The Institute New Switzerland (INES) is a think & act tank with a migration foreground, founded in summer 2016. INES is a non-profit association, politically and denominationally independent, based in Bern.

INES is looking for cross-thematic alliances to break away from thinking in terms of "us" and "them" and to develop socio-political visions. In a migration society like the #NewSwitzerland, it is not only a question of migration and racism, but also of the economy, consumption, the environment, education, digitalisation, the future of work, gender relations, etc., with a view to a common, democratic future.

The idea of a New Switzerland starts here and connects what has long been there with what could be. INES develops projects that address issues of migration, diversity and participation in Switzerland in a transformative way, thereby promoting participatory justice and democratisation in Switzerland. INES' activities include analysis, expertise and the promotion of young researchers.

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WHAT IS OUR VISION?

Our vision is a "New Switzerland" in which all who are here and will come have an equal share and a good life, and a country that takes responsibility for its global actions.

INES is not only about the next votes, but about the next generations. We don't just want to scratch the paint, but achieve real transformation. In order to jointly shape a plural and democratic immigration society, we bring together expertise from all over the country.

Sixty active experts with and without a migration background have already found a home in INES. Together we develop analyses, content and projects in collective processes to improve coexistence in Switzerland. More about the history and orientation of INES can be found in the article #NeueSchweiz - für alle, die hier sind und noch kommen.

INES is more than a traditional institute. INES is also a community where committed people can get involved to work on #NewSwitzerland.

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WHAT ARE OUR MISSIONS?

CITIZENSHIP
INES strengthens a new self-image of Switzerland that recognises all people living here as full citizens, guarantees them participation without discrimination, and recognises migration stories as part of Swiss history and its self-image.

GOOD LIVING
INES promotes a society in which all those who are here have access to resources to freely develop their abilities themselves and in community, and empower them to participate in the sustainable shaping of democracy.

GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
INES is committed to a Switzerland that openly addresses global injustice, inequality and wealth disparities, and advocates for political, economic and cultural action that strengthens global justice.

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WHAT ARE OUR GOALS?

By 2025, INES will have set its strategic focus on the topic of citizenship and has formulated three goals for this, which will guide INES' activities and projects:

NEW CITIZENSHIP
Naturalisation has been shown to have a strong impact on permanently improving social and legal participation. To promote this, all children born in Switzerland should automatically receive Swiss citizenship. In addition, everyone should be able to naturalise at the latest after they have lived in Switzerland for six years and have their centre of life here, regardless of their residence status. Even the introduction of a right to vote and to be elected as a resident is no substitute for a necessary, fundamental change of perspective with regard to the question of nationality and citizenship.

That is why INES will help to shape the urgently needed change in citizenship law in the coming years - based on a legal and historical analysis of Swiss citizenship law. Among other things, we actively support the Action FourQuarters association in launching a popular initiative for a basic right to naturalisation.

See
o New citizenship

DIVERSE CITIZENSHIP
INES assumes that a new understanding of citizenship is necessary to increase participation, opportunities and prosperity for people with migration histories and experiences of racism. An adjustment of Switzerland's outdated self-image is therefore long overdue.

That is why INES strives for a new understanding of citizenship in the media, politics, authorities, companies and civil society organisations that recognises the actual realities of life for people with a migration history and experience of racism and understands them as a fully-fledged part of Switzerland. These new views of citizenship with a view to the past, present and future are to be incorporated into public debates so that past and present social conditions become more visible. Last but not least, INES wants to motivate more people with a migration history and experience of racism to engage in debates with the self-confidence of being part of Switzerland in an offensive, multi-voiced and critical as well as self-critical way.

