ASED facilitates access to education and vocational training, focusing on gender inequalities, drivers of marginalization and exclusion, and situations of physical or mental disability.
With a deep respect for cultures, ASED works with local partners in West Africa, Madagascar and India to strengthen the socio-educational spaces in which the younger generation evolves.
Our goal is to promote equal opportunities to help everyone find an active place in society. A society that is more inclusive, more open, better able to manage its present and build its future.
- ASED is a Swiss development cooperation organisation that has been working with children and young people in precarious situations since 1988. It is part of the Fédération Genevoise de Coopération.
- ASED is recognised as a charitable organisation by the tax authorities of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. As a result, donations made to ASED are tax-exempt.
- ASED is certified by the quality label Zewo. The proper management of funds and control of administrative costs are regularly monitored.
The ASED story
In 1988, Maryam and Jean-Luc Nicollier, on vacation in Turkey with their children, meet two young boys from the slums of Izmir. They are 5 and 9 years old, and spend their days shining shoes to survive. The couple meet their parents and discover a Kurdish family in an overwhelming situation. Touched by the living conditions of these children, who are the same age as their own, they decide to finance their education and are determined to extend their support to the whole neighborhood.
That was the spark. Back in Geneva, Maryam and Jean-Luc got involved for the cause of street children. They mobilized their friends and family and founded ASED on December 12, 1988. The two boys have grown up and now own their own stall in Izmir’s Bazaar. They have started a family and are actively involved in the development of their community. Since its foundation, more than 70,000 children and young people in precarious situations have benefited from the programs supported by ASED.
Astrophysicist, ESA astronaut and Honorary Professor at EPFL, Claude Nicollier was the first Swiss astronaut. On the last of his four space missions, he performed a spacewalk from the shuttle Atlantis to repair the Hubble telescope at an altitude of 600 km.
Another mission is close to his heart: defending the right to education for children affected by poverty. Highly committed, he has been the patron of ASED since its creation.
The Board
The ASED Board is made up of a team of committed professionals who put their expertise and energy at the service of the association.
Each member is a reference in his or her field of activity and provides support to ASED staff.
President
Teresa
Giovannini
Senior Counsel
LALIVE, independent international law firm based in Switzerland
Board member
Steven
Fricaud
Head of MNA - Unaccompanied minors
EVAM - Établissement Vaudois d'Accueil des Migants
The Organisation
The modest size of the Geneva head office and its strong territorial roots are a real asset, enabling ASED to be close to its partners, donors, members and the general public. Its human scale, complemented by its inclusive vision, naturally places ASED at the heart of the actions it supports, and gives it a privileged position in project monitoring, guaranteeing the organisation’s ethics and effectiveness.
All ASED’s efforts are focused on the field and the projects carried out there. This is why the association is keen to maintain a balance between the number of staff at head office and in the field.
Director
Ivana Goretta
Ivana grew up in Geneva and studied social sciences at the University of Geneva. She began a career in marketing in the private sector and the media. Moved by the suffering of children in world conflicts, she devoted seven years to promoting child protection activities for the Terre des hommes Foundation. She joined the Foundation as a spokesperson, before taking over as head of communications and fundraising. Ivana is well acquainted with the challenges facing Swiss and international NGOs. She pays particular attention to the quality of projects and the expectations of private and institutional donors.
program manager
Ankí Lam
Ankí has worked for the ICRC and Médecins Sans Frontières. Her assignments have taken her to Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and India. The diversity of the environments in which she has evolved has strengthened Ankí’s ability to adapt to complex multicultural environments. During her career, she has acquired solid skills in project management, monitoring and evaluation, and strategic planning. Dynamic and open-minded, she is equally at ease working with private foundations and government donors. Generating a positive impact for children and young people around the world is a central motivation for Ankí’s commitment.
program manager
Romain Prado
Romain has over ten years’ experience in program management in education, health and child protection. After a Master’s degree in International Relations and European Affairs, he worked in Africa and the Middle East. After joining Action contre la Faim and then Première Urgence, Romain familiarized himself with the demands of fund management. He then contributed to the development of financial and operational strategies for the WHO. The participation of local communities in the defense of inclusive and sustainable projects is close to his heart. A pragmatist, Romain bases his approach on empathy, flexibility and respect.
Communications and Philanthropy Manager
Carole Ballanfat
With some thirty years’ professional experience, shared between the associative and corporate worlds, Carole is at ease in all situations. She cultivates a taste for innovation and a sense of challenge, especially when it comes to mobilizing resources for a great mission. Moved by the plight of school dropouts in India, Carole is a firm defender of the values of justice and equity. At ease in a human-scale organization, she works to bring together private and public players to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children. Joining forces for a better future is her driving force.
Coordinator India
Devashish Pandey
Devashish lives in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, at the foot of the Himalayas. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Development Management. Devashish spent three years as a project manager with an Indian organization with which ASED works. He has considerable expertise in education and the integration of children and young people from slums. A man of the field, committed to the cause of childhood, he embodies the values of a new generation committed to a fairer, more sustainable world.
The Ambassadors
True spokespeople for the cause, the ambassadors work hard to raise awareness on ASED’s work, in order to increase support for the association’s projects.
Marine
Duchet-Guillerd
Deputy Director - Investment, Communication & Business development
Banque Edmond de Rothschild
Vincent
Subilia
General Manager of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services, CCIG - President of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry, CCIS
ASED donors
To paraphrase Aristotle, united we are more than the sum of our efforts. It is this synergy that enables ASED to develop its projects to promote access to quality education and training.
Whether they represent an individual commitment, the support of a private company or public funding, donations are the foundation of all ASED’s actions. By taking part in this convergence of acts of solidarity, we are concretely contributing to a fairer, calmer and more creative society, one that will last.
The greatest thanks for your support to children and young people in precarious situations are their successes, their independence gained, their lives in the making, the impact on society.