Unité

Personnel development cooperation is a well-established element of Swiss development cooperation because it has a direct impact on the empowerment of local organisations in the Global South thanks to sustainable and equal partnerships. It entails the assignments of qualified experts as professional international volunteers in countries of the Global South. It is a form of development cooperation, which puts forward a fruitful encounter of individuals from different cultures ahead of money & technology. Our member organisations work in close partnership with local organisations. The assignments are tailored to the needs of the beneficiaries and serve the populations regardless of ethnical or religious affiliation, gender or political orientation. The relationship between the Unité members and their partner organisations in the Global South is based on reciprocity, fairness, open dialogue, mutual efforts towards intercultural understanding, working together and learning from each other. We aim to strengthen these local organizations so that they can meet the needs of local communities and positively influence the systems they live in. As an umbrella organization, Unité promotes and supports the quality of the development programmes of our member organisations in setting standards, providing training and conducting studies on the exchange of personnel in development cooperation.