A clear direction, a renewed identity

Fondation Botnar has the privilege of a generous endowment from its founders, Marcela and Octav Botnar, and with it the means to work towards a future in which all young people can thrive and shape the world around them. It also brings responsibility to use those resources thoughtfully and with a long-term perspective.

Rooted in our legacy, we are committed to our values: respecting every individual’s dignity, taking initiative, and embracing risk. We make responsible decisions and act with independence and foresight. We are convinced that when attitude and action align, impact lasts.

Deepening our support for locally led change

Young people’s lives are shaped by the environments and systems around them, and by their ability to influence decisions that affect them. Our work focuses on public education, human rights-based digital transformation, and mental health because these issues are closely connected in young people’s everyday lives. We listen to and invest in local partners who live these realities and have close connections with young people.

No single organisation can achieve lasting change alone. Our ambition extends beyond individual activities or projects. We support local partners and institutions in strengthening the capabilities, structures, and relationships they need to respond to changing needs, collaborate, and adapt as contexts change. This is what strengthening local ecosystems means to us.

Colombia is the first country where we are putting this approach into practice. Building on the results and learning from earlier initiatives, we are moving from projects to coherent programmes, making long-term commitments, and adaptive collaborations. We want evidence and experience from this work to travel, informing policy and practice across cities, nationally, and globally.

Giving expression to our direction

A clear strategic direction also calls for a clear way to communicate it.

Our renewed visual identity expresses this direction. Our new website makes it easier to explore where we work, what we focus on, and how we partner. It provides space to share what we are learning, the questions we are grappling with and how these inform our decisions.

The commitment remains that young people should shape the world around them and have every possibility to thrive. What has become clearer is where and how Fondation Botnar can contribute: by investing for the long term, strengthening locally rooted partnerships and connecting people, evidence, and experience to create the conditions for lasting change.