Autonome Schule Zürich ASZ

What Autonome Schule Zürich ASZ does

Autonome Schule Zürich (ASZ), legally constituted as the non-profit association Verein Bildung für Alle, is a self-organized, anti-racist educational project founded in 2009 and operating from Sihlquai 125 (former ZHdK premises) in Zürich, Switzerland. The organization delivers free German language courses as its core offering, supplemented by English, French, and Arabic language instruction; computer and mathematics courses; sports offerings (Yoga, Aikido, Capoeira); weekly art classes; and ancillary services including childcare (Kindertreff), a community café (meals at a recommended price of 2 CHF), a garden program, and a women's group (AG Frauen*). Its sole technology dependency is the open-source Openki.net platform, used for course scheduling and timetable coordination.

The school explicitly serves refugees, asylum seekers, sans-papiers (undocumented migrants), persons with temporary admission (F status), rejected asylum seekers, and second-generation immigrants facing structural exclusion from the Swiss public education system. All services are provided free of charge, reflecting the organization's Charter of Lampedusa political program and its positioning as a solidarity-based, migrant-led community rather than a charity. Operations are governed by a federation of volunteer working groups (AG Kurse, AG Kinderbetreuung, AG Garten, AG Gemeinschaftsleben, AG Frauen*, AG Finanzen, AG Schulbüro, AG Tiktak, AG CoMa), with a paid staff of 6 employees coordinating roughly 150+ regular course moderators, activists, and participants.

ASZ is funded entirely through donations and volunteer effort with no commercial revenue stream. Its revenue model is best characterized as charitable contributions supporting free service delivery. The organization is an active coalition partner in the Swiss anti-racism ecosystem, collaborating with Allianz gegen Racial Profiling, Justice for Nzoy, Bündnis «Wo Unrecht zu Recht wird…», Solinetz Zürich, Freiplatzaktion Zürich, Solidarité sans frontières, and the Lauf gegen Rassismus initiative, among others. It publishes the annual Papierlose Zeitung and maintains active presence across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, Flickr, and Telegram. The association was controversially denied gemeinnützig (charitable) status by Swiss authorities in 2020, a decision the organization publicly contests given its documented public-benefit activity.

Name

Autonome Schule Zürich ASZ

Legal name

Verein Bildung für Alle

Website

https://bildung-fuer-alle.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Autonome Schule Zürich (ASZ) is a self-organized, donation-funded non-profit association founded in 2009 that provides free German language courses alongside childcare, a café, and advocacy services primarily to refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented migrants excluded from Zürich's public school system.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Adult Education Services

NAICS

Language Schools (61163), Language Schools (611630)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

General Language Schools & Institutes (EDAMAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

General Language Schools (Multi-Language) (EDAIAEAA)

Keywords

• Adult education services
• Migrant language training
• Community learning programs
• Refugee integration education
• Nonprofit education association

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and charitable contributions: The organization operates as a non-profit association (Verein Bildung für Alle) funded primarily through donations. No commercial revenue generation - all educational services are provided free of charge to participants.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Autonome Schule Zürich provides free, self-organized educational courses — primarily German language instruction — for refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented migrants excluded from the Swiss public school system. Offerings also include English, French, and Arabic courses, computer and mathematics classes, sports (Yoga, Aikido, Capoeira), art, plus supporting services such as childcare, a community café, a garden program, and a women's group.

Product overview

Autonome Schule Zürich (ASZ) is a self-organized, non-governmental education project that operates as a unified community learning center rather than a platform with separate modules. The organization offers a comprehensive ecosystem of free educational services centered on German language instruction for refugees, migrants, and sans-papiers, complemented by computer courses, mathematics, sports (Yoga, Aikido, Capoeira), and weekly art classes. Beyond formal education, ASZ provides essential support services including childcare facilities, a community café with affordable meals, garden programs, and women's support groups. The organization also publishes the Paperless Newspaper and maintains a robust political engagement program against racism and racial profiling. All offerings are provided free of charge, with the school operating as an independent, state-independent collective based at Sihlquai 125 in Zürich.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Language Courses (German, English, French, Arabic)
• Computer Courses
• Mathematics Courses
• Sports Courses (Yoga, Aikido, Capoeira)
• Art Class
• Childcare Services (Kindertreff)
• Café Operations
• Garden Program
• Women's Group (AG Frauen*)
• Paperless Newspaper (Papierlose Zeitung)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 15 years of continuous operation providing free education to thousands of migrants and refugees

