Corporate giving and local initiatives
We promote science, education, culture and a wide range of social concerns. We concentrate on select projects from local institutions and charitable organisations. Many initiatives that originally started on a small scale have developed into long-term partnerships that we are proud of.
Erich Walser Generations Prize
Society and politicians are facing great challenges from demographic change. Nations and companies are faced with the trend of falling birth rates, longevity and migration. Helvetia is especially affected by this in its role as an employer and life insurer. We are committed to cross-generational interaction through our membership in the World Demographic & Ageing Forum (WDA Forum). Every three years, the WDA awards a «Prix des Générations». Since 2016, this prize, worth CHF 20000, has been called the Erich Walser Generations Prize in memory of our former Management Board Chairman and co-founder of the WDA Forum.
schappo
Some people accomplish extraordinary things with their initiatives in everyday life, and all we can do is take our hats off to them. It is exactly this type of person that the Canton of Basel-Stadt honours with the schappo prize, which is awarded twice a year to groups and associations. Helvetia also regards volunteer initiatives very highly and has been supporting schappo since 2013 as the main sponsor.
oikos St. Gallen
In the organisation oikos St. Gallen, students work together on future-oriented economic solutions designed to close the gap between economics and ecology. Helvetia supports this interdisciplinary think tank, which has belonged to the University of St. Gallen (HSG) since 1987, because it is of the opinion that it is important to integrate the younger generation into this topic.
Commitment to art
Helvetia considers art to be part of its corporate culture. We collect Swiss art, promote young artists with our own art prize and convey art at various levels. Our art collection is one of the corporate art collections in Switzerland with the richest history, with roots going back to the 1940s. We decorate our reception, work and break rooms with works from the collection. They are intended to provoke discussion and offer a source of inspiration for work and everyday life. We regularly have exhibitions on display in the Helvetia Art Foyer – our own art room. They are also accessible to the public so that a broad audience can draw happiness and inspiration from our art.
Helvetia Art Prize
We promote new ideas and forms of art from the coming generations by awarding the Helvetia Art Prize. The Art Prize is intended to help recent graduates of Swiss universities in the area of «visual and media art» launch their careers. Through this, Helvetia supports artists in a targeted way at the beginning of their careers. The Art Prize consists of a monetary award of CHF 15000 and a solo exhibition at the international art fair «LISTE – Art Fair Basel».
Digitisation
Helvetia supports four Swiss art museums with digitising their collections. The aim is to make the pieces available to a wide audience and, of course, to academic circles. The art sponsoring initiative gives art museums new opportunities to present and exhibit their collections.