Guiding principles

We are an intercultural organization. We are the educational Partners of fellow citizens that have a foreign native language as well as the workers that are unaccustomed to education. The following principles guide us in developing, planning, implementing and evaluating our activities:

1. Bringing together solidarity and innovation

Solidarity as taking notice of the social needs expressed by the weakest members of our society and as support of the values of living together, respect and mutual exchange. Innovation as perceiving and interpreting the changes; as constant dedication to the quest for suitable solutions to the requirements and to the changes in the underlying social, cultural and technological conditions.

2. Promoting the right to lifelong education

We are committed to defending both the individual and the collective right to lifelong education as a basic right of the citizens of a modern knowledge society. The right to basic education and continuing training and education means: having access to knowledge and culture irrespectively of origin, language, sex, social and job situation, place of residence and age.

3. Building bridges between different cultures

We understand education as an instrument for making a conscious and independent decision on integration. Education builds bridges and enables an exchange between different cultures through getting to know and respecting one another.

4. Educating people against exclusion

We are committed to helping eliminate obstacles and discrimination with respect to accessing education and exclusion from the labour market and from basic civil rights.

5. Promoting equal opportunities

Education is a basic tool for guaranteeing equal opportunities for women and men. Through our educational offer and within our organization, we are committed actively to promoting equal opportunities.

6. Building up alliances, Partnerships and cooperation

We continually seek to work together with organizations that share our goals, our values and our educational policies.

7. Appreciating our employees

We enable our employees to actively help shape our projects and activities. We support them in their own specialist and personal continuing education and development.

 

Zurich, 27 November 2003