Impact - static.group.pictet · Towards a treatment for a rare . children’s disease. page 16. A...

Towards a treatment for a rare

children’s diseasepage 16

A helping hand to get young people back on their feet

page 12

Geneva’s orchestra marks

its centenarypage 28

Impact

Plastic waste is the problem, but also part

of the solutionpage 22

OCTOBER 2018 - No. 5

Cover picture: Along the river, Santo DomingoCredit: Peter Charaf, Race for Water

Help in Switzerland l pages 9-14

Carrefour-Rue

Where there’s hope, life can flourish again

Partage

A (food) bank that cares and shares

SOS-Enfants Genève

A listening ear for children and their parents

Caritas Genève

A helping hand to get young people back on their feet

Les réfugiés d’hier accueillent les réfugiés

d’aujourd’hui

Integrating freely with locals

Health l pages 15-19

EspeRare

Towards a treatment for a rare children’s disease

a capella

Making sense for those who cannot hear

Fondation Cerebral

Helping to create moments of respite

SFITS - Swiss Foundation for Innovation

and Training in Surgery

Robotics and virtual reality come to the operating theatre

Swiss Multiple Sclerosis Society

A disease with many faces

Culture l pages 26-30

MAMCO - Musée d’art moderne et

contemporain de Genève

Mai-Thu Perret: a monumental retrospective

International Museum of the Reformation

The printing revolution that changed the world

OSR - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

Geneva’s orchestra marks its centenary

Théâtre Alchimic

A mirror of our times

Help abroad l pages 20-25

APOPO

Sniffing out landmines and tuberculosis to help humankind

Race for Water

Plastic waste is the problem, but also part of the solution

SwissLimbs

Solutions for amputees in Mozambique

Voix Libres

How dwarves can become giants

In Focus – EcoFormation l pages 6-8

Interview with EcoFormation’s co-founder Philippe Dubois. Follow-up on the project to build a solar power plant in Madagascar financed by the Pictet Group Charitable Foundation in 2017.

Editorial

Almost 10 years

You are reading the fifth issue of Impact, the newsletter that highlights projects and associations supported by the Pictet Group Charitable Foundation, which marks its 10th anniversary next year.

Established in 2009, the Foundation was created to formalise the Group’s approach to charity and philanthropy. However, it is also the embodiment of a philanthropic tradition that the Partners have carried on for decades, either individually or on behalf of Pictet.

Today, we're pleased to report that a lot of ground has been covered since those early beginnings. From a first year in which we helped fund a dozen projects, we've gone on to enabling more than 150 in 2018. Some we fund over the long term, others on a one-off basis.

Looking beyond the numbers, we would like, above all, to emphasise the quality of the projects carried out and remember the individuals whose lives have been improved thanks to support from the Foundation. In this issue, you’ll read about the children saved from the mines who became entrepreneurs in Bolivia, prosthetics and rehabilitation for amputees in Tanzania, the organisation that repurposes plastic ocean waste or, in Geneva, the homeless people who now have a chance to rebuild their lives.

By giving the associations we support the opportunity to present their work, we show how crucial and relevant our mission remains. But there's still so much to do. We'll also be working to build up areas that we believe will be central to our mission, namely sustainable development and protecting the environment.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue of Impact; and don't forget to keep an eye out for the special 10th anniversary issue in 2019.

On behalf of the Foundation Board

Claude Demole Stephany Malquarti Foundation Board Member General Secretary

IMPACT - October 2018 5

Solar energy and dedication to a cause

During Pictet’s annual Group-wide Sustainability Week in 2017, staff were asked to choose one of three projects for a donation from the Pictet Group Charitable Foundation.

A majority voted to build a solar power plant in northwestern Madagascar. Overseen by the EcoFormation Foundation, a charity founded in 2010 to reforest the island, the plant would provide clean energy for a bush hospital that was under construction and eight surrounding villages.

One year later, the Avotrala clinic in Bekoratsaka and the solar plant are fully operational. “You’re lucky to find us here in Switzerland today,” says Philippe Dubois, the energetic co-founder of EcoFormation. Even though he’s just returned from Madagascar, he’s already preparing to fly back. “This is what I’ve been doing for years. I spend two months in Switzerland looking for donors and raising funds, and two months on the ground to move forward with existing projects.”

Barely three months after the clinic opened, patient numbers are so high that space and resources are in short supply. EcoFormation is already planning to extend the clinic.

People come from far to receive treatment. Edmond has travelled

In Focus – EcoFormation

for 10 hours so his father can have an operation. “Nobody else was prepared to treat him at his age. Here, they have all the equipment and know-how, and it’s affordable.”

At the same time, Philippe reminds us, not without pride, that “our primary objective is to counter deforestation through reforestation and by teaching locals to protect the ecosystem and value biodiversity. Our agroforestry training centre employs about 40 staff, and every year about 30 young locals qualify as nurserymen.”

So how did this project come about? Christophe Darbord, EcoFormation’s head of finance, fills us in. “In the 1950s, 87% of Madagascar was covered in primary forest, and the island’s natural resources (vanilla, cacao, coffee and hardwoods) were highly prized and exports controlled.” Sixty years after the end of colonial rule, Madagascar’s natural resources are so overexploited that

virtually all the primary forest has disappeared.

