Stories
Houses for Romania
For decades, Hilti team members have shown great compassion by contributing to the communities they live and work in. As a socially responsible company, Hilti wants to support and encourage team members’ social commitment through the Engaged Beyond Business corporate volunteering program. The program was founded in 2020 together with the Hilti Foundation. The goal is clear: to provide every single Hilti team member worldwide with opportunities to participate in social initiatives beyond business.
Agnes’ story of financial independence
Imagine, you are a smart girl with big dreams, but you have to leave school because your family can’t afford to pay tuition. Isn’t that unfair? While talents are equally well distributed all over the world, not everyone gets the opportunity to develop and use them. Agnes Wairimu Kagiri is 34 years old, married, and a mother of three who had to re-define herself and her future several times to live an independent and self-determined life.
Hilti volunteers building houses for families in need
With Engaged Beyond Business (EBB), Hilti’s employee engagement program, every region has amazing local projects running. Today, we want to focus on Bea’s work: The international EBB projects “building houses”. Back in 2014, the Hilti Foundation accidentally learned about a house building project in Bosnia. "Three months later, we actually went down there with a group of apprentices from Hilti Plant 4 in Austria and after one week we had built two houses", recalls Bea.
Youth Orchestra of Sinfonía por el Perú in Europe
To travel abroad and perform at major international festivals is the dream of many young musicians. This dream is now becoming reality for the Youth Orchestra of Sinfonía por el Perú, which is touring Europe for the first time with its founder, the Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez.
Project announcement: Hilti Foundation launches “Enterprise Scale-Up” in rural East Africa
Based on the Basic Entrepreneur Training (BET) program’s success, the Hilti Foundation has decided to launch “Enterprise Scale Up”, a project focusing on those microentrepreneurs who have already gone through the base program with ambitions to invest and profitably grow their enterprises. Until 2027, the project will reach 20,000 farmers, helping them to improve their livelihoods and to contribute to local rural economy and social development through scaling up their farming-based enterprises in Kenya and Tanzania.
Podcast #6 - Economic Empowerment
Listen in this episode of In this Case to Werner Wallner (Hilti Foundation), Walter Irungi (small business owner), Dorothea Arndt (Hand in Hand International) and Jane Sabuni (Hand in Hand Eastern Africa) talking about how they partner to reach that goal: Helping people to develop skills, find sustainable jobs, start businesses and achieve a decent income, so they can afford a better living standard.
Innovative Bamboo Building Technology now in Nepal
Habitat for Humanity, a longtime partner organization of the Hilti Foundation, has started to build safe and disaster-resilient homes in Nepal for families in need. Since its inception in 1997, bamboo has been the environmentally friendly and local building material of choice for Habitat Nepal. But the current project is the first in the country to use the Hilti Foundation’s innovative CBFT.
Iberacademy Orchestra Medellin goes Europe
“Side-by-side for a better future” is the motto under which the Academia Filarmónica Iberoamericana, or Iberacademy for short, based in Medellín, Colombia, is embarking on its second tour of Europe. The young musicians of the Iberacademy Orchestra will play impressive programs under the direction of Iberacademy founder Alejandro Posada and Roberto Gonzales-Mónjas, principal conductor of the Musikkollegium Winterthur, Switzerland.
The Academy for Impact through Music
After two years of intensive preparation, the Hilti Foundation has now established the Academy for Impact through Music (AIM) as an independent legal entity and non-profit foundation. Together, they are committed to drive positive systemic change in the Music for Social Change sector to enable young people to reach their full potential in life.
Webinar: Franck Goddio - 25 years of maritime archaeology
Since 1996, the Hilti Foundation has been working with French archaeologist Franck Goddio to support his research in Egypt. In his live talk The Portus Magnus of Alexandria, French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio presented his discoveries of 25 years of research in today’s east port of Alexandria to Hilti team members.
Africa Housing Forum 2022
The first Africa Housing Forum is rapidly approaching! Organized by Habitat for Humanity International this hybrid event will take place both place both virtually and in-person in Nairobi, Kenya from May 12-14, 2022. Hilti Foundation is the forum’s global presenting sponsor.
The power of music - The story of July Meza
July is a member of the National Youth Choir in Sinfonía por el Perú. For her, being part of the program has opened a completely new world. Not only did she discover a talent she didn’t know she had, but she has also found her favorite way to express herself and her feelings through music.
Construya – safe & sustainable housing in Latin America
In 2011, together with its long-standing partner organization Swisscontact, the Hilti Foundation launched Construya, a qualification program for the informal construction sector in Colombia. Construya has developed training modules, in cooperation with state vocational training institutions, that teach better construction practices for the informal sector.
Social Impact at Hilti — helping sustainably
The Hilti Group is committed to positively impacting social challenges around the world. In addition to supporting the Hilti Foundation’s work, Hilti also encourages its employees to participate in the corporate volunteering program Engaged Beyond Business. Find all about sustainability and social engagement at Hilti in the new Company Report 2021.
Podcast #5 - Maritime Archaeology | Franck Goddio
Since 1996, the Hilti Foundation has been working with French archaeologist Franck Goddio to support his research in Egypt. In this episode, you will learn how the long-term commitment of the Hilti Foundation has enabled Franck Goddio to revolutionize maritime archaeology with innovative research and documentation techniques.
Solidarity with Ukraine
The Hilti Foundation, on behalf of the Hilti Group and the Hilti Family set up a solidarity fund with an initial donation of 1M Swiss Francs to our longstanding partner Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Sinfonía por el Perú sings at home
Due to the pandemic, many programs in the field of music for social change had to adapt their ways of collaboration.
Podcast #4 - Emergency Relief
In this episode of In this Case, you will learn more about the Hilti Foundation’s emergency relief program. Join Bea Bättig Staud (Hilti Foundation), Abiy Tamrat (Médecins sans frontières) and Ran Goldstein (Physicians for Human Rights Israel).
Starting a Successful Micro-Enterprise in Kenya
Globally, an estimated 63 million children are not attending primary school and one in four girls suffer educational disadvantage. Agatha, now in her forties, used to be one of these girls.
Fighting Poverty Through Grassroot Entrepreneurship
The project-based cooperation between the Hilti Foundation and Hand in Hand International started in 2017, when the powerful educational program in rural East Africa was implemented. The training teaches basic entrepreneurial skills, financial literacy as well as best practice on livestock farming.