Keystone / Martial Trezzini
On 1 March 2021, Judith Schuler joined the management team as Head of Communication & Fundraising at Swiss Solidarity in Zurich. With over 15 years of experience in the field of international cooperation with organisations both abroad and in Switzerland, Judith comes well equipped to take on her new role together with her teams in Zurich and Geneva.
For me, solidarity means supporting people who are going through a difficult time or who are basically less privileged. Solidarity can be something small, like being there for a good friend going through a crisis, or something bigger, like reaching out to people in other countries who are desperate and in need because they don’t know how they’re going to be able to feed their children that day.
I’ll never forget the tragedies I witnessed during my many years of work for the UN World Food Programme in various countries in Africa. One example was Aisha, a mother of three whom I met in a refugee camp in southern Ethiopia. She had to flee Somalia on foot with her children to escape the rebels. I remember standing in front of her hut made of straw and plastic. She told me that she was one of the lucky ones because she had made it to the camp, where she got a meal for her children.
Through my work with Swiss Solidarity, I have the opportunity to work for women like Aisha, from right here from Switzerland. Unfortunately, there are far too many affected people like Aisha around the world, but her story motivates me to do everything possible to make a difference with Swiss Solidarity’s support. Swiss Solidarity is the embodiment of the Swiss people’s natural reflex to show solidarity, and I am delighted to be working with my very motivated team.
«I remember standing in front of her hut made of straw and plastic. She told me that she was one of the lucky ones because she had made it to the camp.»Judith Schuler, Head of Communication and Fundraising
As Head of Communication & Fundraising at Swiss Solidarity, I have two key responsibilities. On the one hand, my team and I encourage people to donate to help people in need abroad and in Switzerland—every donation makes a difference! On the other hand, it’s also especially important for me to show the people who donate to Swiss Solidarity what we achieve with their donations.
In the past, Swiss Solidarity was able to contribute to alleviating major humanitarian crises thanks to an amazing media presence during our fundraising events. But today, both elements, the humanitarian sector and the media, are undergoing a major transformation, and both have been affected by the coronavirus crisis over the past year. This has further accelerated the digital transformation, which is also an existentially important process for Swiss Solidarity. We now have to bolster our agility and continuously adapt to these changes and those to come.
My goal for this year is to shape the communication and fundraising team so that we can respond to crises of all kinds in an even more agile, dynamic and orchestrated way and, together with all our partners, successfully take on the new challenges and tasks that come our way. In the event of a future crisis in Switzerland or abroad, we want to support as many affected people as possible and give them hope during difficult times. At the same time, it’s important to me that we inform donors in a very timely manner about all that we have been able to achieve thanks to their support.
Swiss Solidarity, 1211 Geneva 8
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