Association 1951

What Association 1951 does

Association 1951 is a Swiss non-profit association founded in 2018 and headquartered in Lausanne, Canton de Vaud. Named after the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the organization delivers socio-professional integration programs for statutory refugees (B permit) and provisionally admitted persons (F permit) in the Vaud region. Its core offering is the FIP Emploi measure, a 6-month (renewable to 12 months) integration program with continuous enrollment and a capacity of 17 participants per cycle, combining French language integration training (FLI, ~10h/week), ICT skills (~4h/week), numeracy, family economics, individual counseling, professional project workshops, and workplace internships. The secondary product, AccEnt, provides French language tutoring for multilingual young apprentices in the FORJAD vocational training program, mandated by the Centre Vaudois d'Aide à la Jeunesse (CVAJ) since 2019.

The organization also operates an extensive portfolio of cultural-mediations projects in partnership with regional theaters and festivals (Théâtre de Vidy, Arsenic, Oriental-Vevey, Les Urbaines, Ciné-Doc), using artistic engagement — theatrical improvisation, sound creation, documentary film curation, and video memoirs — as a vehicle for language acquisition, social belonging, and cultural legitimacy. These projects include 'Bourdonne-moi un quartier', 'VIDY+1951', '1951 Hors les murs', 'Les Horizontales/Ciné-Doc', '1951 et après?', and the Innosuisse-supported IMIRIS research collaboration with LaReSS. Together they constitute an integrated curriculum rather than standalone cultural programming.

The business model is grant- and mandate-funded rather than commercial. Revenue is derived from government service agreements and institutional contracts with EVAM, CSIR, CSR, Canton de Vaud, Ville de Lausanne, Bureau Lausannois pour les immigrés (BLI), Migros Engagement, and CVAJ; services are delivered free of charge to beneficiaries. The association is governed by a volunteer committee (Stephan Steiner, President; Rebecca Joly, Vice-President; Bernard Hunziker) with professional day-to-day management led by Director Laurence Chavan, supported by a team of approximately 12 employees including insertion counselors, FLI/TIC/family-economy trainers, and administrative staff. Geographic operations are restricted to Canton de Vaud.

Name

Association 1951

Legal name

Association 1951

Website

https://association1951.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Association 1951 is a Lausanne-based Swiss non-profit delivering socio-professional integration programs (FIP Emploi) for statutory refugees and provisionally admitted persons in Canton de Vaud, combining French language training, ICT, counseling, and cultural mediation partnerships with regional theaters and festivals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee Socio-Professional Integration Services

NAICS

Vocational Rehabilitation Services (624310), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Integration & Inclusion Services (Housing, Education, Employment) (BPADAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Workplace & Career Integration for Immigrants (Credentialing, Job Readiness) (EDAAADAE), Immigrant/Integration Language Programs (ESL/ESOL, Civics-Integrated) (EDAMAFAK), Refugee & Migrant Integration Enterprises (Livelihoods, Services) (BPAGALAN)

Keywords

• Refugee integration services
• Socio-professional training
• French language training
• Vocational integration program
• Cultural mediation

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government/Institutional Funding: Association 1951 operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through government contracts, mandates from social integration institutions (EVAM, CSIR, CSR), and financial support from public bodies (Ville de Lausanne, Canton de Vaud). Revenue comes through service agreements for delivering socio-professional integration programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Association 1951 operates the state-recognized FIP Emploi socio-professional integration measure for refugees holding B or F permits, combining intensive French instruction, ICT and numeracy training, job-search skills, individual counselling, and workplace internships (capacity: 17 places per cycle). It also runs AccEnt, providing French-language support to young apprentices, and a portfolio of cultural mediation projects delivered with theaters and festivals.

Product overview

Association 1951 offers a unified socio-professional integration service centered on the MIS FIP Emploi measure, which combines individualized support with structured training in French language, ICT, numeracy, and job search skills. The organization extends its offering through AccEnt (support tutoring for multilingual apprentices) and an extensive portfolio of cultural projects conducted in partnership with local theaters, festivals, and arts organizations, including VIDY+1951, 1951 Hors les murs, Bourdonne-moi un quartier, Les Urbaines collaboration, Les Horizontales/Ciné-Doc, and 1951 et après?. These cultural projects function as integrated components that reinforce language learning through artistic engagement and community participation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FIP Emploi: Measure for socio-professional integration of refugees with status, combining insertion support and training programs including French language integration (FLI), ICT, numeracy, and job search processes
• AccEnt