How did this happen? “Extensive and unchecked felling by the island’s inhabitants and private businesses. This has led to widespread desertification, which threatens water supplies and food security. These conditions also encourage the spread of infectious diseases. The mortality rate among under-fives is around 40%, and close to 80% of the population live in poverty.”

Since EcoFormation's inception, its scope has widened to address each new challenge as it arose. “We've already replanted more than 5 million samplings. But we also realised that people were more concerned about what they would put on their plates and that they still needed to be in good health if we were to train them. So it was only natural to take a comprehensive and integrated approach.“

Step by step, EcoFormation is therefore investing more in this

IMPACT - October 20186


The Avotrala clinic_

Launched in May 2018, the clinic is 100% powered with solar energy (solar power plant financed by the

Pictet Group Charitable Foundation)_

Run by Sister Marie-Claire (picture), and the community of Sisters from the Abbey of Saint Maurice (Canton

of Valais, Switzerland). _

Units: maternity ward, general medicine, minor surgery

_

Staff: 1 surgeon, 1 general practitioner, several midwives

and nurses_

A dozen beds for patients_

Consultation fee: CHF 0.90 (equivalent to around 3000

Madagascarian Aryarys)

© Sébastien Féval / Tamedia


EcoFormation_

A foundation board with 7 volunteer members

_

125 staff at the agroforestry training centre in Bekoratsaka

_

3,600 hectares reforested, with more than 5.7 million

samplings planted_

21,500 people in the region have benefited

_

270 jobs created_

1.2 million samplings grown_

3 interns from Swiss higher-education institutions and universities each year

region of Madagascar. Wells have been drilled to supply drinking water to the villages in the area. Food production is developed, as well as access to medical care, with the building of the clinic.

What's next? Philippe Dubois' eyes light up with the look of someone driven. “The extension to the clinic, you already know about. But there's also our new spirulina farm. This type of seaweed is very nutritious and easy to grow on the island. We’ve already started building. The idea is to set up a production cooperative that would

provide spirulina free of charge to malnourished children and the most disadvantaged. Part of it would then be marketed at cost price to Caritas and the Red Cross and the rest exported to Europe, with the aim of establishing autonomous, sustainable and income-generating production. We always have new ideas, because there's still so much to do.“

You can hear Philippe’s dedication in his voice, and it leaves you in no doubt that this new project will be a success. And we wish him the very best of luck, of course.



ACTIONS SOCIAL SUISSE

HELP IN SWITZERLAND

True to Pictet's tradition of giving back to the local community,

the Pictet Group Charitable Foundation supports a variety of Geneva-based associations that provide

direct and practical assistance to people facing hardship in Switzerland

Partage collects unsold produce from Geneva retail outlets and redistributes it to local charitable associations (see page 11)

© Rebecca Bowring

Noël Constant believes it’s important to make an effort to meet people who live on the streets and have nothing. "We need to reach out to them and offer help", he says. And that’s why he established the Carrefour-Rue association in 1978. For over 50 years, this “man of the people” has been walking the streets and bringing help to people living in extreme poverty. His fight against exclusion and insecurity in life goes on, and his association is constantly expanding the reach of its work.

Geneva is no stranger to homelessness. Difficult family circumstances, the loss of a job or housing are all factors that can lead to someone falling on hard times. Demand for housing is high in Geneva, and there's been a shortage of affordable accommodation for many years now. The number of people living under the shadow of insecurity continues to grow.

“Where there's hope, life can flourish again.” Noël Constant

Carrefour-Rue

To address the issue, Carrefour-Rue offers immediate and local help to homeless people by providing them with an opportunity to pick themselves up and improve their quality of life. The association offers accommodation and catering facilities, tailored to each person’s needs and with no time limit. This leaves the individuals concerned time to rebuild their lives and find their feet. This assistance is available around the clock and free of charge.

Mobile studios (living containers and trailers, see above) have been set up on land leased from the local government or made available by individuals, along with a number of communal living spaces. A toilet and washing area and a healthcare facility are also open to anyone on their own or facing hardship. Other activities that give those affected the chance to share experiences, express themselves and get back

Help in Switzerland

on their feet include weekend outings, holidays, events and entertainment.

Carrefour-Rue is currently able to house 64 people (including 21 in emergency accommodation) and serves more than 200 meals a day. The need for assistance is growing all the time, as the association receives between 50 and 60 requests for emergency housing each week. New mobile studios are already planned and will be installed as soon as a plot is found to accommodate them.

Carrefour-Rue's mobile studios


Help in Switzerland

A (food) bank that cares and shares Partage Some 530,000 people were defined as living below the poverty line in Switzerland in 2015. In Geneva, 46,000 struggled in the face of low wages and in-work poverty. Food banks such as the one operated by Partage (Partenariat Alimentaire Genevois) are needed now more than ever. Across Europe, the European Federation of Food Banks, established in 1986, comprises 273 food banks in 23 countries.

