Fondation Botnar

Improving young people’s mental health means addressing its root causes. Real progress demands systemic change across sectors -- shaped with young people, not just for them 🌱 This #WorldMentalHealthDay, at Fondation Botnar, we are celebrating our partners around the world 🌍 who are helping to strengthen these interconnected systems — investing in prevention, supporting inclusive and evidence-based approaches, and ensuring young people’s voices and lived experiences drive the solutions that affect them most 🗣️ Because prioritising young people's mental health is more than a goal; it’s the foundation for a fairer, more resilient, and more hopeful future ✨ Learn more about our work: fondationbotnar.org Being Initiative, Grand Challenges Canada , United for Global Mental Health, PATH, Hivos, The National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) HSRC (Human Sciences Research Council), Amnesty International, TangaYetu, Digital Transformations for Health Lab, Fundación Corona STAR-Ghana Foundation FIX Cluj FARO INNOVEX Ecorys Transform Health, Global Health, Digital Health and Rights Project (University of Warwick).

We’re delighted to welcome our new colleagues to Fondation Botnar this past month! ✨ Alexandra Sagarra is our new Strategic Learning & Evaluation Manager. With a background in development economics, she will help us strengthen evidence and learning for systems change across our work. ✨ Fiona Smith steps in as Digital Portfolio Lead. With experience at the intersection of technology, philanthropy and development, she will lead our efforts to advance the inclusive, rights-based use of digital technologies. ✨ Katharina Pompilio-Herold joins as Chief Programme Officer, bringing extensive experience from diplomacy and international development to lead the implementation of our philanthropic strategy. We are thrilled to have them on board and we look forward to the expertise, energy, and fresh perspectives they will bring to our mission of supporting young people's wellbeing. Learn more about our team here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e7GDmNsi #Philanthropy #Meettheteam #TeamUpdate

For the first time, this week, mental health will take centre stage at a UN meeting at the Heads of State level - a pivotal moment for global health and a powerful opportunity to prioritise young people’s wellbeing. In the recent opinion, 'Young People and the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health: From Commitments to Investment and Action,' Nicole Bardikoff (Grand Challenges Canada), Aline Cossy-Gantner (Fondation Botnar), and Sarah Kline (United for Global Mental Health) reflect on how we got here, and what still needs to be done. They highlight: ➡️ The urgent need to address the social, economic, and environmental drivers of mental health. ➡️ How prevention and promotion during adolescence can shape healthier futures. ➡️ The importance of coordinated, multi-stakeholder action — such as the Being Initiative — to turn commitments into tangible impact. This week’s UN High-Level Meeting is a milestone and an opportunity to drive lasting change for young people's mental health worldwide. 📖 Read more in #GlobalHealthNow: https://lnkd.in/eyrg-f2E United for Global Mental Health Orygen Science for Africa Foundation NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada Yvonne Arivalagan Faith Nassozi Kyateka #YouthWellbeing #MentalHealth #UNGA80 #GlobalHealth #BEINGInitiative

How can philanthropy weave its everyday responsibilities with its role in addressing urgent global issues? In a recent interview with Katherine Milligan, our CEO Andrea Martina Studer reflected on the challenges leaders face - from the tension between “housekeeping” and strategy to finding our voice as a sector in times of shifting values. At Fondation Botnar, we recognise our responsibility to support young people worldwide -- ensuring they are heard and able to shape their wellbeing. This also means knowing when to deepen our commitments and when to step back. We are grateful to contribute to the #FutureProofFunding dialogue, led by SwissFoundations, on how philanthropy can remain courageous, collaborative, and values-driven in times of profound change. 👉 Read Andrea’s full interview here: https://lnkd.in/e2vu3Y-z #Philanthropy #Leadership #FutureProofFunding

Halfway there - share your voice today! Transform Health is gathering perspectives from around the world, during the #RoadmapTo2030 public consultation. Together, we’re shaping a shared vision to ensure digital transformation delivers stronger, fairer health systems providing health for all. 🗓 The consultation is open until 21 September - don’t miss your chance to be part of it. 🔗 Review the draft and take the survey on the Roadmap to 2030 webpage: https://lnkd.in/gg5Dhv_M #HealthForAll #DigitalHealth #UHC 

🧠 Investment in young people’s mental health is urgently needed Up to 75% of mental health conditions are believed to emerge by the age of 25, yet preventative, community-based approaches remain chronically underfunded. Lasting change requires more than isolated interventions. It requires systems-level approaches that bring together schools, families, communities, health systems and policymakers, as well as donors and civil society. At the upcoming SwissFoundations Symposium #MissionPossible tomorrow, Aline Cossy-Gantner will moderate and participate in the session: 👉 The Youth Mental Health Crisis: Using a Systems Approach for Lasting Change With Sofyen Khalfaoui (Z Zurich Foundation), Byron Bitanihirwe (Science for Africa Foundation), and gabriel brumariu (Societatea de Educație Contraceptivă și Sexuală), the discussion will explore: ✔️ How foundations can use advocacy, partnerships, and collective action to accelerate impact at scale ✔️ Why systemic investment in youth mental health is essential for societal and economic stability ✔️ Where opportunities lie for philanthropy to strengthen ecosystems of support Learn more about the SwissFoundations Symposium here: https://lnkd.in/d_anRQGf Being Initiative #YouthMentalHealth #SystemsChange #Philanthropy #CollectiveAction

