Claudia Bandixen has long been associated with the Evangelisches Missionswerk Basel. Already in the 1990s, she worked in the outreach of the Basel Mission in Chile, later she served on the board of the mission. For ten years she was president of the Reformed Church of Aargau and was elected director of Mission 21 in 2012.
She took over the directorship when the ministry was facing major financial and structural challenges. She successfully restabilized Mission 21 and played a major role in its further development. During her tenure, Mission 21 refocused its programmatic work, and numerous national churches became members of the organization's international synod. The advocacy work and emergency aid activities of the mission were expanded and the international women's and gender work was extensively redesigned.
Continuity and good cooperation
With the appointment of Jochen Kirsch, the Board of Mission 21 has opted for continuity in the development of Mission 21. Jochen Kirsch, a theologian and qualified NPO manager, has been applying his skills as an expert in international cooperation to the work since 2004. He first worked as program manager and team leader for Africa, and was also responsible for the areas of HIV and religion and development.
From 2014, Jochen Kirsch headed the International Relations department and was a member of the Executive Board. Most recently, he was involved in developing and implementing emergency aid and reconstruction programs on the ground due to urgent crises in Nigeria, South Sudan and Cameroon. With Jochen Kirsch, Mission 21's good cooperation at eye level with churches and partners is assured.
The farewell of Claudia Bandixen and installation of Jochen Kirsch will take place during the Mission 21 International Synod in Basel on June 29-30, 2019.