See
o Tour de Nouvelle Suisse
o Blog
o Postmigrant School Cultures
o Handbook New Switzerland
o We Talk. Switzerland unfiltered : A project initiated by the Friends of INES

DISCRIMINATION-FREE PARTICIPATION
Administration, media, politics and private organisations need to be more diverse in order to represent the real society. For this to happen, institutions must increasingly address issues of migration, diversity and participation in a transformative process. Only in this way can real participatory justice and democratisation be promoted and strengthened in Switzerland.

INES calls for personnel and programmatic changes in the institutions and wants to support them in developing transparent plans and measures to ensure that diversity is reflected in the services they offer, in the composition of their staff and in the allocation of mandates. Based on experiences with the Literaturhaus and the Kaserne Basel, INES has formulated recommendations for the institutional opening of cultural institutions.

See
o Tour de Nouvelle Suisse
o Atelier Neue Schweiz
o Pro Helvetia

Do you want to know more?
You can find more information and examples in the Introduction of the HANDBOOK NEW SWITZERLAND as well as in the articles Gegenwart und Zukunft der Neuen Schweiz - Citizenship in the Making and Arguing with each other in many voices and in solidarity - Values of good cooperation and communication.

Do you want to stay up to date? Subscribe to the INES Newsletter.

Do you also want a #NewSwitzerland? Become a member of the support association "Friends of INES".

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WHO IS INES?

The initiative for INES comes from a circle of people with migration and refugee histories, people of colour, Second@s, hyphenated Swiss and cosmopolitan accomplices. We come from all over the country and work in the fields of science, art, culture, media, education, development, law and social work. At INES we work voluntarily for a #NewSwitzerland.

The INES Board:
Lucía Aguilar, Cenk Akdoğanbulut, Tatiana Cardoso, Asmaa Dehbi, Migmar Dhakyel, Kijan Espahangizi, Uğur Gültekin, Inés Mateos , Katharina Morawek, Halua Pinto de Magalhães, Nora Refaeil

The board of the Friends of INES:
Lucía Aguilar, Selena Özcelik, Alain Stampfli Leite, Cristina Vega, Victoria Popova, Nertila Ramadani

The INES office:
Myrsini Arvanitis, Mardoché Kabengele, Tarek Naguib, Maria-Cecilia Quadri

To date, actively involved in the establishment of INES:
Melinda Nadj Abonji, Hélène Agbémégnah, Mithra Akhbari, Milad Al-Rafu, Amir Ali, Bettina Aremu, Natalie Avanzino, Mohamed Wa Baile, Izabel Barros, Jacqueline Beck, Nicolle Bussien, Migmar Dhakyel, Kadiatou Diallo, Mo Diener, Rahel El-Maawi, Auguste Essama, Babak Fargahi, Nina Fargahi, Georg Gatsas, Dominik Gross, Sara Arzu Hardegger, Lamya Hennache, Samia Henni, Urs Hofer, Anisha Imhasly, Rohit Jain, Shpresa Jashari, Vanja Jelic, Jan Jirat, Roland Jurczok, Christoph Keller, Jennifer Khakshouri, Fuat Köçer, Albana Krasniqi, Manuel Krebs, Marianne Halasy-Nagy Liratni, Cathrine Lutz, Fatima Moumouni, Pamela Ohene-Nyako, Victoria Popova, Edwin Ramirez, Sara Winter Sayilir, Pascal Schwaighofer, Shirana Shahbazi, Dögg Sigmarsdottìr, Rosemarie Weibel

With the kind support of:
Stiftung Mercator Schweiz
Eidgenössische Migrationskommission EKM
Fachstelle für Integrationsfragen des Kantons Zürich
Bundes Amt für Kultur BAK
Fachstelle für Rassismusbekämpfung
ERBPROZENT KULTUR
Ernst Göhner Stiftung
Temperatio Stiftung
Migros Kulturprozent
Karl & Sophie Binding Stiftung
Schweizerische Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft SGG
Kultur Stadt Bern
Ev.-ref. Gesamtkirchgemeinde Bern
norm
A & O Consulting
Freundliche Grüsse
KOSMOS