In a recent interview with Ticino Welcome our CEO, Andrea Martina Studer shared how her background and journey have shaped her perspectives and her leadership at Fondation Botnar, where we work to find the best ways to improve young people's wellbeing with and for them. This involves building strong partnerships and taking a systems-based approach: looking at the system as a whole to better understand the interconnected factors affecting young people’s wellbeing. Tomorrow, Andrea will bring this perspective to the 24th SwissFoundations Symposium, #MissionPossible where she will join other philanthropic leaders to discuss collaborating with integrity, navigating uncertainty, and leading with trust. 3 September: Leadership in Times of Change – https://lnkd.in/d_anRQGf Look forward to joining Suba Umathevan (DROSOS FOUNDATION), Bettina Stefanini (SKKG), Sandro Giuliani (Roger Federer Foundation), Katherine Milligan (IMD Business School) and Fabienne Tissot (Wider Sense GmbH / #VertrauenMachtWirkung) in the discussion. Thank you to Elisa Bortoluzzi Dubach for the interesting conversation for Ticino Welcome; read Andrea’s interview: https://lnkd.in/eKfqx3XA #Leadership #Philanthropy #YouthAgency #SystemicChange #SwissFoundations #Stiftungssymposium2025

A week on from #InternationalYouthDay, the call for meaningful youth participation is louder than ever. From digital rights to urban governance to organisational culture, young changemakers in our network are showing why youth leadership is not about age, it’s about courage, clarity, and care for others. 🔹 In digital spaces, leaders like Mercedes Alvarez Treveset remind us that young people must be recognised as rights-holders, not just stakeholders. Through RIGHTS Click, our partnership with Amnesty International, youth are shaping safer, more inclusive online environments. 🔹 OurKoforidua, Ghana, coordinated by STAR-Ghana Foundation, demonstrates what happens when youth voices are not only heard but acted upon. From digital literacy to peace-building, young people are co-creating solutions that transform their city. 🔹 And at CATAPULT Basel, young leaders like Tim Altermatt and Luisa Durrer remind us that representation starts from within. What organisations do internally, how they elevate youth leadership, has a ripple effect on who feels engaged and empowered. As our CEO Andrea Martina Studer shares in her latest blog, this is what rights-based participation looks like: power shared, perspectives respected, and young people leading change on their own terms. 📖 Read Andrea’s reflections and explore more stories of youth leadership → https://lnkd.in/ekZFkmxE #YouthRights #YouthParticipation #YouthLeadership #IYD2025 #Wellbeing

This week, for #InternationalYouthDay, we’re spotlighting how children and young people are leading the way in human rights. We’d love to invite any questions, reflections from LinkedIn community – especially from young people or youth practitioners. First up: a landmark moment for Amnesty. 📘 Left To Their Own Devices is Amnesty’s first-ever youth-led research report, produced by nine young Filipino researchers who investigated online harassment of young human rights defenders in the Philippines. Their findings are stark. Young people are being surveilled, silenced, and ‘red-tagged’ online - creating a chilling effect. But the report is also a story of resistance. Youth activists have developed safety protocols, formed wellbeing committees, and found creative ways to keep organising. We believe that children and young people are experts on their own lives. That’s why we’re committed to supporting their leadership in research, campaigning and decision-making. This report was born of Right-Up, our youth-led research project – an initiative which took rigorous behind-the-scenes work. And we’re proud to say it’s just the beginning. Question to you: What are the spaces or methods where you’ve seen young people shape the narrative or lead work on their own terms? What have been the barriers to doing this well?

🌍 It’s International Youth Day! At Digital Transformations for Health Lab, youth are key partners in our work. Our Regional Youth Champions (RYCs) programme connects our work to the regional and local level, as well as ensuring regional youth voices contribute to our policy and research. This important partnership comes from the experiences and lessons learned in meaningfully engaging young people during the The Lancet Group and Financial Times Commission on Governing Health Futures. Applications are now open for our next cohort of RYCs. Please like and share this post, so we can continue engaging with young people to shape inclusive and equitable digital health futures. 🗓 Closes 19 Aug, 23:59 CET 👉 Apply here https://lnkd.in/dxKc595c #IYD2025 Rohinton Medhora Ilona Kickbusch Anurag Agrawal Njide Ndili Alain Labrique WHO Youth Council Bertelsmann Stiftung Faysal Abbas Corrie Fairweather-Mills Whitney Gray Enow Awah Georges Stevens, MD, MPH, PMD, ABS Louise Holly Imane Lakbachi Ananya Choyal Tomiwa Akinsanya