Pioneering exploits for the Switzerland of today and tomorrow

Dear Reader

In a year, we’ll be celebrating the 175th anniversary of the Swiss Federal Constitution. In September 1848, a group of pioneers (all male) made history: Swiss history. They formulated the Federal Constitution and founded the federal state we know today. The SSCG, back then the most important social organization in Switzerland, was actively involved in this founding movement. Other pioneering exploits followed: the introduction of compulsory education, Switzerland’s welfare system and the founding of Pro Juventute and Pro Senectute.

The SSCG has been working for the common good for over 200 years. Today, for instance, we have the individual assistance scheme for people affected by poverty in emergency situations or, thanks to mentors from Job Caddie, for young people in training. Through SeitenWechsel, we offer a unique further education scheme in social institutions; and we are behind the Ukraine Fund, which aims to alleviate the consequences of war for refugees in Switzerland. With the Pro Futuris Think + Do Tank or the Vocational Education and Training Laboratory, we are attempting to identify the social challenges of the future now. Only last month, the Pro Futuris #Letstalk project brought around 200 people with widely differing political opinions into conversation with each other. And that is an important contribution to cohesion and a living democracy. As interim Managing Director since June, I am delighted to have implemented these projects with such a dedicated team and to be contributing to the Switzerland of today and tomorrow.

The work of former SSCG President Judith Stamm, who died in July, shows that ideas can have lasting resonance. Her pioneering achievements are still visible today, and we are enormously grateful to build on them. In our Obituary for a champion of equal rights and social cohesion, individuals who worked with her reflect on their time together.

Would you like to further develop the pioneering work of our predecessors with us? Becoming a member will make you part of the SSCG and help us shape the civil society of tomorrow.

I wish you a good start to autumn and stimulating reading.

Peter Haerle, Managing Director ad int SSCG

Last newsletter in English – please let us know your preferred language

We are delighted that you have subscribed to our English newsletter. As we only communicate in English once a year, to mark the 1 August, we have decided to change this newsletter to a 1 August format, specifically for English speakers. It means you will continue to receive information about the National Day celebration in 2023 and be the first to hear details about registration.

If you wish to continue receiving information about the SSCG and SSCG programmes, please subscribe to our newsletter in German, French or Italian.

We would be happy if you were to remain one of our readers in the future.

Kind regards
The SSCG Communication team

Swiss wrestlers bring royalty and the principle of peaceful combat to National Day celebration

At this year’s 1 August celebration on the Rütli, visitors had the chance to see Swiss-style wrestling in action and, above all, to engage in dialogue. Look back at the "Wrestling Festival" in the video and pictures.

A champion of equality and social cohesion: SSCG President Judith Stamm (†2022)

With untiring commitment, from 1998 to 2007, Judith Stamm put her heart and soul into chairing the Swiss Society for the Common Good (SSCG) and the Rütli Commission. She died on 20 July 2022 at the age of 88. Judith Stamm was the first woman to hold the office since the SSCG’s foundation in 1810. The SSCG family looks back with enormous gratitude on Judith Stamm's commitment to equality and social cohesion.

Agenda

5 November 2022: Extraordinary General Meeting of the SSCG in Zurich | Invitations have gone directly to members

9 November 2022: Swiss Foundations Day 2022. Are foundations still in keeping with the times? At the Stadttheater Olten | Register now

15 November 2022: Free info event for the SSCG’s SeitenWechsel programme in Zurich | Register now

22 November 2022: Annual conference of freiwillig.engagiert. network | Register now