Fondation Alta Mane is an international, non-profit foundation, headquartered in Geneva and founded by private individuals in 2005. It is registered in the Commercial Registry of Geneva; it has been recognized as a public-interest entity by the Fiscal Authority of the Geneva Canton and is under the jurisdiction of the Internal Affairs Department of Bern.
The Foundation deploys its financial resources to achieve its institutional goals: support young people living in conditions of extreme social marginalization and poverty, as well as those affected by serious illness or disability by offering them access to artistic experiences.
Art facilitates the recovery of identity, communication and expression skills by engendering confidence in oneself and in others and encouraging intercultural dialogue and social engagement.
Alta Mane operates both in Switzerland and abroad, with particular attention to those countries where the conditions of young people, their rights and their health are most compromised and at risk.
The experience acquired over more than 10 years of activity has confirmed the enormous potential of Art to facilitate the reintegration of youths living in conditions of extreme social marginalization and support the therapeutic/rehabilitation process of young patients with serious illnesses.
Not only does artistic expression, undertaken through various ways and means, contribute to the rebirth and the development of self-esteem, trust in oneself, self expression and sense of identity in vulnerable youths, but can also generate important lines of communication among the direct beneficiaries of these initiatives and all those who, in various ways, collaborate and participate in the process, such as family members, health care workers, teachers and social workers, facilitating relationships and promoting trust, intercultural dialogue and social inclusion.