Intercultural Education
Capacity is a start up and talent incubator for people with refugee and migrant backgrounds. Through entrepreneurship, Capacity strives to create economic opportunity for disadvantaged people in Switzerland and to mitigate the long-term effects of their social and economic exclusion from the Swiss labor market.
More specifically, the Capacity programme supports and enables this community to build a sustainable path towards financial stability and social inclusion for themselves, their families and their community. It also provides a well-rounded learning experience to unlock and harness their entrepreneurial potential. The bilingual and free of charge programme (G/E) is designed to develop entrepreneurs and support them in transforming their idea into a real entrepreneurial business or project, as well as in taking the first steps to enter the Swiss Market.
As there is no integration without inclusion, the Capacity Programmes foster the collaborative interaction and dialogue between communities that would otherwise not meet (refugees/migrants – corporate volunteers/wider public) thus stereotypes are challenged, and a more inclusive society is being shaped.
Work is central to our identity and also the gateway to integrating in society for newcomers. In Switzerland the process of finding a job can take as long as 5 years for the two most affected groups of migrants – refugees and family-reunion migrants (primarily women). More than 50% of newcomers have tertiary-level education, but face linguistic, cultural and educational barriers. Only 40% of highly-educated migrants make full use of their knowledge and skills. The rest are caught in the process termed ‘waste of talent'. Continuous rejection, deskilling and unemployment leads to mental-and physical health problems, social isolation and state-welfare dependency.
We need to fund the 2022 Entrepreneurship Programme and expand our reach and widen our impact to other parts of Switzerland.
Please donate our mission and/or share this project to enable inclusion and intercultural education. Thank you very much.