At a glance

Strengthening civil society - helping young people

The Horyzon Foundation's development cooperation focuses on strengthening civil society and helps people to build a dignified existence for themselves, regardless of ethnic, religious and political affiliation, gender or social status. An improvement in the situation of young people is crucial for a worldwide reduction in poverty. Horyzon orients itself to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UNO.

 

Who Horyzon is

Horyzon is the Swiss development organisation for young people. It was founded in 1969 as a non-profit association and is based in Olten.
Since 2009 Horyzon is a foundation, which does not pursue any commercial goals, does not strive for profit and works in the context of the legal regulations of the federation and the canton.

The Horyzon Foundation and its partners work in a worldwide, interdisciplinary network of development cooperation organisations. Horyzon is part of the international YMCA / YWCA (Young Men's / Women's Christian Association).

What Horyzon does

Horyzon is currently active in four different countries, working with national and local YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) and YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association). The goals of Horyzon's projects are primarily to improve the living conditions of young people and to offer education in the field of life practice. The project work invests mainly in vocational training and health education and supports young people in defending their rights.

How Horyzon works

Horyzon has the advantage of being able to cooperate in programmes and projects with national and local partner organisations whose employees have lived in the respective countries for generations and know the needs of the local population.
Horyzon meets the challenges of relevance and sustainability in development cooperation (DC) by clearly focusing its commitment and integrating competent volunteers into these processes.
Against this background, Horyzon acts flexibly and proactively with professional managers in developments in the environment. Expertise and experience in international youth work and development cooperation make Horyzon a recognized and reliable partner.

Where Horyzon works

The Horyzon office is located in Switzerland, in Olten. Currently, Horyzon is involved in projects in Uganda, Haiti, Colombia, Palestine and Nepal. In Switzerland, Horyzon raises awareness of the North-South issues through sensitation work and facilitates intercultural encounters between young people.

Where the money comes from

Horyzon receives a third of its income from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Cantons, municipalities, parishes, foundations, private donations and the 2-hour runs co-organized by Horyzon bring in further donations.

How does Horyzon guarantee that the donations arrive where they should?

Horyzon has been awarded the ZEWO certificate. Horyzon's quality management system is streamlined and efficient, which guarantees careful and transparent handling of donations.
For international comparability and transparency, the accounting complies with the requirements for charitable non-profit organizations (GAAP FER 21). Horyzon supports the partner organisations with professional monitoring, reporting, controlling and evaluations.

Who we are