Partage is the only food bank to operate in Geneva, and it supplies food to more than 50 charities in the canton, enabling them to provide much-needed assistance to 12,700 individuals each week. In 2017, 1,002 tonnes of food and personal-care products were collected and distributed, 9% more than in 2016.

Partage focuses on the three mainstays of sustainable development – the economy, society and the environment, and therefore has three specific objectives: to help people facing hardship, fight food waste and help people back to work. The foundation also provides employment for around 40 people facing hardship and helps provide them with the experience they need to find their way back to work.

In 2017, colleagues at Pictet Wealth Management ran a race and raised money for Partage. The funds were used to buy a delivery tricycle or triporteur (see above).

A listening ear for children and their parents SOS-Enfants Genève Family upheaval, trouble at school or the death of a loved one... these are all events that can trigger changes in a child’s behaviour. The situation can sometimes become so entrenched that a child doesn’t know where to turn, and opening up to someone seems an impossible task.

Since 1991, SOS-Enfants Genève offers help in such circumstances. It gives everyone – children, teenagers and parents – almost immediate and free access to a sympathetic ear, support and professional advice in a confidential, even anonymous, setting.

Three psychologists answer questions put to them either during one-to-one sessions, or by phone, or directly on the site's forum. This multi-channel approach is a real asset, because the child, teenager or parent can choose how they wish to make contact, depending on the degree of anonymity they want. Often, a small number of sessions are enough to resolve the problem, but longer-term individual or family follow-up can also be arranged.

In 2017, SOS-Enfants Genève held 870 sessions and helped many young people in the region. This private foundation is part of the services provided by the Bureau Central d’aide Sociale (Central Social Welfare Office), but it is independent from state-run units and financed entirely through private donations and grants.

Partage's delivery tricycles line up


“If they have the will, let’s give them the way.”The slogan for Caritas vocational training programme, which is aimed at helping vulnerable young people get into employment, says it all.

Help in Switzerland

© Rebecca Bowring

Help in Switzerland

© Rebecca Bowring

A helping hand to get young people back on their feetCaritas Genève


In 2017, Caritas Geneva marked its 75th anniversary. Since the beginning it has remained true to its pledge of helping those in need regardless of their social status, nationality, religious beliefs of political affiliations.

In 2006 Caritas launched a training programme for youngsters aged between 18 and 25 who've dropped out of school or work. The goal is to steer them away from casual labour by providing a structured programme tailored to their potential and their specific needs.

After a two-year course given by Caritas's own in-house trainers, who also supervise the youngsters, the trainees receive an ‘AFP’, a state-accredited diploma, which then allows them to move on to the next level, the Federal Certificate of Competence (CFC).

Two courses are currently available: sales training, which provides an opportunity to work at one of Caritas's points of sale; and administrative training, which helps them become better acquainted with the role of an office administrative assistant.

But the Caritas programme provides more than just training; it also offers the youngsters proper mentoring. Having experienced academic failure or disappointment in their jobs, they often suffer from a loss of self-esteem and motivation. To help them rebuild their confidence, Caritas arranges individual follow-up interviews for them, as well as practical workshops and periodic reports and assessments.

“At the beginning of my training with Caritas, I had to adapt to a working life that I wasn’t used to and to learn on the job. I felt supported and taken care of, and the experience helped me gain more independence”, says Moubarak, who had to end his plumbing apprenticeship because of health problems. He went on to do the Caritas programme, earned his CFC diploma and now works for Swissquote.

Moubarak is just one of the many success stories to come out of this training programme. Like Nura (see opposite), who secured an apprenticeship in a textile shop after she was awarded an AFP at Caritas, no fewer than 104

young people have gone on to obtain apprenticeship contracts after completing the programme. Today, around 20 are able to benefit from the programme every year.

A new training centre in Plan-les-Ouates is scheduled to open in early 2019. Caritas then hopes to double current figures and train 40 youngsters per year. The organisation is also analysing the option of offering two more training courses: carpentry and electricity.

For under-25s like these, this helping hand and the second chance offered by Caritas are extremely valuable: “It meant I was able to fend for myself, grow up and take charge of my own life.” In just those few words, former trainee Kelly has perfectly summed up what Caritas aims to achieve.

Palawan and Rinzing, two migrants who have had help from the Centre de la Roseraie tell us: "If you want to learn French fast and find out about life and respect in Geneva, go to la Roseraie." They’re just two of the 20,980 sign-ins logged in 2017 to have taken part in activities arranged by the centre.

The centre was founded in 2001 by the association Les réfugiés d’hier accueillent les réfugiés d’aujourd’hui to help migrants facing hardship and exclusion. Its aim is to improve their living conditions and ease their integration by providing a free-of-charge space where they can meet others and attend courses.

Whether it’s French courses, expression workshops or tours of Geneva’s Botanical Garden, migrants can take part without

Help in Switzerland

registering. There’s no entrance test and no payment is required. The centre works to reduce the social, administrative and financial hurdles the migrants face and to ease their integration regardless of where they are from.

