Ameropa Foundation

The Ameropa Foundation
Formation	December 2001
Founder	Andreas Zivy ; Nicole Miescher
Founded at	Binningen, Switzerland
Type	Non-profit
Headquarters	Binningen, Switzerland
Key people	Andreas Zivy, Nicole Miescher
Parent organization	Ameropa Holding AG
Website	Official website

Last updated October 19, 2019

The Ameropa Foundation is an international nonprofit organization based in Binningen, Switzerland. The organization was founded by Nicole Miescher and Andreas Zivy in 2001.^[1] The organization engages in humanitarian, educational and agricultural projects, primarily in developing countries.^[2]

A nonprofit organization, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view. In economic terms, it is an organization that uses its surplus of the revenues to further achieve its ultimate objective, rather than distributing its income to the organization's shareholders, leaders, or members. Nonprofits are tax exempt or charitable, meaning they do not pay income tax on the money that they receive for their organization. They can operate in religious, scientific, research, or educational settings.

Binningen, Switzerland Place in Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland

Binningen is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. It is nestled in a valley, on a plateau, and on two hills overlooking the city of Basel.

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a sovereign state situated in the confluence of western, central, and southern Europe. It is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with federal authorities seated in Bern. Switzerland is a landlocked country bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. It is geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning a total area of 41,285 km² (15,940 sq mi), and land area of 39,997 km² (15,443 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8.5 million is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities are located, among them the two global cities and economic centres of Zürich and Geneva.

History

In 2001, Ameropa, a Swiss, privately owned international agri-business, founded the Ameropa Foundation to support entrepreneurial and social projects in developing countries. The organization focuses on investing in sustainable charitable programs in the developing world, mainly in Africa and South America. Since its inception in 2001, the Ameropa Foundation has started over 49 projects around the world. By the end of 2016, the Ameropa Foundation reached over 62,000 beneficiaries, creating more than 5,500 jobs and educating over 31,000 children and adults.^[3]

Ameropa Holding is a Swiss agribusiness, headquartered in Binningen, Switzerland, that engages in the global distribution of fertilizers and grains. The company was founded in 1948 by Arthur Zivy and his son, Felix Zivy. Andreas Zivy is the chairman of the company. It has operations in over 30 countries across all continents.

The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion. Effective altruism is the use of evidence and reasoning to determine the most effective ways to benefit others.

Africa is the world's second largest and second most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognised sovereign states (countries), nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. The majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere.

Activities

Brazil

The Ameropa Foundation has been engaged in humanitarian activities in Brazil since its early beginnings. In 2012, the organization financed the construction of a sports and cultural center, the Arena do Morro, in Mãe Luiza, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte.^[4] The Arena do Morro was designed pro bono by Swiss architects, Herzog & de Meuron, and has had a great impact on the community since its inauguration in 2014.^[5] The project has been published in various magazines across the world and has been exhibited in several museums. Its most recent exhibition is the exhibition Building Optimism at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.^[6] In 2008, the Ameropa Foundation also built ADIC, a school for 300 students in Passo da Patria, a favela on the shore of Potenji River, in the outskirts of the city of Natal.^[7] The school has been supported by the foundation since, but has additionally won the support of UNESCO in the category Preparation to the world of work and youth leadership and the support of the FIFA Football for Hope.^[8]

Natal is the capital and largest city of the state Rio Grande do Norte, located in northeastern Brazil. According to IBGE's July 2018 report, the city had a total population of 877,640, while Greater Natal had 1,485,505 inhabitants.

Architect Person trained to plan and design buildings, and oversee their construction

An architect is a person who plans, designs and reviews the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that have human occupancy or use as their principal purpose. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, which derives from the Greek, i.e., chief builder.

Herzog & de Meuron Architecture firm based in Basel (founded 1978)

Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd., or Herzog & de Meuron Architekten, BSA/SIA/ETH (HdM), is a Swiss architecture firm with its head office in Basel, Switzerland. The careers of founders and senior partners Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron closely paralleled one another, with both attending the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. They are perhaps best known for their conversion of the giant Bankside Power Station in London to the new home of Tate Modern. Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron have been visiting professors at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design since 1994 and professors at ETH Zürich since 1999.

