Our introduction
Who are the faces behind the Pestalozzi Children’s Foundation? Get to know us.
About us
The Pestalozzi Children’s FoundationWhat began in 1946 as a humanitarian gesture by Switzerland in response to the suffering of war orphans in Europe has turned into a unique Swiss non-profit organisation committed to helping children and young people in Switzerland and twelve other countries around the world.
We promote participatory forms of learning and encourage the training and further education of teaching and support staff. Our projects are embedded in the respective local communities and facilitate mutual understanding and tolerance - even in areas with ethnic tensions. They incorporate children with special educational needs or care requirements and focus on children's rights. They empower our local partner organisations, promote critical thinking, and put a situational focus on gender equality, the empowerment of girls and intercultural exchange.
«Let us build a world for children»
Our activities around the world
We are committed to providing access to quality education for children and young people in 12 different countries because we care deeply about equal opportunities. The challenges that this entails each have a different context: it calls for different approaches to overcoming barriers for children from ethnic and linguistic minorities, empowering girls, reducing drop-out rates, improving the quality of teaching or integrating children with special needs into school.
Our activities in Switzerland
The Children's Village in Trogen is a place where children and young people from different backgrounds and milieus can meet. During camps and project weeks, they learn with their peers and explore age-appropriate topics such as robotics or media literacy. They discover what diversity and difference mean in everyday life, acquire relevant conflict resolution skills and get to grips with democracy and politics. Games, culture and sports are of course also part of these events. They make their own experiences in relation to all these topics and thereby internalise what they have learnt.
Our mission
A world where children can learn and laugh in peace and freedom: that is what we envision and what we strive for every single day – in Switzerland and in twelve countries around the world.
Our roots and values
Our fundamental values are those of our founder, Walter Robert Corti: respect, fairness, tolerance and openness. In accordance with the philosophy of our name-giver, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, we focus on educating the head, the heart and the hand in equal measure.
The activities of the Pestalozzi Children’s Foundation have changed over time, as have the world and its social challenges. The Foundation remains true to the vision set out by its founding generation, which was to create and strengthen the basis for peaceful coexistence through educational work with young people.
We act in the interest of human rights and child rights and advocate the right to self-determined development. We are as committed to equal opportunities and social justice as we are to equality between men and women. We are also committed to sustainable development.
ZEWO certified, committed to making an impact
As a ZEWO-certified organisation, we are committed to using donated funds in a responsible manner. Around 80 per cent of the Pestalozzi Children's Foundation's funding comes from private donations. You can find more detailed information about this on the «Funding» page. We systematically monitor and measure the impacts of our activities.
Your contact persons
Here you will find information about your contact persons and about our Foundation Board.
Our network
We are a member of various networks.
The Foundation Board
The following nine personalities from industry and politics decide on the strategic orientation of the Pestalozzi Children’s Village:
Work with the Foundation
Are you looking for an exciting professional challenge? We offer varied jobs in a multicultural environment.
