Our member organisations

Better Cotton Initiative

Better Cotton is the world’s leading sustainability initiative for cotton. Our mission is to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. In just over a decade, we have convinced stakeholders who span the industry to be partners: farmers, ginners, spinners, suppliers, manufacturers, brand owners, retailers, civil society organisations, donors and governments.

BFH Cooperation and Development

The platform BFH Cooperation and Development brings together the activities of various different departments at BFH in the field of international cooperation. Specialising in cooperation with emerging and developing countries, our activities are guided by the UN’s Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and make a concrete contribution to the sustainable development of both the economy and society.

Biovision

Biovision has been promoting ecological solutions for poverty reduction and improved food security in sub-Saharan Africa since 1998, developing and disseminating practical agro-ecological knowledge and action with its strong network of partners. As a pioneer of change, Biovision works in sub-Saharan Africa, globally and in Switzerland in a solution-oriented and science-based manner for social and political framework conditions that make an agro-ecological transformation towards a sustainable food system possible.

Caritas Switzerland

Caritas Switzerland prevents, combats and alleviates poverty worldwide in around 20 countries. We provide professional, effective and efficient help to people in need irrespective of their political or religious beliefs, gender or ethnicity.

Centre Ecologique Albert Schweitzer (CEAS)

CEAS is a Swiss NGO active in development cooperation since 1980. Recognised as a public utility, it implements projects based on the co-creation of innovative solutions, developed with local populations and recognised research institutes. Thanks to its complementary areas of expertise and its international network of partners, CEAS supports families, small businesses and public authorities on the African continent.

Centre for Development and Environment (CDE)

CDE is Switzerland’s centre of excellence for sustainable development. One of the University of Bern’s strategic research centres, we are tasked with mainstreaming sustainability throughout the university’s research and teaching. We conduct research and teaching on behalf of a more sustainable world. Our aim is to chart pathways to sustainable development and to initiate transformations in line with the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Centre pour la formation continue et à distance (CFCD)

To face the ever growing and complex challenges in international cooperation, the University of Geneva offers interdisciplinary continuing education programmes for professionals, in multiple formats. They give professionals the opportunity to acquire and reinforce qualifications in their field of specialisation (humanitarian action, environnement and sustainable development, health and psychology, education and law). The programmes also aim at developing transferable and transversal skills, which are essential to pursue a successful career or reorientation.

Comundo

With more than 70 professionals on the ground, Comundo improves the lives and human rights of vulnerable people living in poverty in Latin America and Africa. We pay particular attention to children, young people and the elderly. We do this by sharing the knowledge and experience of our experts with local partner organisations, by networking committed stakeholders and by promoting mutual learning. As a Swiss civil society organisation, Comundo contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN's 2030 Agenda. It combines the concrete experience of experts in the countries where it works with political action and awareness-raising in Swiss society in order to achieve a more just world.

Enfants du monde (EdM)

Enfants du Monde is a Swiss organisation based in Geneva. For over 50 years, we have been providing quality education and access to healthcare to children and mothers in the world's poorest countries.

EPFL EssentialTech Centre

The EPFL EssentialTech Centre develops sustainable and scalable solutions to address unmet needs, notably in low-income and vulnerable contexts. Its mission is to harness science and technology to drive sustainable development, humanitarian action and peace. Working from concept definition to technology transfer, its core activities include systems engineering, contextual guidance and developing sustainable business models for the projects. The Centre also provides expertise to international organizations and partnership initiatives in its focus areas of action.

ETH NADEL

NADEL is the Center for Development and Cooperation at ETH Zurich. It connects researchers and practitioners to share, discuss and apply knowledge that addresses global and local development challenges. The Center offers postgraduate programs and individual courses aimed at graduates and professionals interested, or currently working, in development cooperation.

Fastenaktion

Fastenopfer is a Swiss organisation for international cooperation. We work for disadvantaged people in the Global South - for a fairer world and to overcome hunger. We draw on local knowledge and develop effective approaches in dialogue with our partner organisations. In the spirit of helping people to help themselves, we support communities in organising themselves and demanding their basic rights. We work with partner organisations in 14 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as in Switzerland.

Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

The Geneva Academy provides postgraduate education, conducts academic legal research and policy studies, and organises training courses and expert meetings. We concentrate on branches of international law that relate to situations of armed conflict, protracted violence and protection of human rights. The institution has acquired a global reputation for excellent teaching and research, and it attracts exceptional students to its master’s and training programmes.

Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies

A joint Centre of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and the University of Geneva, our mission is to contribute to a better, more effective, humanitarian response. The Centre offers a wide range of specialist and academic courses on humanitarian action, both online and residential, in Geneva and around the world, close to where professionals work; integrated, evidence-based research looking at trends and changes in the sector; and policy events on contemporary topics affecting the humanitarian sector.

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

The Graduate Institute Geneva is an institution of research and higher education dedicated to the study of world affairs, with a particular emphasis on the cross-cutting fields of international relations and development issues. Through our core activities, we aim to promote international cooperation and make a contribution to the progress of developing societies. More broadly, we endeavour to develop creative thinking on the major challenges of our time, foster global responsibility and advance respect for diversity.

HEKS/EPER

HEKS champions the cause of a more humane and just world and a life in dignity. Internationally, HEKS/EPER focuses on rural community development, humanitarian aid and inter-church cooperation. In Switzerland, HEKS/EPER champions the rights and the integration of refugees and socially disadvantaged people.

Helvetas

Helvetas is committed to a just world in which all men and women determine the course of their lives in dignity and security, using environmental resources in a sustainable manner. Helvetas is an independent organization for development based in Switzerland with affiliated organizations in Germany and the United States. Helvetas supports poor and disadvantaged women, men and communities in about thirty developing and transition countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Institute of Communication & Leadership Lucerne (IKF)

IKF offers tertiary level continuing education programs in the areas of transcultural communication and competences, digital transformation, leadership, management and organisation, and knowledge management. We are independent, agile, and teach you practical competences that matter today and in the future. When it comes to expertise in transcultural and intercultural topics, we have over 30 years of experience and over 1'500 alumni in the field.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organisation. We work to help and protect people affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence, a mandate that stems from the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. Our mandate and legal status set us apart from both intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations. We operate independently from governments and work directly with communities ensnared by violence. Because of this, we can react quickly in a crisis to bring help where it is most needed.

Medair

Medair is an impartial, independent, and neutral humanitarian organisation inspired by Christian faith to save lives and relieve human suffering in the world’s most difficult-to-reach and devastated places. Since 1989, we’ve been helping people in crisis – regardless of race, creed or nationality – That the world’s most vulnerable and difficult-to-reach people living in dignity, free from human suffering, and with hope for a better future.

Médecins du Monde Suisse (MdM)

Médecins du Monde Switzerland is a medical humanitarian NGO and part of the international Médecins du Monde network. We provide sustainable access to healthcare for people in vulnerable situations in Switzerland and around the world.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, pandemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare. We offer assistance to people based on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation.

Mercy Ships

Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to deliver free, world-class healthcare services, capacity building, and sustainable development to those with little access in the developing world. Mercy Ships also works with host nations to help fill the gaps in healthcare systems through training opportunities and infrastructure projects. Founded in Lausanne, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 55 developing countries and provided over 100'000 surgical procedures. Year after year, volunteers from over 60 nations serve onboard the two biggest civilian hospital ships in the world, the Global Mercy and the Africa Mercy.

Mission 21

Mission 21 is committed in 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America in the context of sustainable development cooperation as well as humanitarian action for peacebuilding, education, health, food sovereignty, and economic empowerment. In this way we contribute to the achievement of the UN goals for sustainable development. This worldwide commitment is combined with programmes for intercultural exchange and interreligious cooperation as well as the promotion of understanding for global connections.

Pestalozzi Children's Foundation

The Pestalozzi Children's Foundation is an international child welfare organisation that has been working to support children and youths since 1946. We have been involved in development cooperation for over three decades. Together with local partner organisations, we help disadvantaged children and youths exercise their right to a good education, thereby providing them with better opportunities for the future.