The centre empowers migrants by giving them a role that contributes to the running of the centre. Those taking part in the activities are encouraged to welcome the new migrants who come to the centre. That gives them the opportunity to be involved in the activities offered by the centre, from start to finish.

La Roseraie's work would not be complete without ensuring the migrants are able to establish ties with the community. Meetings with local

inhabitants are encouraged through joint projects, such as creating an urban vegetable garden or participating in the Geneva Dance Festival.

© Kathelijne Reijse Saillet

Integrating freely with localsLes réfugiés d’hier accueillent les réfugiés d’aujourd’hui


HEALTH

Health

The Foundation supports local and international projects aimed at improving

public health by funding research or by supporting associations

helping people affected by physical and mental issues

Students and surgeons come from all over Europe to Geneva's Swiss Foundation for Innovation and Training in Surgery, to benefit from its cutting-edge technologies, infrastructure and teaching in surgery (see page 18)

The EspeRare Foundation is deeply anchored in the Swiss Health Valley. It was founded in 2013 by three former pharmaceutical executives and is dedicated to developing treatments to improve the quality of life of children with rare diseases.

Also known as orphan diseases, these rare conditions are not a priority for the pharmaceutical industry as they affect fewer than 750 people per million of the population. Also, potential treatments are seldom brought to market, as developing suitable drugs isn't profitable. EspeRare bridges the gap between rare-disease research and market development. As a non-profit organisation, EspeRare isn’t required to achieve profitability, which, together with the expertise of its founders and the partnerships established with patient and medical professionals, means that it can

advance dormant research which has a strong potential.

The Pictet Group Charitable Foundation is specifically supporting the development of EspoiR-004 – a treatment for a severe and rare genetic disorder called XLHED (x-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia). Mostly affecting male infants, this life-threatening disease is triggered by a protein deficiency during foetal development, which causes severe malformations of the skin, teeth, respiratory tract and hair. Infants are particularly at risk of sudden death due to hyperthermia and/or pneumonia in the early years of life.

EspoiR-004 was discontinued in 2015 after it failed to provide any clear benefits when administered to newborns. It did, however, appear to have great potential when administered in-utero. A future mother was thus able to benefit from this first

Health

experimental treatment in 2016, which enabled her twins Maarten and Linus (see above) to be treated during pregnancy. Her twins are now two years old and developing normally, showing no symptoms of the disease. EspeRare has now taken over the EspoiR-004 programme and is aiming to obtain worldwide market authorisation in four years’ time.

Towards a treatment for a rare children’s diseaseEspeRare

Twins benefit from experimental treatment


Making sense for those who cannot hear a capella

Have you ever tried to lip-read? When no sound is made or if you don’t hear it, it’s virtually impossible to distinguish between words like pat and bat. Langage Parlé Complété (LPC) differs from sign language, as it is a system of complementary cues rather than a language in its own right. It helps language development and integration for the deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Cued speech, which was invented in the US in the 1960s to improve the reading skills of children with hearing impediments, is based on lip reading and supplemented by hand gestures to make sounds visible. Cued speech was adapted to French in the 1970s and named LPC. It came to French-speaking Switzerland in the 1980s.

LPC is at the heart of everything the A Capella Foundation does. Set up in 2000 and active throughout French-speaking Switzerland, the foundation uses LPC to promote the social, educational and professional integration of deaf people and those with hearing impediments. It provides a wide range of services, from support for families with pre-school children to courses for adults and professionals, as well as raising funds for LPC-linked projects.

The foundation helped close to 170 deaf and hearing-impaired people in 2016.

Health

Helping to create moments of respiteFondation Cerebral

This drawing came with the letter that Lois’s parents sent to Fondation Cerebral to thank the foundation for its help in purchasing a new family car. For the Herold family, "the new car meant we were able to make a long journey – all the way to the Netherlands – and show our children the sea." Another family, who rented an adapted camper van from Fondation Cerebral to go on holiday, were happy "to share some unforgettable moments, get a few days’ respite and escape the daily routine."

These understated messages, published in the quarterly newsletter sent to donors of Fondation Cerebral, illustrate some of the challenges faced by the families of children with a motor disability. Many activities that we all take for granted, like going for a walk, having a bath or using public transport, become complex operations when you have to do them with a disabled child.

Everybody deserves respite and an opportunity to escape their daily routine. And that is why Fondation Cerebral provides care, expert advice and a broad range of mobility solutions (as well as tailored leisure activities) that allow families to share precious moments of rest and relaxation.

Cerebral has been providing assistance for children with motor disabilities and families for close to 60 years. Stepping in where disability insurance and public funding no longer help, the foundation is active throughout Switzerland to provide relief in the daily lives of nearly 9,300 families and ensure those affected enjoy the best quality of life possible.

© Amélie Benoist


The Evaluation and monitoring of self-awareness project initiated by three professors from the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) in 2017, is a global first. Never before have virtual reality (VR) and robotics been integrated into cognitive neurosurgery.

Four state-of-the-art laboratories, focused on new technologies and neurosciences, have joined forces to create a specialist laboratory as part of the Swiss Foundation for Innovation and Training in Surgery (SFITS), HUG’s new multidisciplinary platform dedicated to training and research in surgery.