Since 2004, the Ameropa Foundation has been supporting a vocational school for welders, mechanics and locksmiths in Rio das Ostras. Every year, approximately 60 students pass the vocational training, which is offered pro bono.^[9]

A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education, or technical skills required to perform the tasks of a particular and specific job. In the case of secondary education, these schools differ from academic high schools which usually prepare students who aim to pursue tertiary education, rather than enter directly into the workforce. With regard to post-secondary education, vocational schools are traditionally distinguished from four-year colleges by their focus on job-specific training to students who are typically bound for one of the skilled trades, rather than providing academic training for students pursuing careers in a professional discipline. While many schools have largely adhered to this convention, the purely vocational focus of other trade schools began to shift in the 1990s "toward a broader preparation that develops the academic" as well as technical skills of their students.

Rio das Ostras is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro.

Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. Unlike traditional volunteering, it uses the specific skills of professionals to provide services to those who are unable to afford them.

Romania

Since 2013, the Ameropa Foundation has been providing humanitarian support to Roma children in Roșia, Sibiu. In 2013, the organization co-financed the construction of a kindergarten. In 2015, the construction of a workshop to train apprentices with the goal to create jobs was co-financed.^[9]

Romani people constitute one of Romania's largest minorities. According to the 2011 census, they number 621,573 people or 3.08% of the total population, being the second-largest ethnic minority in Romania after Hungarians. There are different estimates about the size of the total population of people with Romani ancestry in Romania, varying from 4.6 percent to over 10 percent of the population, because a lot of people of Romani descent do not declare themselves Roma.

Roșia is a commune located in Sibiu County, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Cașolț, Cornățel, Daia, Nou, Nucet and Roșia.

Kindergarten (, ; from German [ˈkɪndɐˌɡaːɐ̯tn̩] is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally created in the late 18th century in Bavaria and Strasbourg to serve children whose parents both worked outside home. The term was coined by the German Friedrich Fröbel, whose approach globally influenced early-years education. Today, the term is used in many countries to describe a variety of educational institutions and learning spaces for children ranging from one to seven years of age, based on a variety of teaching methods.

Uganda

In January 2009, the Ameropa Foundation established a microcredit institute called FINEM in Kampala. By 2016, more than 2000 loans were given, reaching over 6,000 beneficiaries. In 2015, the Ameropa Foundation collaborated with Right To Play, an international humanitarian organization, and developed the project TUSOBOLA, which means Together we can make it.^[10] The project focuses on empowering children and youth through life skills. The project was implemented in seven schools in Kamwookya and Kyebando, slums of Kampala.^[11] Over 3,000 children were reached by the project and it is estimated that, by 2018, this educational program will reach about 6,000 school children and approximately 2,400 additional children from the communities.^[9]

Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically lack collateral, steady employment, or a verifiable credit history. It is designed to support entrepreneurship and alleviate poverty. Many recipients are illiterate, and therefore unable to complete paperwork required to get conventional loans. As of 2009 an estimated 74 million people held microloans that totaled US$38 billion. Grameen Bank reports that repayment success rates are between 95 and 98 percent.

Kampala is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper is estimated to have population of 1,680,800 people in 2019 and is divided into five boroughs of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Rubaga Division.

Right To Play is a global organization that attempts to teach children in need with educational games. It was founded in 2000 by Olympic gold medallist Johann Olav Koss. Right To Play's programs are facilitated by more than 14,900 local volunteer coaches and more than 620 international staff.

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A favela is a unique, low and middle-income, and unregulated neighborhood in Brazil that has experienced historical governmental neglect. The first favela, now known as Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro, appeared in the late 19th century, built by soldiers who had nowhere to live following the Canudos War. Some of the first settlements were called bairros africanos. Over the years, many former enslaved Africans moved in. Even before the first favela came into being, poor citizens were pushed away from the city and forced to live in the far suburbs. However, most modern favelas appeared in the 1970s due to rural exodus, when many people left rural areas of Brazil and moved to cities. Unable to find places to live, many people found themselves in favelas. Census data released in December 2011 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) showed that in 2010, about 6 percent of the Brazilian population lived in slums.