Products and services

• FIP Emploi State-recognized socio-professional integration measure (FIP Emploi) for refugees holding B or F permits, delivered in Lausanne with a capacity of 17 places per cycle. Combines intensive French language instruction, ICT and numeracy training, job-search skills, individual counselling, and supervised workplace internships to enable beneficiaries' transition into sustainable employment.
• AccEnt French-language support program (AccEnt) for young apprentices whose mother tongue is not French, helping them succeed in vocational apprenticeship tracks in the Vaud canton. Delivered in coordination with apprenticeship sponsors and corporate partners.
• Cultural mediation projects Cultural mediation projects delivered in partnership with theaters, festivals, and academic institutions. These projects use arts-based immersion as a complement to language and socio-professional training, providing refugees with cultural exposure, expression opportunities, and visibility in the Lausanne cultural ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sustainable socio-professional integration of refugees

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Oriental-VeveyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Second edition of '1951 Hors les murs' at Oriental-Vevey theater from October 2024 to February 2025. Combined French learning with theatrical improvisation, dance, and text writing. Funded by BLI, Migros Engagement, and Ville de Vevey cohesion sociale.
• Arsenic - Centre d'art scénique contemporaincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaboration from April to October 2020 on '1951 Hors les murs' project. The project extended French language learning beyond traditional classrooms through theatrical improvisation, singing, dancing, and text writing. A video was produced during the intensive residency week. Funded by BLI and Migros Engagement.
• Théâtre de VidycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration on cultural mediation projects combining theater and French language learning. Projects include 'Tous ensemble, chacun chez soi!' film, 'Bourdonne-moi un quartier' sound creation with Bourdonnette neighborhood residents, and participation in Vidy+1951 shared projects. The partnership received the Prix Diversité awarded by Ville de Lausanne in 2019.
• Ciné-DocminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDocumentary cinema partner for 'Les Horizontales' project, collaborating with Païos and Pro Senectute. Participants attend Visions du Réel festival and participate in film selection processes.
• Les UrbainesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual emerging arts festival in Lausanne. Partnership enables non-French speaking FIP Emploi participants to access the festival through guided visits and participatory workshops with artists. December 2022 project included guided exhibition tour and sound production workshop.
• Centre Vaudois d'Aide à la Jeunesse (CVAJ)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCVAJ mandates Association 1951 to provide French language support to young multilingual apprentices under the FORJAD program since 2019. Service includes individual or small group support courses.
• LaReSS (Laboratoire de recherche santé-social)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch laboratory at Haute école de travail social et de la santé Lausanne. Collaboration on IMIRIS Innosuisse innovation project to improve refugee professional integration systems. Contributed working paper 'Parcours d'obstacles' on asylum seeker integration in Canton Vaud.
• EVAMcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorÉtablissement Vaudois d'Accueil des Migrants is a key referring institution for the FIP Emploi program, sending beneficiaries of refugee status for socio-professional integration services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ORS Service AG: One of Switzerland's largest private providers of asylum and refugee integration services, operating cantonal mandates at scale. Comparable offering to FIP Emploi but with multi-canton footprint and significantly larger capacity.
• IOM Switzerland: International Organization for Migration's Swiss office implements integration, resettlement and labor market insertion projects for migrants and refugees. Comparable end beneficiary and outcomes, but with international/multi-mandate scope.
• Croix-Rouge suisse / SRK: Swiss Red Cross runs national refugee integration and language programs (including French integration courses) overlapping with Association 1951's FLI and FIP Emploi offerings. A much larger, federally funded incumbent with broader scope across all cantons.

Direct peers

• HEKS / EPER: Hilfswerk der Evangelischen Kirchen Schweiz delivers refugee integration, language training and socio-professional support across Switzerland. Directly comparable mission and beneficiary population, with similar reliance on cantonal mandates and foundation funding.
• SAH (Schweizerisches Arbeiterhilfswerk): Swiss Workers' Aid Society delivers employment-oriented integration programs, language courses and socio-professional coaching for refugees and migrants across multiple cantons. Closely comparable service mix to Association 1951's FIP Emploi.
• Swiss Refugee Council (Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe): National umbrella and service organization supporting asylum seekers and refugees with legal aid, integration guidance and socio-professional programs. Closely comparable mandate and operates in the same Vaud canton alongside Association 1951.
• Caritas Vaud: Cantonal branch of Caritas Switzerland delivering socio-professional integration, refugee support and training programs in Vaud. Directly comparable to Association 1951 as a Vaud-anchored, government-mandated refugee integration provider, but with substantially larger scale.

Emerging players

• Fondation PROFA: Vaud-based social foundation active in family, sexual health and integration-related counseling with a regional footprint. Partially overlapping with Association 1951's 'économie familiale' training component and Vaud geography.

Others

• Haute école de travail social et de la santé (HETSL) / LaReSS: Applied-research partner of Association 1951 via the IMIRIS Innosuisse project. Not a direct peer but an academic ecosystem actor co-producing evidence on refugee integration that underpins the association's differentiation.

Regional players

• AOZ (Asyl-Organisation Zürich): Zürich-anchored refugee and integration organization running socio-professional programs for B/F-permit holders similar to FIP Emploi. Comparable delivery model but operating in a different Swiss canton rather than directly competing in Vaud.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-1951

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Association 1951