The project in summary

Support the sustainable implementation of child-friendly spaces and ensure the systemic embedding of child-friendly measures and activities in Collective Accommodation Shelters in Switzerland.

The project in detail

Make Collective Accommodation Shelters sustainably more child-friendly to allow children to learn and play there, be protected, and receive child-appropriate care that places their well-being and needs at the center while fostering their strengths and resources.

Expected Beneficiaries throughout the project period (2026-2028)

Direct Beneficiaries

  • Approximately 12-14 Regional Directors;
  • Approximately 12-14 Good Practices Shelters Directors;
  • Approximately 24-56 Replication Shelters Directors;
  • Approximately 13-15 Key Staff (Good Practices Shelters);
  • Approximately 24-56 Replication Shelters Staff.

Indirect Beneficiaries 

  • Approximately, 4’200-8’100 child asylum-seekers and refugees located inside 35-71 Collective Accommodation Shelters at federal and cantonal level.

In 2026-2028, Save the Children Schweiz, with Alta Mane support amongst others, foresees the following main activities:

  • to strengthen the Regional Directors in their role as those responsible for child-friendly accommodation and care in the region;
  • to sensitize the Center Directors to child protection and child-appropriate care;
  • to coach Key Staff Members of Good Practices Shelters to sustainably implement and embed child-friendly measures, structures and activities in their shelters and ensure their quality;
  • to support Center Directors and Key Staff Members of Good Practices Shelters to elaborate site-specific guidelines to transfer child-friendly measures at regional level;
  • to provide support to Replication Shelter Directors and Staff to sustainably implement the defined child-friendly measures in their accommodation shelters;
  • to establish a Regional Professional Network to enable continuous, practice-oriented exchange of experiences among all implementation leads and promote targeted peer support in the implementation and embedding of child-friendly standards at regional level;
  • to carry out targeted advocacy and networking activities, at different levels, to ensure systemic embedding of child-friendly measures in Collective Accommodation Shelters.