Fondation Botnar

What connects us in the cities we dream of? Our visions may differ, but they often begin with shared hopes: places where we feel we belong, connect with others, and live well.   This week, we are delighted to welcome ARTIVISTORY Collective - Comics and Sequential Art for Social Innovation to Basel for the Mesh Festival, 14 - 18 October 2026. The collective from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, has been part of our early work in the city, bringing people, in particular young people, together through art to imagine and shape its future.   Their immersive audiovisual installation, "Fluid Commons | Infrastructure of Care," explores the city as a living ecosystem, shaped by water, memory, and digital infrastructures. Inspired by the Someș River and rooted in years of community-based practice, it connects people’s stories and shared memories through moving images, spatial sound, and evolving maps.   We are pleased to support ArtiViStory in bringing their work to new audiences and opening up conversations about what makes a city a shared place.   Mesh Festival continues over the weekend. If you’re in Basel, come and experience Fluid Commons | Infrastructure of Care ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eiuAMuVc    Thanks to Adrian Buda, Evelina Grigorean, Teodora Predescu, Stacescu Claudia, Maria Albu, maria brinet, NADIR BENOUIS, Teodor Buruiană, Andra Roman, Horatiu Coman, Ureczki Lázár Melinda, Octavian Ciotlăuș, and Iliescu Alice Andreea ❤️ And to iart - studio for media architectures ✨

We're pleased to welcome two new members - David Schmid and Simon Hitzig - to the Fondation Botnar team. David joins as Portfolio Manager. With a background in business and development economics, and experience spanning the private sector, international development and field project management, David helps strengthen country ecosystems. Simon joins as Strategy and Governance Manager. With a background in international cooperation and experience working alongside local civil society actors, Simon supports the Executive Team and Board on governance matters and leads strategic initiatives. Welcome, David and Simon! #meettheteam #philanthropy #teamupdate

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Lukas Schneller as Chief Investment Officer. He will join Fondation Botnar on 1 December 2026. Lukas brings extensive expertise in innovative financing, cross-sector partnerships, and philanthropic approaches, as well as considerable leadership and strategic management experience. As Chief Investment Officer, he will lead the implementation of our investment strategy and advance the integration of mission-aligned approaches across our investments. He will also contribute to implementing our venture philanthropy investment approach, supporting promising early-stage companies developing solutions that positively shape young people’s lives and futures. Drawing on his experience at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the World Bank, Lukas brings broad knowledge in international finance and cooperation, strategic insight, and a strong commitment to Fondation Botnar’s values and purpose. We very much look forward to welcoming him to the team.

The Swiss findings in this recent report point to evolution rather than reinvention: building on Switzerland’s established philanthropic structures while bringing greater ambition, accountability and long-term intent to how they are used. Our CEO, Andrea Martina Studer, contributed to the report, sharing her perspective on the distinctive role philanthropy can play: taking responsible risks, providing catalytic long-term funding, and using capital in service of mission and lasting change. Thank you to Lombard Odier Group for the opportunity to contribute to this conversation.

At the 25th Schweizer Stiftungssymposium in Bern, under the theme "And Action!", keynote speaker Phoebe Tickell of Moral Imaginations posed a critical question: "What if the biggest obstacle to positive change is not a lack of resources, but a lack of imagination?" Imagination, she argued, is a muscle that needs time, permission and practice, something performance pressures and the demand for measurable outputs can leave little room for. Professor Peter G. Kirchschlaeger of the University of Lucerne similarly emphasised that technological progress must be guided by an ethical compass, calling for data-driven systems, including AI, to be firmly grounded in human rights. The symposium also asked what it means for philanthropy to move from reflection to practice in a world undergoing profound change. Fondation Botnar colleagues participated: Katharina Pompilio-Herold joined peers from foundations, civil society and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to explore how partnerships can advance localisation and strengthen local leadership. The discussion highlighted that shifting resources is not enough: relationships and decision-making power need to shift too. Ursula (Ulla) Jasper joined a conversation on the unique role foundations can play in advancing responsible technology, as digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly shape education, equity, and social cohesion. Together, these conversations pointed to an important role for philanthropy today: creating space for possibility, taking thoughtful risks, connecting actors across sectors, and supporting locally led, responsible approaches that strengthen the fundamentals of democracy. Thank you to SwissFoundations, all contributors, and our peers across the sector for creating such a thoughtful and energising space for exchange. Andrea Martina Studer, Gabriela Wichser Ladner, Armida Mathivannan #SwissFoundations #AndAction!