Located in a brand new building adjacent to the HUG complex, with a footprint of 1,800 m2 on two floors, the SFITS opened in April 2018. Thanks to its public-private funding model, the SFITS

doesn’t depend on industry and the platform is open to researchers and practitioners from around the world.

At the core of the new space, computer tools and interactive simulations are used in combination with neurosurgical research and development. An operating theatre connected to the new technologies – including VR and robotics – is expected to improve the chances of preserving essential cognitive functions, including motor and language skills, when conducting operations on patients with complex brain injuries.

It is hoped that by using brain stimulation equipment and the information from a high-quality imaging system, neurosurgery and neuroscience will also advance our understanding of self-perception.

Health

Several patients have already been examined. Two postdoctoral researchers, hired between June and September 2018, will work at the SFITS premises.

Robotics and virtual reality come to the operating theatreSFITS - Swiss Foundation for Innovation and Training in Surgery


Health

"There are days when walking up one stair feels like scaling the north face of the Eiger." This says a lot about what life’s like for Irene (above left), living with multiple sclerosis (MS) day in, day out. Irene, Stéphane and Angela are three of the faces of the Swiss Multiple Sclerosis Society’s latest awareness campaign, which highlights the invisible symptoms and many faces of the disease. MS doesn’t fit into neat pigeon holes, and it manifests itself in many different ways. In some people the condition evolves slowly, in others more rapidly. In all cases, those affected and their families have to constantly adjust to new challenges.

The Swiss Multiple Sclerosis Society has been providing support to individuals with MS and their families for almost 60 years. The Society’s work is guided by three main objectives – helping those affected by the disease to maintain their independence and improving their quality of life, providing support for research into MS, and promoting interdisciplinary cooperation.

The Society’s services are available to those with MS and their families, experts and volunteers. As well as expert advice, courses and training, the Society offers tailored and supervised leisure

La Société suisse de la sclérose en plaques soutient depuis plus de 50 ans toutes les personnes atteintes de SEP. Aidez-nous vous aussi en contribuant à davantage de qualité de vie pour les personnes atteintes de SEP: www.sclerose-en-plaques.ch

«Certains jours, une marche d’escalier me semble être la face nord de l’Eiger»

Tout le monde peut recevoir un diagnostic de sclérose en plaques – et elle évolue différemment chez chacun. Chez Irene, c’est la diminution de sa mobilité qui fait partie de sa vie avec la SEP.

pour une vie meilleure

programmes, such as group stays for people with severe MS or holiday camps for children and teenagers whose parents have the disease.

Even though the exact number of people living with MS in Switzerland isn't known, the MS Register set up by the Society in 2016 suggests that there are around 15,000. The Register has also helped to provide more accurate information on how the disease is distributed in Switzerland and the circumstances of sufferers. This pool of knowledge is crucial for creating a community and uniting all forces needed so that the disease may one day be overcome.

A disease with many facesSwiss Multiple Sclerosis Society

«Souvent, mes douleurs sont insupportables»Tout le monde peut recevoir un diagnostic de sclérose en plaques – et elle évolue différemment chez chacun. Chez Stéphane, ce sont des fortes douleurs dans les jambes et les bras qui font partie de sa vie avec la SEP.



«Tout à coup, je ne voyais plus que du brouillard d’un œil»

Tout le monde peut recevoir un diagnostic de sclérose en plaques – et elle évolue différemment chez chacun. Chez Angela, ce sont des troubles visuels apparais-sant soudainement au début de sa maladie qui font partie de sa vie avec la SEP.



Irene, Stéphane and Angela are three of the faces of the Swiss Multiple Sclerosis Society’s latest awareness campaign


ACTIONS SOCIAL ÉTRANGÈRE

Help abroad

Our support for social causes abroad goes mainly to Swiss

associations operating in developing countries. There is a particular focus

on access to education for children and young people.


Magawa is a mine-detection expert, trained by APOPO to spot landmines. Together with his team, he has helped to clear 19,649 mines in Mozambique, Angola, and most recently, Cambodia.

But Magawa is not a person. He is a giant pouched rat, a large rodent that is found across most of sub-Saharan Africa. Based in Tanzania since its foundation in 1997, APOPO uses the rats' highly developed sense of smell and light weight to detect two threats to humans lives – landmines and tuberculosis.

While it takes humans with metal detectors up to four days to clear explosives from an area the size

of a tennis court, APOPO’s rats only need 20 minutes, making them ideal for speeding up detection and clearance.

The Pictet Group Charitable Foundation not only supports APOPO in its mine clearing operations, but also in its use of pouched rats to speed up the detection of tuberculosis (TB).

World Health Organization data show that, even though TB is the world's leading cause of death from an infectious disease, 4.1 million went undetected in 2016. On average, APOPO’s rats have helped to increase detection rates by 40%. As well as being cost-effective (all they ask in return for their services are bananas and

peanuts), they are also highly efficient and more precise than conventional microscopy. They can get through 100 samples in 20 minutes whereas a human with a microscope would need up to four days to test the same number of samples.

