On behalf of the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt), the german foundation "Stiftung Verbundenheit" is carrying out a pilotproject to promote the self-organization of the german-speaking community in the Southern Cone Region (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay). The foundation supports the organizational development of more than 200 cultural associations in order to become development promoting civil-society actors and partners within the Cultural Relations and Education Policy (Auswärtige Kultur- und Bildungspolitik) of Germany.