Media release – The coronavirus crisis is exacerbating social tensions worldwide. The prospects of young people have darkened considerably. Switzerland needs a foreign policy that supports the development prospects of young people in the Global South. This is what the two women at the head of terre des hommes schweiz write in their joint foreword to the 2020 annual report of terre des hommes schweiz.
“The rebellion of young people is understandable,” write Franziska Lauper and Brigitta Gerber, Managing Director and President of terre des hommes schweiz, in their joint foreword to the Swiss development organization’s 2020 annual report. “In one fell swoop, their outlook has once again darkened considerably.” The novel virus has turned the world upside down. “For the first time, the coronavirus pandemic threatens to increase inequality in almost every country in the world at the same time.”
A “motivating sign” for fairer North-South relations
According to Franziska Lauper and Brigitta Gerber, the divide between young and older people in Switzerland is widening noticeably. The strong support among the population for a YES to the Responsible Business Initiative is a “motivating sign that many people want fairer North-South relations”.
“terre des hommes schweiz will also campaign in other areas for a Swiss foreign policy that supports the development prospects of young people in the Global South,” they write. This includes working for climate justice as well as curbing arms exports from Switzerland to countries in civil war and countries with a problematic human rights situation.
What terre des hommes schweiz does
The 2020 annual report from terre des hommes schweiz shows what the Swiss development organization achieved last year in Latin America, southern Africa and Switzerland. It provides a compact overview of the topics on which the non-profit ZEWO-certified aid organization has been working for over 60 years.
terre des hommes schweiz empowers young people in Africa, Latin America and Switzerland. Together with them, we fight poverty, violence and discrimination and campaign for the rights of children and young people and fair North-South relations.
Link: Annual Report 2020 with annual financial statements & detailed annual financial statements: https://www.terredeshommesschweiz.ch/jahresbericht
Information: Franziska Lauper, Managing Director, and Dr. Brigitta Gerber, President, via the media office
Contact media office: Anna Wegelin, +41 76 588 30 06, anna.wegelin@terredeshommes.ch
Photo: Helder Tavares for terre des hommes schweiz. Photo from the work of our Brazilian project partner GCASC on the topic of violence prevention.