Help abroad

Sniffing out landmines and tuberculosis to help humankindAPOPO

© Taylor Weidman

In need for rodental treatment


Help abroad

Plastic waste is the problem, but also part of the solution Race for Water

“We are in a state of emergency. Volumes of plastic in the ocean are too high, and re-education will take too long, so our economic model is a way to act quickly,” says Camille Rollin on behalf of Race for Water, an organisation founded in 2010 that works to prevent the pollution of our oceans and waterways with plastic waste.

aluminium. Unfortunately, plastic does not have the same value because it is very complicated to recycle - it needs to be sorted by type and cleaned. In many countries, these processes take time to put in place.

Race for Water spent the next two years finding a way to make ‘plastic picking’ profitable. They found a technology developed by the ETIA Group in France that can turn plastic into an energy-rich synthesised gas suitable for energy production. Modular and mobile plants using high temperature pyrolysis technology are capable of processing between 5 and 12 tonnes of plastic waste per day. The plants can be built near pop-ulated areas and therefore create ‘plastic picking’ jobs and supply electricity to local communities.

Pictet’s donation has been chan-nelled directly into setting up a

Help abroad

pilot project in the Dominican Republic, where a Biogreen® 300 unit is being installed in an impoverished district of Santo Domingo. In this country with high levels of inequality, some areas are afflicted by high unem-ployment and very low wages. Serious poverty is often associated with significant plastic pollution in the adjacent streets and waterways. The project needs to create jobs and help to process local waste.

However, commissioning the plant is only the first step. “We need to educate people. Change habits,” underlines Camille Rollin. Every-body needs to take responsibility – industry, the government and consumers alike.

This is where Race for Water’s three-step programme – Learn, Share & Act – comes in.

Race for Water aims to identify, promote and help implement solutions that give end-of-life plastics economic and social value in less privileged societies. Contrary to similar charities, not only do they have a programme to advance scientific knowledge, raise awareness and tackle the problem of plastic pollution, but they also have a self-sustaining economic model that creates local employ-ment and turns plastic waste into a marketable energy resource.

“One day in Rio,” recalls Camille, “our President was having a beer in an aluminium can and he noticed a man waiting patiently on the side. When he finished the beer, the guy took it from the trash. That is when we learned about street picking.”

Hundreds of thousands of people around the world make a living collecting discarded glass and

Learn

In 2015, the foundation commissioned a nautical expedition named ‘Odyssey’ to make an initial assessment of the effect of plastic pollution on the world’s oceans. They quickly realised that it wasn't so much a matter of cleaning the ocean as fixing what was happening onshore. A second expedition, Odyssey 2017-2021, is continuing that research and assessing the effect of plastic pollution on the environment, biodiversity and human health.

Share During the first Odyssey, the expedition members realised that children were most receptive to their message on water pollution. As part of the second expedition which set sail in April 2017, more than 3,000 children and teachers have been taught the five R’s: refuse what is useless, reduce what is superfluous, and repair, recycle and re-use whatever you can. Samples collected during the first Odyssey help participants to better understand the impact of plastic pollution on the world's oceans, and marine ecosystems.

Act Drawing on the knowledge gathered during the expeditions, Race for Water is currently working on projects similar to its pilot project in Santo Domingo in Peru and on Easter Island. The aim is to highlight the economic, environmental and social benefits of this decentralised approach to managing plastic waste so that it can be rolled out worldwide.

Race for Water’s three-step programme


After a work-related accident in 2015, Hussein, from Tanzania, lost his leg and found himself unable to work and provide for his family. He was given a new chance in life after receiving a prosthetic leg from SwissLimbs.

The Swiss non-profit organisation specialises in providing physical rehabilitation and ortho-prosthetic solutions to victims of armed conflicts, road and work-related accidents in the Middle-East and Africa. In developing countries, the lack of appropriate technology and resources greatly limit amputees’ options for an adequate prosthetic. Moreover, there are few trained physicians and rehabilitation professionals compared to the number of people in need. SwissLimbs provides readily available and

Help abroad

lightweight prostheses that allow high mobility and comfort at a cost-effective price.

The Pictet Group Charitable Foundation has supported SwissLimbs since 2016 and this year is contributing to the renovation of an ortho-prosthetic workshop that restores mobility to amputees in Mozambique. Half of the country’s 30 million population lives under the national poverty line, and public health expenditure is one of the lowest in the world. SwissLimbs takes a long-term approach, not only with its prostheses, but also by training local physicians and ensuring patient rehabilitation.

Solutions for amputees in Mozambique SwissLimbs


How dwarves can become giantsVoix Libres

In 25 years, Voix Libres has helped more than two million people in Bolivia. So it was no surprise when Marianne Sébastien, the association’s Chair, received the Swiss Human Rights Award in 2018 by the International Society for Human Rights.

Marianne Sébastien founded Voix Libres in 1993. The motto that underpins everything she does is "Love is the only thing that doubles when you share it, and joy is the true measure of love."

