Foundation Leaders: Education Must Remain at the Heart of Swiss Aid Strategy

Friends of Education—an alliance of over 40 Swiss foundations active in the field of international education—have jointly written in Tages-Anzeiger in support of the Swiss Parliament’s recent decision to maintain education as a priority in Switzerland’s international cooperation strategy for 2025-28.

In a compelling op-ed, the CEOs of the Jacobs Foundation, Roger Federer Foundation, Fondation Botnar, and UBS Optimus Foundation emphasize the critical importance of education in fostering global peace, stability, and economic growth, calling for increased collaboration between public and private sectors to promote systemic change in global education.

Promoting education strengthens stability in the world

In its current session, Parliament decided to continue to anchor education as a priority in Switzerland’s international cooperation strategy 2025-28. We very much welcome this decision. Unlike previous strategies, the strategy adopted by the Federal Council in May did not contain an education objective. Parliament’s current decision allows Switzerland to continue its long-standing priority commitment to education, which goes back to the beginnings of Swiss development cooperation.

Thanks to Switzerland’s support, 1.6 million children and young people have had access to basic education since 2021, including in crisis regions.

Fabio Segura, Simon Sommer, Maya Ziswiler, Andrea Studer, Tom Hall.

Fabio Segura, Simon Sommer, Maya Ziswiler, Andrea Studer, Tom Hall.

Promoting education has been proven to be one of the most efficient investments in international cooperation. According to new findings in the economics of education, education has contributed to 50 per cent of global economic growth, 70 per cent of income growth for the poorest fifth of the world’s population, and 40 per cent of the reduction in extreme poverty over the past four decades. But education is more than just an economic engine: it is a driving force for peace and stability, it promotes critical thinking, creates social justice, and enables a society that offers local people prospects. 

State and foundations should cooperate even more intensively

We support maintaining the financial resources as proposed by the Federal Council. However, if Parliament decides on further cuts, Switzerland’s humanitarian tradition and the fight against poverty and the creation of prospects, especially for children and young people, would be made more difficult. An explicit education goal and spending on education proportional to today’s level offer the opportunity to strengthen public-private partnerships in the field of education. As large Swiss foundations, we are prepared to pool our resources to maximize the impact of these partnerships and alliances. 

Foundations do not replace state funding, but rather complement it. There are already examples of partner organizations between the state and private foundations that are working to improve the learning outcomes of disadvantaged children and young people around the world. 

As foundations, we see our role as driving innovation, creating synergies, and building bridges between the public and private sectors. This remains possible thanks to maintaining the educational goal in international cooperation. Therefore, the decision of Parliament is of great importance. We advocate for increased joint engagement between public and private actors that promotes systemic change and goes beyond project-based cooperation.

On behalf of the Friends of Education

Fabio Segura and Simon Sommer, Co-CEOs of the Jacobs Foundation

Maya Ziswiler, CEO of Roger Federer Foundation

Andrea Studer, CEO of Fondation Botnar

Tom Hall, CEO of UBS Optimus Foundation

Friends of Education is an alliance of over 40 Swiss foundations active in the field of international education. Its goal is to strengthen exchange and cooperation and to promote inclusive and high-quality education for all.