At the end of September, the Women's Representative Birgit Rudolf was given a dignified retirement in a ceremony organised by the Women's Office. The numerous guests at the ceremony in the Homburg Forum were testimony to the high esteem in which Birgit Rudolf is held in the Saarpfalz district and the Saarland.
She held the office of Women's Representative for exactly 36 years and ten months. The 66-year-old can take particular credit for the successful establishment of the "Women and Career" coordination centre with its exemplary, representative mentoring programme.
"I really enjoyed my counselling work right from the start, mentoring was always a matter close to my heart. And most recently, I also took great pleasure in developing the 'Women's Traces in the Saarpfalz District' project. After many years of being a lone fighter, the enriching teamwork was also very important,
were the highlights of Birgit Rudolf's professional life, regardless of the wealth of tasks she passionately championed for women's interests.
"It's the encounters with people that make life worth living".
Birgit Rudolf introduced her farewell speech with this quote from Guy de Maupassant, the French storyteller and novelist, addressing the guests directly.
"Over the past 36 years, I have had countless encounters with a wide variety of people. After all, networking is an important task of a municipal women's representative. I have met many interesting, smart, lovely people - like you. Together, we have achieved a great deal and I would like to thank everyone for this: for the good cooperation within and outside the district administration and for the fact that you have remained loyal to me for so long."
The farewell ceremony was also used to welcome Birgit Rudolf's successor, Dr Susanne Nimmesgern (63). She had already been appointed District Women's Representative by the district council at the meeting on 22 May this year with effect from 1 October. She previously worked in the Women's Office for 14 years and was involved in various projects, including for women with a migration background and the Women & Work advice centre. In recent years, she has already acted as Birgit Rudolf's deputy.
"For me, working at the Women's Office was a real stroke of luck, as I had already been involved in women's politics since my student days and my research as a historian mostly dealt with women's history topics. One focus was on women's work from a historical perspective, which is why career counselling for women, showing them career prospects and, in particular, supporting them in (re-)entering the world of work are very close to my heart. So what could be more natural than to apply for the position of Women's Representative?",
Dr Susanne Nimmesgern revealed. She sees this responsible position as an opportunity to become even more actively involved in the concerns of the Women's Office. Her declared aim is not only to maintain existing programmes, but also to develop them further.
"I feel very honoured to succeed Birgit Rudolf and at the same time feel the responsibility that comes with it, as she has created an extraordinary contact point for women in all situations in her many years as Women's Representative. Naturally, I would like to maintain this contact point in its diversity in the future and develop it further with new target group-specific services. It is important to me to consider how we at the Women's Office can continue to support women with their various concerns in the future and also have up-to-date offers for younger women,
Dr Nimmesgern talks about her goals.
As moving as Birgit Rudolf's farewell was, or perhaps precisely because of it, she will not retire completely, something that her professional and social environment is very happy about. As chairwoman of the "Frau und Gesellschaft" association, which runs the Café Frauenzimmer meeting place on Scheffelplatz in collaboration with the Women's Office, she will remain a doer in her profession.
District Administrator Frank John said:
"With Mrs Rudolf, we are saying goodbye to a consistently reliable voice for women in the Saarpfalz district. We thank her for her many years and her work in our district. In her almost four decades as Women's Representative, she has made a pioneering contribution to our administration. However, we look to the future with confidence: in Dr Nimmesgern, we have found an ideal successor with a wealth of experience, and I am convinced that she will continue Mrs Rudolf's outstanding work."