Her initial idea of creating a society based on solidarity and led by those who had experienced suffering in the mines, on the streets and garbage heaps of Bolivia may have come across as utopian. Today, however, no one can deny that the dream has become a reality.

"Most of the 200 individuals employed by Voix Libres in Bolivia are children we’ve helped out of poverty. Who better than someone who’s known poverty to understand and help someone in poverty? Who better than a reformed criminal to understand another criminal? These are the leaders of today. Dwarves who've become giants, in a way," explains Marianne.

"Picture this. We have seven prisons run by former prisoners themselves. They’ve become men of peace,

who run their prisons so as to ensure inmates are treated properly. Bolivia’s Legislative Assembly has enshrined these principles in law based on a proposal drafted by the association’s young lawyers."

On the ground, the association is active in many fields including education, training, community micro-credits and legal advice. There is just one condition: everyone who receives help from the association must then help others, which has resulted in an extraordinary snowball effect.

Marianne tells us about Carlos, a former child labourer turned lawyer, who dreams of helping 5,000 people a year. He understands that he’s part of a self-help chain and no longer sees himself as a victim. In Marianne’s own words, "Once you start looking out for others, you don't have time to feel sorry for yourself."

Voix Libres is also supported by the Ville de Genève and sells Bolivian handcrafts in a charity shop in the Grottes district, near the central station. All the proceeds from these sales are reinvested in Voix Libres projects.

Help abroad


CULTURE

Culture

Geneva’s cultural heritage is inextricably linked to Pictet’s history of philanthropy.

Our Partners’ involvement in the arts, music, theatre, and dance over many decades is the reason

why these disciplines have been among the major beneficiaries of the Foundation’s patronage.

This giant teapot is one of the monumental pieces by renowned Geneva artist Mai-Thu Perret

Culture

The printing revolution that changed the world International Museum of the Reformation

At the time of Pictet’s 200th anniversary in 2005, the Partners supported several Geneva projects, including the creation of the International Museum of the Reformation (MIR). It seemed natural, therefore, to support their 2017 exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

In his 95 Theses written in 1517, Martin Luther criticised the Catholic Church for the sale of indulgences in exchange for salvation. His action led to the Reformation. Print!, an interactive exhibition at the MIR marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, focused on the role of the printing press in the Reformation.

This revolutionary invention by Johannes Gutenberg triggered the greatest cultural change since the advent of writing and before our own digital era; it meant that Bibles and other works could, for the first time, be disseminated in the vernacular. The printing press made the ideas of the Reformation and other intellectual movements accessible, promoted scientific advance and sowed the seeds of individual responsibility and freedom of expression that led to the Enlightenment.

Print! attracted 14,000 visitors who could see a replica Gutenberg press, which was used to print a Bible. Also on show were 16th century best-sellers and contemporary art created using old fashioned techniques. The exhibition allowed visitors to take stock of the digital transformation currently underway and the Printing Revolution set in motion by Gutenberg.

Mai-Thu Perret: a monumental retrospective MAMCO - Musée d’art moderne et contemporain de Genève

From installations to abstract paintings; performative pieces to ceramics; and wallpapers to neon lights—these are some of Mai-Thu Perret’s works to be shown throughout the first floor of Geneva’s Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art this autumn. This opening at MAMCO (Musée d’art moderne et contemporain) on 10 October 2018, is a major retrospective of the career of one of Geneva’s most internationally renowned artists.

The retrospective is the latest in a long list of exhibitions on renowned modern and contemporary artists to be sponsored by the Pictet Group Charitable Foundation. Since it opened in 1994, MAMCO has hosted over 500 exhibitions and is one of the ten most important art museums in Switzerland, with a permanent collection of over 2,500 works.

Geneva-born Perret is renowned for works that often take on monumental proportions and call into question the links between art, design, modernity and utopia. More than 60 pieces from the US, the UK and Switzerland will be on display. The works in wide range of media include a giant silver teapot (see opposite) containing abstract paintings (Little Planetary Harmony, 2006) and five sculptures (see above) resembling large stones that move across the floor on a hidden rail (I Dream of the West, 2011).


Culture

Geneva’s orchestra marks its centenaryOSR - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

For almost half a century, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Geneva’s iconic symphony orchestra, was synonymous with Ernest Ansermet, its legendary founder and principal conductor who formed the orchestra in 1918. For this centenary year, the OSR’s current Music and Artistic Director, Jonathan Nott, has drawn up a rich and eclectic programme, running from October 2018 to May 2019, that is also a stirring tribute to Anserment's golden era. It will include a special gala concert on 30 November.

@Enrique Pardo

@Enrique Pardo

Culture

A conductor ahead of his timeErnest Ansermet, the OSR’s founder and musical director, was also a composer, music philosopher and “poet of precision”. It was Ansermet who made popular Radio Suisse Romande’s regular classical concerts, broadcast to millions around the world.

Ansermet quickly grasped the educational benefits of vinyl records and took a keen interest in the recording process. Between 1947 and his death (in 1969), he recorded 296 works by 63 different composers. As the technology improved, for example with the advent of stereo, the OSR relentlessly re-recorded works to achieve perfection. In doing so they aimed to make the most of the Victoria Hall’s extraordinary acoustics. The OSR's recordings from the period represent an invalua-ble archive — mid-century interpretations of the great classical works that have become a stylistic benchmark.

