ATD Fourth World Switzerland, founded in 1965, is active in several regions of the country. Teams work in Basel, Fribourg, Geneva and Rorschach, and the national centre is in Treyvaux, near Fribourg. Activities in Switzerland take place at the local, national, and international levels. The team representing the International Movement ATD Fourth World at the UN in Geneva works out of the Joseph Wresinski House in that city.

We also organize activities and gatherings where the most excluded people can share with others their knowledge about poverty. Then, together, we find ways to address misunderstandings about poverty, to overcome the violence of exclusion, and to counter the many ways that human dignity and human rights are undermined.  We do this through:

• The Fourth World People’s University and Merging Knowledge Workshops
• Gatherings of children and young people from all walks of life: Tapori activities for children and workshops for young people
• Internships to learn more about the ATD Volunteer Corps
• Art workshops, retreats and holiday stays for families
• Annual commemoration of 17 October, World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty
• Participation in the National Platform against Poverty
• The Swiss Confederation supports ATD participatory research on institutional mistreatment of people in poverty. This can take the form of foster care placements and other coercive measures associated with assistance programs. The goal of ATD’s research is to put an end to these abusive practices that perpetuate poverty from one generation to the next.