Call for proposals: ‘Growing up multilingual’

The call for proposals: ‘Growing up multilingual’ from the ‘ici. here together.’ funding programme is intended to help create favourable conditions allowing children to grow up multilingually in Switzerland. It also seeks to strengthen civil engagement. The ‘ici. here together.’ funding programme considers multilingualism within families a resource and a social asset.  

With its latest call for proposals, it seeks to support local associations, organisations and volunteers throughout Switzerland in creating accessible spaces for socialising and learning for multilingual families. These are designed to be open, easily accessible and, as far as possible, free from linguistic, financial or organisational barriers. Eligible services and projects must promote access to information and educational opportunities, strengthen the involvement of parents and children, and help to highlight the resources available to multilingual families.

This call for proposals complements existing integration and language support programmes and strengthens the foundations for growing up in a multilingual environment by valuing and promoting both the local language* and the first language of children and families. The aim is for children to grow up in a multilingual environment based on respect, participation, equal opportunities and social cohesion.  

Funding is provided for initiatives and projects that promote multilingualism amongst families with pre-school children and that are also explicitly aimed at families facing financial or social difficulties. The programmes and projects can be categorised into the following themes:

1. Strengthening cooperation with parents and carers, for example:

• Parenting support services with childcare provided by multilingual staff
• Programmes that promote multilingual parent-child communication
• Parenting programmes, e.g. on how to achieve a multilingual upbringing

2. Expansion of multilingual infrastructure and resources, for example:

• Development of multilingual materials
• Partnerships with libraries to provide multilingual books and programmes for families with pre-school children
• Reducing barriers to accessing leisure activities for multilingual families

3. Expansion of existing services to include, for example, the following sub-projects:

• Implementation of multilingual leisure activities for families with pre-school children
• Training for volunteers and staff to promote multilingualism in their work with families and in day-to-day project activities
• Use of multilingual key personnel

4. Specific projects on multilingualism, for example:

• Multilingual parent-and-child drop-in sessions at family centres
• Support for peer groups for children in their first language

Please note: The examples given are not exhaustive and may be supplemented by further initiatives and projects within the four areas mentioned.

Projects will be considered if they:

• reach multilingual families and explicitly also address families facing challenging financial and social circumstances;
• develop services that are designed to be open, easily accessible and, as far as possible, free from linguistic, financial or organisational barriers;
• work with or actively involve parents and, where possible, their children aged between 0 and 6;
• work with volunteers;
• pursue ambitious goals that are planned and implemented realistically.

You can find all eligibility criteria in the Guidelines / Guidelines in simple language. Please read this carefully before submitting a project outline.

The selection of projects for funding takes place in three stages:

1. Submit a funding proposal

You can submit your application here by 30 June 2027.

2. Selection process

Projects are selected by a jury in a three-stage process:

• 14 January 2027
• 6 April 2027
• 1 July 2027

3. Funding decision

The jury for ‘ici. here together.’ will make the final funding decision. This will be announced no later than two weeks after the judging has taken place.

Through a programme of accompanying services, the ‘ici. here together.’ funding scheme aims to promote dialogue between the funded initiatives and projects that are committed to fostering a multilingual upbringing.

Plans are in place to offer voluntary networking opportunities on various topics. The specific details will be tailored to the needs of the funded projects and will be announced in 2027.