Save the Children Switzerland

As leading independent children’s rights organisation, Save the Children has been working specifically for the rights of children since 1919. In Switzerland and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children’s unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach.

Skat Consulting Ltd.

Skat Consulting Ltd. is an owner-operated leading Swiss company specialising in international cooperation. We are dedicated to making basic services available and ensuring dignified living conditions and a healthy environment for all. We support governments and the private sector around the globe in improving people’s lives by facilitating lasting solutions in water, building, energy and governance.

Solidar Suisse

Solidar Suisse is a Swiss development organisation with projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Southeastern Europe. Together with our local partners we fight for decent work, social justice, participation in democratic processes and against extreme inequality.

SolidarMed

SolidarMed is the Swiss organisation for health in Africa and improves health care for 1.5 million people in Lesotho, Moçambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. SolidarMed strengthens and expands existing medical services sustainably and meaningfully. The health of mothers, pregnant women, newborns and children is a central concern and receives particular attention in the projects. In cooperation with local partner organisations, hospitals and villages, SolidarMed promotes help for self-help.

Swiss Red Cross (SRC)

The Swiss Red Cross endeavors to improve the health and well being of vulnerable sectors of the world’s population and to overcome their social exclusion. The SRC also helps people to improve their resilience to natural disasters and to cope better with their effects. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, it is active in emergency relief, post-disaster reconstruction and development cooperation in over 20 countries.

Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)

Swiss TPH is a world-leading institute in global health with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries. Associated with the University of Basel, Swiss TPH combines research, services, and education and training at local, national and international levels. About 850 people from 80 nations work at Swiss TPH focusing on infectious and non-communicable diseases, environment, society and health as well as health systems and interventions.

SWISSAID

SWISSAID is committed to improving the living conditions and future opportunities of smallholder families, women and children in the global South, with whom it works on an equal footing in all its projects. Practical action on the ground and political engagement in Switzerland: as an expert in agroecology and gender equality and with a keen eye on the commodity market, we work in a principled way for sustainable development.

Swisscontact

Swisscontact is a leading organisation in the implementation of international development projects. We create opportunities – we promote inclusive economic, social and ecological development to make an effective contribution towards sustainable and widespread prosperity in developing and emerging economies.

swisspeace

swisspeace is a practice and research institute dedicated to advancing effective peacebuilding. Partnerships with local and international actors are at the core of our work. Together, we combine expertise and creativity to reduce violence and promote peace in contexts affected by conflicts. We offer postgraduate programmes on peacebuilding, as well as several freestanding continuing education peacebuilding courses in collaboration with the University of Basel.

Terre des hommes (Tdh)

Terre des hommes is the leading Swiss organisation for children’s aid. Through our health, protection and emergency relief programmes, we provide assistance to over four million children and their families in around 40 countries each year. We aspire to a world in which the rights of children, as defined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, are always respected. A world in which children can thrive in safe environments and become agents of change they wish to see in their lives.

terre des hommes switzerland

terre des hommes switzerland empowers young people in Africa, Latin America and Switzerland. Together with them, we fight poverty, violence and discrimination and promote the rights of children and young people and fair North-South relations. Our core competence lies in participatory and solution-oriented work with young people in the areas of health, peace culture and sustainable livelihoods.

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF)

The LWF is a global communion of churches, putting faith into action and promoting and advocating for human dignity, justice, and peace. Through LWF World Service, its humanitarian and development arm, the LWF supports people in need, responds to emergencies, and addresses the causes and effects of human suffering and poverty. The LWF is known for timely, compassionate, and professional humanitarian and development work. It serves people in need irrespective of ethnicity, religion or gender.

Wyss Academy for Nature

The Wyss Academy for Nature at the University of Berne is a place of innovation, where research, business, policymakers and communities come together to co-design solutions for sustainable futures. Our mission is to turn scientific knowledge into action. Combining ambitious, innovative goals with a transformative approach, we develop long-term pathways that strengthen and reconcile biodiversity conservation, human well-being and the sustainable use of natural resources in a variety of landscapes throughout the world.