its own kind, beginning with questioning, demanding, sought-after maturity, not ending with classical natural law".

With this scholarship we want to contribute to the education of upright and responsible young lawyers in Madagascar.

Commitment to Madagascar - details of the scholarship

The students are selected by a committee of the university according to their previous academic achievements in the Bachelor's programme and according to social need. Scholarship holders receive a one-off payment for academic literature as as well as monthly support for living expenses for a period of one year.

The total amount for a scholarship for a student (m/f) for 1 year is 460,- Euro. Of course, donations of any amount and especially small sums are welcome. We are very happy about your support. (Donation receipt will be issued).

Donation Account:

Britta-Carolina-Stiftung
IBAN: DE47 3602 0030 0007 3173 60
NATIONAL-BANK AG
BIC: NBAG DE 3 E

you would like to know more about the scholarship? Your contact

Dr. Georg Jaster
jaster@tigges.legal
+49 211 8687 145

 

Why law students?

Dr. Georg Jaster: „Firstly, because I myself have this professional background and can only assess the quality of the education in this subject. On the other hand, because Madagascar's poverty is essentially due to the fact that institutions such as the government, administration and judiciary suffer from a high level of corruption and nepotism. There are not enough qualified and upright civil servants and judges who oppose this."