Under the motto \u201cAnd Action!,\u201d the Swiss philanthropy community gathered in Bern for the 25th Swiss Foundation Symposium organized by SwissFoundations. The theme sets the tone for an event focused not on further debate, but on concrete change. With a diverse agenda, Janine H\u00e4ndel, President of SwissFoundations, and Jasmina Ritz, Executive Director of SwissFoundations, encouraged participants to get involved, contribute their ideas, and engage in dialogue.<\/p>\n\n
Today, in an era of unprecedented digital acceleration and social polarization, the central question takes on new significance, according to H\u00e4ndel: not \u201chow do we feel about this?\u201d but \u201cwhat are we doing?\u201d SwissFoundations thus positions itself as a creator of solutions in a world that is changing faster than ever before. And it calls on its members to take a closer look and take action.<\/p>\n\n
The greatest obstacle to positive change is not a lack of resources, but rather the imagination needed to envision how to act. Phoebe Tickell, founder and director of Moral Imagination, opens her presentation with this thesis. In her keynote address, \u201cMoral Imagination: The Missing Infrastructure,\u201d she places the concept of morality at the center\u2014a term that could well provoke unease in German-speaking countries. The word \u201cmorality\u201d is sometimes associated with paternalism and ideological narrow-mindedness. But Tickell means something else: she speaks of the ability to imagine a world not just for one\u2019s own children, but for everyone. She references traditional activism, which looks back, makes concessions, and says \u201cno\u201d to what is broken. This kind of activism is still needed. But now we also need a new form of activism that can turn its attention to \u201cwhat might be possible.\u201d In this context, imagination should not simply be a \u201cnice-to-have\u201d alongside day-to-day work. It is the infrastructure upon which real change is built. Olivia Sch\u00e4r spoke with Phoebe Tickell in the run-up to Swiss Foundation Day.<\/p>\n\n