Swiss Solidarity (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

''Glückskette'',

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

''Chaîne du Bonheur'',

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''Catena della Solidarietà'', Rhaeto-Romanic ''Chadaina da Fortuna'') is a

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. Since 1946, Swiss Solidarity has embodied the solidarity reflex of the Swiss population. Together with

SRG SSR The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (; ; ; ; SRG SSR) is the Swiss public broadcasting association, founded in 1931, the holding company of 24 radio and television channels. Headquartered in Bern, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation is a non-pro ...

, it mobilises the population and collects donations in the event of major natural disasters and conflicts, as well as for children's aid and for vulnerable people in Switzerland. The foundation is independent and ensures that donations are used carefully and efficiently in a transparent manner.

History

1946 - Swiss Solidarity was originally a radio programme in French-speaking Switzerland on the national Radio Sottens (now RTS), which collected donations for the benefit of victims of disasters and war. It was launched in 1946, when Europe was scarred by the Second World War, by radio producer Roger Nordmann and entertainer Jack Rollan. With their first appeal on 26 September 1946, they wanted to help war-wounded children; in Switzerland, many people lived in poverty in the post-war period. Soon after, they created their own radio programme: the "Chaîne du Bonheur", in German "Glückskette". For whoever could best realise a wish was allowed to suggest the next good deed, thus the solidarity chain was not interrupted. The show's signature song was "La Gavotte", its refrain was: "Y'a du bonheur pour tout le monde!" ("Happiness is for everyone!"). 1947 - Although Swiss Solidarity on the Radio originated in French-speaking Switzerland, a year later it was broadcast from studios in

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and

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and enthusiasm for the radio solidarity chain spread throughout Switzerland. In German-speaking Switzerland, Swiss Solidarity launched its first collection in Basel on 19 October 1947 in aid of Swiss soldiers who had been poisoned by machine-gun oil. 1948 - Swiss Solidarity is also taken over by Radio Beromünster and Radio Monte Ceneri and broadcast throughout Switzerland. In addition to the three Swiss radio stations, media from

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and

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also participated in the project. In the same year, negotiations were started with America about an intercontinental chain of fortune. According to estimates, the stations were able to reach about 250 million listeners in Europe in 1949. Swiss Solidarity launches its first appeal for donations, also raising Fr. 80,000 for the victims of the Mitholz explosion disaster. 1983 - Since 1983 it has had the legal form of an independent foundation. 1991- From 1991 to 2010, Roland Jeanneret was the "voice of Swiss Solidarity" at fundraising events in German-speaking Switzerland. Swiss media often referred to him as "Mister Swiss Solidarity". 2004 - A seaquake shook Asia. Hundreds of Thousands of people were killed or injured through the catastrophe and over 1.7 million coastal residents around the

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were left homeless. The Swiss people's solidarity response was incredible: in December 2004, 227.7 million Swiss francs were collected for the victims. 2008 - Swiss Solidarity founded the Emergency Appeals Alliance (EAA) with nine organisations with similar structures and activities from

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, the

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and the

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joined later. 2013 - Swiss Solidarity gets a new visual identity. As Swiss Solidarity embodies Switzerland's solidarity reflex, this positioning is also to be expressed in the name. Swiss Solidarity is given the signature "Switzerland in solidarity". 2019 - Swiss Solidarity dedicated its 250th collection to women victims of forgotten crises. 2020 - In response to the pandemic that has completely turned the world upside down, Swiss Solidarity launches a fundraising campaign. A total of 43,457,744 was collected for the

Coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

Switzerland fundraising campaign. 2022 - In March 2022, the Swiss people once again showed their solidarity - 130 million were collected for the victims of the

war in Ukraine The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

Projects

In partnership with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (

) and private media, Swiss Solidarity collects donations for humanitarian aid projects. Swiss Solidarity benefits from the special support and media coverage of public radio and television. The money collected is used to support relief projects run by experienced Swiss relief organisations in immediate and rehabilitation aid as well as sustainable reconstruction. The majority of the projects support reconstruction after earthquakes, hurricanes or other natural disasters. Swiss Solidarity also appeals for donations for victims of wars and conflicts and is committed to the well-being of children. In Switzerland, Swiss Solidarity works with local partners when there are gaps in the Swiss social system, helping people in need, especially adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 25 who need help with social and professional integration. Special project commissions have been formed to review, approve and monitor the longer-term projects. Ensuring that projects are monitored is essential for Swiss Solidarity. It places particular emphasis on accountability and transparency.

Foundation bodies

The organs of the Foundation include the Foundation Board, as the supreme body, with a maximum of fourteen members the Foundation President the Swiss Solidarity Committee, with five members the Finance and Investment Commission (COGEFI) the Project/Programme Commissions (COPRO International and COPRO Switzerland) the Accreditation Commission the Swiss Solidarity Executive Board and the Auditors.

Foundation Board

The Foundation Board consists of a maximum of 14 members, half of whom are representatives of

and half of whom are representatives of Swiss Solidarity's partner relief organizations and/or humanitarian aid. A Committee of the Foundation Board with five representatives supervises and monitors the management of the Swiss Solidarity Directorate and supports it in its activities. The Director, the President of the Finance and Investment Commission, the President of the Swiss Project Commission and the President of the International Project Commission sit on the Foundation Board and the Committee in an advisory capacity.

Project Commission

The commission is made up of independent humanitarian aid experts, representatives of partner relief organisations and Swiss Solidarity management. They cover all relevant areas of expertise such as health, construction, water and sanitation, child protection and economics. The project commission is chaired by an independent person. In the commission meeting, the projects are first analysed in detail and then discussed in depth. The decision-making body within the project commission then makes the funding decision.

