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About

Fondation Botnar is a Swiss philanthropic foundation working to improve the health and wellbeing of young people living in cities around the world. Advocating for the inclusion of youth voices and the equitable use of AI and digital technology, the foundation invests in and supports innovative programs and research, and brings together actors from across sectors to create dialogue and partnerships.

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Building a thriving future for young people everywhere.

Our cities are changing. By 2050, as much as 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas, and as more people move to cities to find a better life, millions of young people are growing up in cities that aren’t ready to support their health and wellbeing.

Bringing the potential of AI and digital technology to life.

Today, we have an opportunity to transform the way we approach city systems. New technological solutions could allow us to tackle health, social, and economic challenges at a level of scale, accessibility, and inclusivity we’ve never been able to achieve before.

For every child and young person to be a thriving citizen.

We want to ensure that every child and young person can lead a life with good health and dignity as a thriving citizen.

Investing in emerging solutions to build a better future for children and young people.

To fulfil our vision, we are seizing the big opportunity to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people in vibrant, growing secondary cities around the world. We do this by supporting research, catalysing diverse partners, and investing in scalable digital solutions.

Our structure

Board

The Board jointly oversees the governance and decision making of the foundation. It is represented by 6 members who act in accordance with the mission of the foundation and the will of our founder, Marcela.

Management Office

The Management Office is run by the CEO. It is responsible for the operational and strategic day-to-day management of the foundation.

Audit & Risk Committee (ARCO)

The ARCO is responsible for monitoring and optimizing the foundation’s internal processes, including ensuring good governance and due diligence.

HR & Organisational Committee (HOCO)

The HOCO is responsible for strategic matters relating to good governance and duty of care, long-term succession planning, personnel, and social policy, and organisational development.

Philanthropy Committee (PHICO)

The PHICO oversees the overall philanthropic strategy, including strategic guidance related to grant-making instruments and processes. It also reviews summaries of grant applications & specialist reviews and prepares recommendations as a basis for decisions to be taken by the foundation’s board.

Investment Commission (IC)

The Investment Commission holds the responsibility of managing the financial assets in the best interests of the foundation.

Finance

In 2015, Fondation Botnar benefited from a significant boost to its capital base, resulting in greater funding potential and commensurate increase in demand over time. The following year, in 2016, the foundation’s board committed to building organisational capacity to support the implementation of its mandate. This included appointing a CEO and recruiting a dedicated team to effectively manage the foundation’s future strategic direction, including the evaluation and roll-out of relevant projects and programs.

Governance

Fondation Botnar is committed to relying on governance, robust reporting, thorough analysis and an evidence-led approach to guide our decision making. We are a member of SwissFoundations, the association of grant-making foundations in Switzerland, and we commit to best practice governance in line with the principles and recommendations of the Swiss Foundation Code. Our accounting follows the guidelines of Swiss GAAP FER 21 for philanthropic social non-profit-organisations. Our activities are supervised by the Supervisory Authority for Foundations, Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs.

Meet the team

Memberships

We are proud to be members of the following partnerships and networks:

Member

ITU

Member

ITU-T Study Group: SG16 – Multimedia

Philea

Member

Swiss Foundations

Member

EVPA

Member

Digital Investment Principles

Endorser

Principles for Digital Development

Endorser

Member

Member

unnamed

Member

The Future Now.
For Young People
Worldwide.

Fondation Botnar
St. Alban-Vorstadt 56
4052 Basel
Switzerland
info@fondationbotnar.org
+41 61 201 04 74

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