Mercy Corps is a global non-governmental, humanitarian aid organization operating in transitional contexts that have undergone, or have been undergoing, various forms of economic, environmental, social and political instabilities. The organization claims to have assisted more than 220 million people survive humanitarian conflicts, seek improvements in livelihoods, and deliver durable development to their communities. In 2019, senior staff resigned following public disclosure of the organization's longtime inaction over its co-founder's sexual abuse of his daughter.

Architecture for Humanity was a US-based charitable organization that sought architectural solutions to humanitarian crises and brought professional design services to clients. Founded in 1999, it laid off its staff and closed down at the beginning of January 2015.

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is an American non-profit charitable foundation, established in 1944 by hotel entrepreneur Conrad N. Hilton. It remained relatively small until his death on January 3, 1979 when it was named the principal beneficiary of his estate. In 2007, Conrad's son, Barron Hilton announced that he would leave about 97% of his fortune to a charitable remainder unitrust which will eventually be merged with the Foundation.

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Andreas Zivy is a Swiss businessman based in Binningen, Switzerland. He is the current chairman of Swiss agribusiness Ameropa Holding AG.

References

↑ Jensen, Donald (2015-10-29). "Andreas Zivy and His Management Team At Ameropa". businessmediagroup.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
↑ "The Ameropa Foundation was founded in December 2001 by Andreas Zivy and Nicole Miescher". globaldispatch.com. 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
↑ The Amorepa Foundation Project details Retrieved 2016-12-11
↑ Rule, Dan (2014-08-24). "Swiss architects build favela stadium". smh.com.au. The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 2016-12-11.
↑ "Arsitek Swiss Sukses Bangun Gedung Olahraga di Brasil". kompas.com. 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
↑ "Building Optimism: Public Space in South America". cmoa.org. 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
↑ "Mapping Brazil - Architecture: Professional Practice". dutchculture.nl. Dutch Culture. 2016-12-11. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
↑ "Right to Play 2015 Annual Report". righttoplay.ch. Right to Play. 2016-12-11. Archived from the original on 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
1 2 3 Projects in Northeastern Brazil, Uganda and Romania Retrieved 2016-12-11
↑ "Wir freuen uns, Ihnen unsere Partner vorzustellen Sie bilden das wertvolle Fundament unserer Arbeit". righttoplay.ch. Right to Play. 2016-12-11. Archived from the original on 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
↑ Victor, Shirley (2016-03-06). "Ameropa's High-End Business Functions and Social Responsibility". medium.com. Medium. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-11.

External links

The Ameropa Foundation website

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[1] Jensen, Donald (2015-10-29). "Andreas Zivy and His Management Team At Ameropa". businessmediagroup.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-12-11.

[2] "The Ameropa Foundation was founded in December 2001 by Andreas Zivy and Nicole Miescher". globaldispatch.com. 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2016-12-11.

[3] The Amorepa Foundation Project details Retrieved 2016-12-11

[4] Rule, Dan (2014-08-24). "Swiss architects build favela stadium". smh.com.au. The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 2016-12-11.

[5] "Arsitek Swiss Sukses Bangun Gedung Olahraga di Brasil". kompas.com. 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2016-12-11.

[6] "Building Optimism: Public Space in South America". cmoa.org. 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2016-12-11.

[7] "Mapping Brazil - Architecture: Professional Practice". dutchculture.nl. Dutch Culture. 2016-12-11. Retrieved 2016-12-11.

[8] "Right to Play 2015 Annual Report". righttoplay.ch. Right to Play. 2016-12-11. Archived from the original on 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2016-12-11.

[a-9] 1 2 3 Projects in Northeastern Brazil, Uganda and Romania Retrieved 2016-12-11

[10] "Wir freuen uns, Ihnen unsere Partner vorzustellen Sie bilden das wertvolle Fundament unserer Arbeit". righttoplay.ch. Right to Play. 2016-12-11. Archived from the original on 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2016-12-11.

[11] Victor, Shirley (2016-03-06). "Ameropa's High-End Business Functions and Social Responsibility". medium.com. Medium. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-11.