Swiss Solidarity's biggest fundraising appeals

Since the establishment of the Swiss Solidarity Foundation in 1983, more than two billion donations have been collected to date. The ten largest collections were for two natural disasters, two wars abroad and three storms in Switzerland. 1. Seaquake in Asia (tsunami), December 2004: 227.7 million Swiss francs 2.

War in Ukraine The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

, March 2022: 130.6 million Swiss francs 3. Storms in Switzerland (Valais, Gondo and Ticino), October 2000: 74.2 million Swiss francs 4.

Earthquake in Haiti Some of the earthquakes in Haiti have been very destructive to the country. The widespread damage and high-number of casualties of events in 2010 and 2021 can be partially blamed on the fact that most of the population in Haiti resides in structur ...

, January 2010: 66.2 million Swiss francs 5. War victims in Kosovo, April 1999: 49.5 million Swiss francs 6. Severe weather in Switzerland (Central Switzerland, Bernese Oberland and Grisons), August 2005: 49.5 million francs 7. COVID-19 in Switzerland, April 2020: 44.3 million Swiss francs 8.

Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that is among List of the most intense tropical cyclones, the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. Upon ...

, Philippines, November 2013:. 42.3 million Swiss francs 9. Floods Pakistan / Asia, August 2010: 42.1 million Swiss francs 10. Severe weather in Switzerland, August 1987: 40.6 million Swiss francs From 2009 to 2018, SRF and Swiss Solidarity organised the annual fundraising campaign "Jeder Rappen zählt" (Every cent counts) in December.

The most extraordinary collections

* 1946: Thanks to the generosity of the audience
English war orphans were invited to Switzerland for a holiday.
* 1947: The first national collection was made in aid of soldiers poisoned by machine oil. Poisoning by the cooling oil, which was mistakenly used as cooking oil, led to severe consequential damage, including paralysis of the legs. Around 100 people became victims of this mistake. * 1948: Chocolate collection for the benefit of the elderly * 1948: Swiss Solidarity collects used felt hats from which patients and convalescents make slippers. The aim of the project is "to give patients the courage to face life and the strength to recover through work and the opportunity to earn an income". * 1951: Collection of wool for the benefit of people suffering from the cold. * 1975
The Air Bonheur
campaign organises a week of holidays on Mallorca for poor pensioners

Swiss partner organisations

Swiss Solidarity itself does not act operationally, but cooperates with 25 organisations abroad
Adventist Development and Disaster Aid (ADRA)Médecins Sans Frontières Switzerland (MSF)Brücke/Le Pont

Caritas Switzerland Caritas Switzerland (German: , French: , Italian: , Romansh language, Romansh: ) is a Swiss Catholic Church, Catholic not-for-profit organisation. Its mission is to prevent, combat and alleviate poverty. It is a member of both Caritas Europa and ...

CBM Christoffel BlindenmissionChristian Peace Service (CDF)Enfants du Monde (EDM)Fondation HirondelleHelvetasHilfswerk der Evangelischen Kirchen der Schweiz (HEKS)

Medair Medair is an Non-governmental organization, international non-governmental organisation (INGO) whose purpose is to relieve human suffering in some of the world's most remote and devastated places. Medair aims to assist people affected by natural ...

Iamaneh Switzerland

Médecins du Monde ''Médecins du monde'' (MdM; ), or Doctors of the World, is an international humanitarian organization which seeks to provide emergency and long-term medical care to the world's most vulnerable people. It also advocates for an end to health ine ...

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

, Swiss Red Cross (SRC), Solidarmed,

Solidar Suisse Solidar Suisse is a Swiss non-profit organization with headquarters in Zurich. It also has a French-speaking Swiss branch in Lausanne and an association in Geneva, Solidar Suisse Genève. As an NGO, it fights for global justice and against extreme ...

SOS Children's Villages Switzerland
Pestalozzi Children's Foundation, Swissaid, Terre des hommes - Kinderhilfe weltweit
Terre des Hommes SchweizTerre des Hommes SuisseVétérinaires Suisse (VSF-Suisse)
an
Vivamos Mejor

Awards

Swiss Solidarity received the International Human Rights Award 1999 in recognition of its work. The award honored its humanitarian actions and in particular the organisation's aid in Kosovo.

The SRG Ambassadors of Swiss Solidarity

For many years, the programme "Glückskette aktuell" was the Sunday programme for

SRF 1 SRF 1 (''SRF eins'') is a German-language Swiss television channel, one of three produced by the SRG SSR public-service broadcasting group (the others being SRF zwei and SRF info). The channel, formerly known as SF1, was renamed on 16 Decemb ...

listeners: Roland Jeanneret and later Ladina Spiess, the former voices of Swiss Solidarity in German-speaking Switzerland, reported on the use of the donations, sometimes live from the disaster areas. The role of SRF ambassador for Swiss Solidarity was taken over by Dani Fohrler in 2018. Jean-Marc Richard, Swiss Solidarity ambassador in French-speaking Switzerland, often mentions Swiss Solidarity and its activities in his broadcasts. In Italian-speaking Switzerland, Carla Norghauer is the voice of the appeal for donations on RSI. In Graubünden, Claudia Cathomen takes on this task at RTR.

References

External links

Official Website of Swiss Solidarity
{{Authority control Charity fundraisers Foundations based in Switzerland Non-profit organisations based in Switzerland Human rights organisations based in Switzerland