Building Walls -Breaking Walls

25 young adults from 5 countries experience an adventure together in the Swiss mountains, the Israeli desert or an Irish island by the sea within 10 days.

You will renovate a dry stone wall and get to know the country and its surroundings through outdoor sports activities.

Together, political, religious and cultural walls are overcome and friendships for life are made.
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Building Walls - Breaking Walls

Building walls, building bridges. Intercultural learning through nature work and encounter.

In the project Building Walls - Breaking Walls (BWBW) you get the chance to meet young adults from Israel, Palestine, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Switzerland and to overcome cultural, religious and political walls together with them.

Youth Exchange

It is important to the association that young people not only participate in the projects, but also help shape and determine them. Therefore, one young* adult per location is responsible for project coordination or group leadership. This ensures that the needs of the young people are met and that voluntary engagement is directly exemplified.

Intercultural learning

Our projects bring together people from different cultural and religious backgrounds. By always treating each other with respect and working together to break down stereotypes between cultures, we meet on a level where everyone is free to be who they are as people. In this way, we contribute to peaceful understanding between people of different cultures and work against exclusion, prejudice and racism.

Nature experience

By working in and with nature, we promote people's awareness of their natural environment and work together for our cultural landscape. We show that nature and the cultural landscape are valuable and worth protecting and that we all bear responsibility for them.

Voluntary commitment

Participants in our projects are introduced to volunteering. They learn to give something back to the natural environment and local population of the project site. Therefore, for example, dry stone walls are renovated on the basis of voluntary work and the young people learn what such valuable work means. They are encouraged to get involved in their own causes in their country of origin.

Voices from the community

"The project combines two important components: Environmental protection and intercultural exchange."

"The project combines two important components for me. One is nature and environmental protection, the other is the intercultural exchange that I can experience here with my peers.

Sarah from Switzerland

"It does not matter from which country you are, which religion you practice, at the end we are all people who want the same things".

"It does not matter from which country you are, which religion you practice, at the end we are all people who want the same things. If we would have more projects like this the world would be a better place, that is for sure."

Aviel from Israel

Upcoming projects

Six times a year in three different countries

The project takes place every year in Israel, Ireland and Switzerland. In addition to the three Swiss locations in Jura, Ticino and Graubünden, a new location was added in 2021!

Building Walls - Breakting Walls is now also taking place in French-speaking Switzerland.

We are very pleased! This is how we achieve our goal of bringing the project to all speaking regions in Switzerland.