“ZDF Magazin Royale”
“There are various things to add”: Viva con Agua reacts to Jan Böhmermann’s allegations
Jan Böhmermann in his satirical show “ZDF Magazin Royale”
© Rolf Vennenbernd / DPA
In his first show after the summer break, Jan Böhmermann also took on Viva con Agua in “ZDF Magazin Royale”. The non-profit company has now responded to its research.
On Friday evening, Jan Böhmermann reported furiously back from the summer break. For the “ZDF Magazin Royale” he and his editors had looked at the water shortage in Germany.
And he has taken on the Hamburg company Viva con Agua. “We millennials no longer want to rule the world with our German water, we just want to save it for a short time. Viva con Agua is practically ‘Doctors Without Borders’ to drink,” says Böhmermann.
Jan Böhmermann’s allegations: Viva con Agua reacts
Viva con Agua, “that can only be a good thing,” he said on his show. “Okay, the fact that the people who fill the bottles with the water for Viva con Agua at the company ‘Husumer Mineralbrunnen’ are neither paid according to tariffs nor have a works council, that’s water under the bridge. Being non-profit isn’t at all so easy,” he joked with sharp irony. “Böhmi” also wanted to take a closer look at the Viva con Agua companies, for example “Villa Viva Gasthaus GmbH & Ko. KG”, which is currently building a hotel in Hamburg. “Our ‘water for everyone – everyone for water’ water will soon rent us hotel suites for only 299 euros per night. Why not, Viva con Agua means well!” he said resolutely.
Tap water instead of bottled water
Instead of being non-profit, he presented the company as only apparently good. A reproach that Viva con Agua does not want to put up with. A statement on the website should now explain in more detail how the charity works at Viva con Agua. There would be “from our point of view various things to add. But fair enough. We take the opportunity to address the issues addressed,” it says.
At the top of the list, those responsible point out that those who drink their water are constantly being asked to drink the best tap water. “We never tire of pointing this out in lectures, interviews, our website or our products. We point this out on many of the back labels of our mineral water bottles. In the case of (recycled) PET bottles from Viva con Agua, there is even a reference to tap water as a more ecological alternative on every bottle – Viva con Agua is probably the only mineral water that advertises tap water,” says the company.
But they also say their bottled water is at least a social alternative if you’re going to buy bottles. “In the meantime, the entire production of Viva con Agua mineral water has been certified as climate-neutral via Climate Partner,” says the statement. In their statement, those responsible do not address the allegations made by Böhmermann regarding the company “Husumer Mineralbrunnen”.
Topic in “ZDF Magazin Royale”
The satirist also looked at the corporate structure of Viva con Agua in his show. He pointed out how many companies there are now and criticized the lack of transparency. Viva con Agua explain this as follows: “All our organizations support non-profit activities. Viva con Agua does not work to maximize profits for individuals. On the one hand, Viva con Agua NGOs have formed outside of Germany: associations like in Germany, in which committed people work together for Make water and generate donations. There are non-profit Viva con Agua NGOs in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Uganda and South Africa. This is the non-profit core of the Viva con Agua family. They support water projects worldwide.”
Those responsible also take up Böhmermann’s point of criticism regarding a possibly expensive hotel in Hamburg. He mentioned the company rents accommodation for €299 a night. But that’s not all, say Viva con Agua. You can sleep in the hotel for only 19.10 euros, they explain. It is important for her to mention that “not a single cent from donations was used to finance the Villa Viva [verwendet würde]! Neither in Cape Town nor in Hamburg. And by the way, no financial means of the Viva con Agua mineral water.” Instead, the hotel project would be financed by investors, “the majority of the shares” are still in the hands of the “non-profit organizations Viva con Agua Foundation and Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli eV “.
Lastly, the company mentions its motto. “Viva con Agua stands for connection, exchange and joyful activism. We do not fight for sovereignty of interpretation.” Whether and how Jan Böhmermann will react to the statements remains to be seen.
Sources: “ZDF Magazin Royale” / Viva con Agua
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