an office in the European Quarter in Brussels. In the mid-1990s, the Fundación Bertelsmann, an independent subsidiary foundation, was established in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia. The aim was to promote reading and media literacy in Spain. Today, the Fundación Bertelsmann focuses on vocational training and career guidance for young people in Spain. Since 2008, the Bertelsmann Stiftung has also been represented in US-capital Washington, D.C, by a second independent foundation, the Bertelsmann Foundation North America, which addresses challenges related to democracy, digitisation and transatlantic exchange through a variety of publications, documentaries and infographics. Activities According to its bylaws, the purpose of the Bertelsmann Stiftung is to "promote science and research, religion, public health, youth and elderly welfare, art and culture, public and professional education, social welfare, an international perspective, democracy and social engagement." The Bertelsmann Stiftung is a private operating foundation and does not make grants. It invests funds in projects that it conceives, initiates and implements itself. For example, the Bertelsmann Stiftung produces studies and rankings, conducts model projects, shares knowledge and expertise, organizes congresses and awards prizes. Key fields are education, democracy, social affairs, health, the economy and culture. The Bertelsmann Stiftung does not engage in partisan politics. It works regionally, nationally and internationally. Education The Bertelsmann Stiftung examines at regular intervals how much the Germany's states are investing in early childhood education and care. One of its studies confirmed, for instance, that children's developmental opportunities depend heavily on their background. In the field of school education, the Bertelsmann Stiftung has been devoting itself in recent years to all-day schools in particular and has called for their expansion. Digital learning is also an important issue, as it is seen as a solution to various structural problems in the area of education. In addition, the Bertelsmann Stiftung has also been involved for years in vocational education and training. In the 1990s, the Bertelsmann Stiftung's activities in the area of higher education received particularly widespread public attention, for example the establishment of the Centre for Higher Education (CHE) in 1994 by the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the German Rectors' Conference. This institution sees itself as a "workshop" for developing reforms for Germany's higher education institutions. The Bertelsmann Stiftung holds 90% of the shares in CHE Gemeinnütziges Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung GmbH. Democracy The Bertelsmann Stiftung is committed on both the national and the international level to strengthening democracy through the promotion