Like many great musicians, Ernest Ansermet engaged in philosophical reflection. His works, Les Fondements de la musique dans la conscience humaine and Ecrits sur la musique, are still required reading for musicol-ogists. He was also a prolific letter-writer, engaging his contemporaries in discussion and debate on all aspects of his musical experience.

Jonathan Nott, conductor of the OSR, will be taking audiences on a musical journey through time from the 18th to the 20th century, from America to Russia, exploring both tonal and atonal music. Ansermet himself conducted many of the works to be performed, not only in Geneva and Lausanne, but also in the world’s major concert halls. The British conductor will take on the great symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Shostakovich, and remind us of the OSR’s raison d’être — as a champion of symphonic music.

@Archive OSR

The season of concerts will include landmarks of 20th century music by Debussy, Ravel, Britten and Stravinsky. We will also be able to hear the rhapsodies and dance melodies of Gershwin and Bernstein, as well as works by the Swiss composers Arthur Honegger and Frank Martin, close friends of Ansermet. Pieces by Anton von Webern, Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg will complete the festival of music.

The Victoria Hall, Geneva’s emblematic venue where a number of the concerts will take place, has been the scene

of many historic performances. But one stands out. In 1929, the OSR under Ansermet premiered Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, with the composer himself at the piano.

Ernest Ansermet’s legacy will be felt strongly during this commemorative year, particularly as those who have succeeded him on the conductor’s podium have continued the tradition of innovation, discovery, musical eclecticism and openness that have characterised the OSR from the beginning.

< Nott the conductor

The importance of being Ernest


Culture

@ CaroleParodi

Just a stone's throw from Pictet's headquarters, the Théâtre Alchimic has been drawing crowds in Carouge for 13 years now.

This former cinema on rue Industrielle, transformed in 2005 and then run by its founder and director Pierre-Alexandre Jauffret, has made a name for itself and has earned great theatrical acclaim over the years. The theatre’s survival owes much to the help it has received since its inception from private backers, including the Pictet Group Charitable Foundation, as the grants it gets are small compared to other institutions.

With the Théâtre Alchimic, Pierre-Alexandre Jauffret, a former opera and theatre director, has created a theatrical vision to bring people together and share. He believes that

theatre should be a true mirror of our times, and shine a powerful and thought-provoking light on current events, while entertaining at the same time.

The plays chosen are therefore aimed at an audience from a cross-section of society, and address themes as varied as freedom of expression, the exclusion caused by discrimination or the tyranny of cosmetic beauty. By applying a differentiated pricing policy, Théâtre Alchimic is able to give many seats to people facing hardship. The theatre stages about ten plays each season, most put on by local independent companies.

Geneva’s theatregoers value Théâtre Alchimic for the diversity, originality and artistic quality of the plays it

puts on. The theatre also has a reputation for investing in the next generation. Established artists rub shoulders with up-and-coming artists throughout the season and the programme. If there is one thing that Pierre-Alexandre Jauffret holds dear, it is that the theatre should be a vehicle for young talent, and that its name should provide a stepping stone to a future treading the boards.

A mirror of our timesThéatre Alchimic


Pictet Group Charitable Foundation

Foundation Board Nicolas Pictet (Chair), Claude Demole Renaud de Planta, Marc Pictet and Marie-Laure Schaufelberger

Donations committee Anne-Claude Betrix Pizzinato, Claude Demole, Dariane de Planta, Stephany Malquarti, Christine Mazières, Patrick Mulhauser, Ivan Pictet and Marie-Laure Schaufelberger

Contact Stephany Malquarti +41 58 817 2259 [email protected]

Impact publication

Editorial committee Stephen Barber, Riccardo Bonferroni, Fanny du Fay de Lavallaz, Francine Jacquemet Perez, Agnès Krausz, Sandrine Lauber Conne, Rosario Lebrija Rassvetaieff, Stephany Malquarti and Frank Renggli

DisclaimerThis document is not intended for persons who are citizens of, domiciled or resident in, or entities registered in a country or a jurisdiction in which its distribution, publication, provision or use would violate current laws and regulations. The information and data furnished in this document are disclosed for information purposes only and do not constitute a solicitation to subscribe to products or services of the Pictet Group.

The Pictet Group has no role nor power decision whatsoever in the management of the enterprises, companies and associations presented in this document, but only presents, in this brochure, the different activities pertaining to such enterprises, companies, and associations that the Group supports through its philanthropic foundation.

This document is issued by the Pictet Group. The content of this document is confidential and can only be read and/or used by its addressee. The Reproduction or distribution of this publication, in part or in whole, is strictly prohibited.

The Pictet Group is not liable for the use, transmission or exploitation of the content of this document. Therefore, any form of reproduction, copying, disclosure, modification and/or publication of the content is under sole liability of the addressee of this document, and no liability whatsoever will be incurred by the Pictet Group.

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