Last Saturday, the Pestalozzi Children’s Village received the Allianz Lifetime Award. The foundation washonoredfor its long-standing commitment to equal opportunity.
Last Saturday, the Swiss Diversity Award Night took place at Bern Minster. Ten awards were presented. As the final award of the evening, the Pestalozzi Children’s Village Foundation was honored with the Allianz Lifetime Award.
Hans-Peter Nehmer, Chief Communication Officer of Allianz Suisse, presented the award to the foundation. In addition to Executive Director Martin Bachofer and Foundation President Rosmarie Quadranti, Kumar Basappa, a former resident of the village, was also on stage at the award ceremony. He arrived at the children’s village in Switzerland over 50 years ago. He spoke about his first impression upon arriving in Switzerland. What has stayed with him is the cold, which he had never experienced before.
The Pestalozzi Children’s Village is receiving the award for “an extraordinary and long-standing commitment to diversity, equal opportunity, and social inclusion,” as stated in the citation.
Founded immediately after the war
The award comes at a special time for the foundation, as it is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. It was founded immediately after the end of World War II. The cornerstone was laid in Trogen on April 28, 1946. “The house is ready,” Ursula Lutz, a schoolgirl from Trogen, called out to the children without parents at the cornerstone-laying ceremony. She invited them to come to the children’s village.
The first children came from European countries affected by war. Here, children from different countries learned together that conflicts can also be resolved peacefully, said Martin Bachofer during the award ceremony at Bern Minster.
