Globally, an estimated 1.6 billion people live in substandard housing. This has a significant impact not only on their safety and health, but also on their economic opportunities and social integration.

The global pandemic has caused a major setback in the fight against poverty. Although the COVID-19 restrictions have affected the Hilti Foundation’s work to some extent, we stayed the course in our programs.

In January 2021, BASE inaugurated the BASE Innovation Center (BIC), a comprehensive research and testing facility for safe, affordable, green and sustainable housing technologies.

In this episode of In this Case we listen to Christine Rhomberg (Hilti Foundation), Gerald Wirth (Vienna Boys’ Choir) and Fiona Cunningham (AIM - Academy for Impact through Music) talking about the music programs the Hilti Foundation helps to fund and develop internationally.

In this episode of In this Case Johann Baar (Hilti Foundation), Scott Merrill (Habitat for Humanity), Corinna Salzer (Hilti Group) and Luis Felipe Lopez (Base Bahay) are talking about the Hilti Foundation’s approach to affordable housing.

In his lecture “The Portus Magnus of Alexandria”, organized by the Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology (OCMA) and livestreamed by the University of Oxford on 2 December at 5pm (GMT), Franck Goddio will present the results of his 25 years of research in today’s eastern port of Alexandria.

Far beyond music education, the programs funded by the Hilti Foundation, aim to empower children and young people to overcome barriers and to grow personally.

The idea of music for social change was born in Venezuela in the 1970s and has since spread globally and inspired other programs.

Over six episodes, you will learn more about the Foundation's origin story, its operating principles and how the commitment, to empowering people to lead independent and self-determined lives, is reflected in every program, the Hilti Foundation supports.

Since 2018 the Basic Entrepreneur Training, a powerful educational program, has proven to be a successful way to fight extreme poverty in rural East Africa. Facilitated by the Hilti Foundation and led by the NGO Hand in Hand International, the program’s goal is to teach members of self-help groups how to start a micro-business and generate sustainable income.

For 25 years, the European Institute of Underwater Archaeology (IEASM), led by Franck Goddio, has been working in the Nile Delta region in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt. This unique research project has been financed by the Hilti Foundation since its inception. While excavation work had to be interrupted last year due to the pandemic, the latest research campaign in spring 2021 was marked by impressive results.

The approval of the building permit plans marks a significant step forward for the new school building for the International School Rheintal in Buchs.

Ten years ago, the Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez founded the social music programme"Sinfonía por el Perú". Based on the basic idea of the Venezuelan programme "El Sistema", music schools, so-called "Núcleos" were established in the hotspot neighbourhoods of Lima, and soon in the most vulnerable regions of the whole country.

The Hilti Group is amplifying its sustainability efforts and formulating a global strategy based on the three pillars of environment, people and society. The company's new sustainability report provides transparency on the targets established and progress made.

In January 2021, the BASE Bahay Foundation opened its BASE Innovation Center (BIC), a research and testing center for bamboo construction and other alternative building materials in Manila, Philippines.