Teach For All joined corporate foundations, global non-profits and other donor organizations to celebrate 10 Years of Credit Suisse's Global Education & Financial Inclusion Initiatives in Zurich last month and participate in a roundtable exploring the benefits and challenges of long-term cross-sector partnerships. The gathering aimed to provide a platform to explore important issues that may influence these partnerships, to share learning from Credit Suisse’s Global Initiatives and the Credit Suisse Foundation, and to learn from the experiences and perspectives of other long-term partnerships.

Guests were welcomed by Manuel Rybach (Global Head, Public Affairs and Policy and Global Head, Corporate Citizenship, Credit Suisse Group AG) and the proceedings began with a keynote speech from David Evans (Chief, Global Philanthropy, UNICEF). Framing the roundtable discussion, David Evans noted the event offered an opportunity to explore how long-term partnerships can have meaningful impact, highlighting the learnings that can be shared from Credit Suisse's commitment to numerous long-term partners through its Global Education and Financial Inclusion initiatives.

Throughout the roundtable, several key themes emerged. Those in attendance agreed on the value of long-term partnerships between donors and NGOs, both in terms of evaluating progress and sustaining outcomes. However, reflecting on current patterns of media consumption and public engagement with current affairs, they also noted that a shorter partnership with a clear message or campaign can be equally beneficial, depending on the desired impact.

Evolution and innovation within long-term partnerships was also discussed. Participants noted that it’s important to understand the motivations behind any partnership, and that a clear purpose can ensure that all remain engaged, committed, and driven towards a common goal and outcome, even if the means of achieving the outcome may change. This long-term commitment creates space for innovation within partnerships, allowing initiatives to reflect changing programmatic focuses and for partners to respond to new challenges in the most effective way.

Teach For All was grateful for the opportunity to engage in these discussions, and to share our experience and learnings from our partnership with Credit Suisse’s Global Education Initiative, which has been a foundational partner of the Teach For All global network since 2009.  Over the past 10 years, Credit Suisse has played a pivotal role in supporting the sustainability of Teach For All’s global organization and of the network’s growth by providing invaluable financial, strategic, and in-kind support to Teach For All as well as its  network partners. For example, through Credit Suisse’s Global Citizens Program employees have supported organizational capacity building projects with Teach For China, Teach For India, Teach for the Philippines, Teach First, and Teach For America. We are thrilled to celebrate 10 years of Credit Suisse’s Global Education Initiative and to commemorate its decade of commitment to global education efforts.