Projects
Switzerland
Approach &
Topics
Quality
Radio programme
work
Intercultural
exchange
‘During the exchange, I realised that all children are much the same. Even though we grew up in different countries and speak different languages.’
us
Thematic projects
“Many of the topics covered in the children’s village are often not given much thought in everyday life. Yet it is so important to talk about issues such as values, culture and discrimination.”
Further
educational opportunities
digitalstreetwork.ch is the first Swiss project to offer digital outreach youth work aimed at preventing extremism. The digital street workers actively engage with teenagers and young adults – online, wherever they happen to be.
We’re celebrating children’s rights! Together with children in Years 4 to 6, we’re thinking about how children’s rights can be implemented even more effectively in Switzerland. The 2027 Children’s Conference will take place from 17 to 20 February 2027.
Democracy means making decisions, getting involved and having a say. From 23 to 27 November 2026, young people will come together for the fourth time to form a parliament as part of the SGAIAR Youth Conference. They will learn what it means to help shape the community and to take responsibility for joint decisions.
What would it be like if young people from all over Europe worked together to shape the future? At the Pestalozzi Children’s Village in Trogen, this vision became a reality: At the European Youth Forum Trogen (EYFT), around 130 young adults aged between 16 and 20 from various countries came together to discuss current social challenges such as the climate crisis, peace, media literacy and democracy education.
RISE is an international educational programme run by the Pestalozzi Children’s Village. Young people from Switzerland and three other European countries come together in Trogen for a week. They explore the question of what peace means for us all, discover new perspectives through dialogue, and reflect on their own values, privileges and ideas about peaceful coexistence.
How do new ideas for peace education emerge in a polarised world? At the Peace Education and Empowerment Summit, youth workers, trainers and education professionals from across Europe come together to exchange ideas and jointly develop new approaches to working with young people.
Since 2021, we have been developing teaching materials on children’s rights. These practical and age-appropriate materials help teachers to explain children’s rights clearly in the classroom. In this way, children learn about their rights and are empowered to play an active role in shaping their own lives and having a say in decisions that affect them. The aim is to embed children’s rights in the curriculum for the long term.
The teaching materials are available free of charge.
In the media education project ‘Let’s Talk About Respect’, young people produce their own radio programmes on the theme of respect. In doing so, they explore social diversity and equal opportunities and reflect together on prejudice and discriminatory behaviour. In a playful way, ‘Let’s Talk About Respect’ raises awareness of the importance of treating one another with respect and thus takes a stand against racism.
The project was developed for school classes and youth groups aged 12 to 18 in the canton of St. Gallen and is co-funded by the Department of Integration and Equality of the canton of St. Gallen. Interested?
In our media education projects on the topic of gender, young people explore gender roles and equality. They challenge prejudices and stereotypes. ‘Let’s Talk About Gender’ raises participants’ awareness of diversity. It promotes respectful interaction and campaigns against sexism and discrimination. The project is funded by the Department of Integration and Equality of the Canton of St. Gallen. It is available to all schools in St. Gallen. Are you interested?