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Stefan Beiner to our Fondation Botnar Board on 1 September 2026. Dr. Beiner is a partner at c-alm AG and brings deep expertise in investment management, finance and governance. Since 2024, he has served as an external expert to our Investment Commission, contributing his knowledge to the management of the foundation’s financial assets. We look forward to his further contribution towards fulfilling our purpose of creating the conditions that enable young people to thrive and shape the world around them. Read more about his appointment: https://lnkd.in/eYdgSRjS #FondationBotnar #Leadership #Governance #Philanthropy #BoardUpdate

🌏Today, on International Youth Day, we are happy to launch Being Online Digital Gallery! Bringing together 41 artworks by children and young people from 21 countries, Being Online explores the realities of growing up in today's digital environments through illustration, painting, photography, collage and other creative forms. The gallery reflects the #InternationalYouthDay 2026 theme, Different Contexts, Common Aspirations, showing how young people's experiences vary across countries and communities while sharing many common concerns, hopes and challenges. Rather than presenting digital life as simply positive or negative, these creative works explore the complexity of identity, belonging, overload, joy and hope – offering valuable insights into digital well-being and what it means to grow up online. Explore the gallery and discover what young people's creative expressions can teach us about creating healthier, safer and more equitable digital environments 🔗https://lnkd.in/dwV4huP5 Aferdita Bytyqi | Ananya Choyal | Natasha Azzopardi Muscat | Cassie Redlich | Deborah Lupton | Divya Sharma | Louise Holly | Marija Manojlovic | Don Zane Muwanguzi | Alfredo Lorenzo Sablay | Ipsita Dwivedi | Melanie Maria Kuhrn | Nada Zamel | Ilona Kickbusch I Fondation Botnar I Global Mental Health Action Network (GMHAN)

Today, on #InternationalYouthDay, we recognise the aspirations that connect young people across different places and circumstances. This year’s theme, "Different Contexts, Common Aspirations," reminds us that every young person has the right to shape decisions that affect their lives and the future of their communities. Together with young people and our partners, we are working to advance young people's rights, agency and opportunities so they can lead change in their communities and beyond. #YouthDay #YouthParticipation

Yesterday, Fondation Botnar was proud to partner with and participate in this year’s Diplomacy Day at the Locarno Film Festival, alongside our co-partner Wyss Academy for Nature, with support from Club Diplomatique de Genève.   At a time of growing global complexity, the conversations reinforced the need to rethink cooperation for the twenty-first century—grounded in shared values and deeper collaboration across sectors, regions, and disciplines. This means questioning the roles we assume, how we build bridges, and whose knowledge and experience we value.   Bringing together voices from diplomacy, policy, philanthropy, industry, and culture, a recurring message was clear: knowledge, experience, science, and solutions can come from anywhere. Cooperation fit for today’s challenges must recognise expertise wherever it is rooted, enable ideas, innovation, and stories to travel in different directions, and build partnerships around shared responsibility and curiosity.   As filmmaker Mattie Do reminded us in her stirring keynote: “Film has the ability to humanise us to each other.”   In that spirit, we were also proud to continue our support for the festival’s Open Doors section, championing independent filmmakers and perspectives from across the African continent. Amplifying diverse voices and lived realities can challenge established narratives and create new opportunities for dialogue, reflection, and collaboration.   Thank you to everyone who brought their perspectives, experiences, and ideas to these important conversations, and to the Locarno Film Festival and team for creating the space to think, connect, and act differently. Raphaël Brunschwig Emma Broggini Tatjana Von Steiger Seta Thakur Flavia Bustreo Amalie Molhant Proost Andrea Martina Studer Katharina Pompilio-Herold Kiara Jade Marvuglio Nana Afadzinu (PhD) Supattira Rodboontham Kojo Annan Itonde Kakoma Sandrine Dixson-Declève Philipp Blom David Lewis Rita French Photos: Locarno Film Festival, © Predrag Tripkovic / Wyss Academy for Nature   #LocarnoFilmFestival #Locarno79 #DiplomacyDay #GlobalCooperation