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Allianz gegen Racial Profiling (Alliance Against Racial Profiling)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive collaboration in the fight against racial profiling in Switzerland. ASZ representatives participate in this coalition working on advocacy and policy change regarding racist police practices.
• Justice for NzoycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the coalition demanding justice for Nzoy, a 37-year-old man from Zurich shot by police in Morges. ASZ participates in action days against racist police violence organized by this alliance.
• Bündnis «Wo Unrecht zu Recht wird…»coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition against the repressive emergency aid regime for rejected asylum seekers in Canton Zürich. ASZ actively supports this initiative.
• Lauf gegen Rassismus (Run Against Racism)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerASZ is among the organizations supported by the annual Run Against Racism event held in Zürich. Representatives participate in organizing this event.
• Solinetz ZürichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint organization of educational events including lectures on asylum procedures and legal issues. Collaborate on political events and advocacy work.
• Freiplatzaktion ZürichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host information events on legal issues concerning refugees, particularly regarding residence status F and B, family reunification, and humanitarian visas.
• Solidarité sans frontières (SOSF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASZ supports the 'Education for All – Now!' campaign launched by this organization, VPOD, and the Association of Swiss Student Organizations (VSS).
• NO FRONTEX campaignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on information events and referendum campaigns regarding FRONTEX financing and border militarization.
• enough campaign (aktionstage-enough)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerASZ maintains an information stand at the annual Enough Festival organized for networking, mobilization, and critical engagement on migration issues.
• Zürich City Card initiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerASZ supports the Zürich City Card project from its inception. This ID card enables all people, regardless of residence status, to exercise basic rights.
• Openki.netcoreTechnology or IntegrationUses the Openki.net platform for course organization and timetable management. This is the technical infrastructure for scheduling and coordinating courses.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Solidaritätsdienst International (Solinetz): Solinetz is a Swiss solidarity network supporting refugees and undocumented migrants with educational and integration services, directly comparable to ASZ in mission and volunteer-driven delivery model.
• Freiplatzaktion Zürich: Freiplatzaktion is a Zürich-based initiative providing legal and educational support to refugees, sans-papiers, and rejected asylum seekers, sharing ASZ's grassroots, volunteer-led, anti-racist orientation.

Broad incumbents

• Volkshochschule Zürich (VHS): VHS Zürich offers fee-based German and other language courses to adults and newcomers, comparable in course type but operates as a paid, state-supported adult education institution rather than a free grassroots school.
• Schweizerisches Rotes Kreuz (SRK) Migration: SRK's migration division delivers integration courses, language training, and social support for migrants across Switzerland, functioning as a large institutional analogue to ASZ's grassroots delivery.
• HEKS (Hilfswerk der Evangelisch-reformierten Kirche Schweiz): HEKS is a major Swiss NGO offering language and integration courses to migrants and refugees across Switzerland; structurally similar mission to ASZ but at national scale with institutional funding.
• Caritas Schweiz: Caritas Schweiz runs integration and language programs for asylum seekers and refugees nationally, overlapping with ASZ's core German and integration course offerings at much greater scale.

Regional players

• Café Exil (Berlin): Café Exil is a Berlin-based meeting and learning space for refugees and migrants offering free German courses, political education, and community activities—comparable role and structure to ASZ outside Switzerland.
• Bellevue di Monaco (Munich): Bellevue di Monaco is a self-organized migrant-led center in Munich combining housing, education, and political organizing, closely analogous to ASZ's community space plus free courses plus activism model in a different geography.

Emerging players

• Rote Hilfe Schweiz: Rote Hilfe Schweiz provides political education and solidarity support adjacent to ASZ's anti-racism and pro-migrant activism, sharing political framing and grassroots delivery with partial overlap in audience.

Others

• Openki (open-source course platform): Openki is the open-source course coordination platform ASZ uses to organize its timetable; not a competitor but a directly enabling infrastructure peer in the operation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aszbfa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCBNUdLhyxTtDn5Kq7H-T0qw
• Facebookfacebook.com/autonomeSchuleZh
• Instagraminstagram.com/autonome_schule_zh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/autonome-schule-z%C3%BCrich-asz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Autonome Schule Zürich ASZ