Training and conferences
ISS Switzerland offers thematic and continuing training for professionals and students. It also organises conferences and workshops, and can be asked to give specific presentations. On request, we set up continuing education on selected topics.
Designing and delivering training on ISS Switzerland’s topics, approaches and tools is part of our training mission. By focusing on guidelines and good practice drawn from case work, we create synergies between ISS Switzerland’s expertise and the reach of the international ISS network, with a view to sharing practice and strengthening advocacy. The training is aimed at professionals working with separating families: judicial authorities, legal professionals, lawyers, child protection workers, mediators, psychologists and psychotherapists, social workers, etc. It is delivered on behalf of universities, universities of applied sciences, professional associations and other institutions.
Intercantonal meetings on the care of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors and former UASMs
Every year, ISS Switzerland organises an intercantonal meeting on the care of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors (UASMs) and former UASMs, bringing together professionals, experts and volunteers from the field.
These meetings provide a platform for exchange and networking on current issues in support work. They encourage the sharing of experience and good practice, interdisciplinary dialogue and the development of responses tailored to the challenges faced in the different cantons. Each meeting focuses on a specific theme and may be organised in cooperation with specialised organisations and partners.
University and continuing education
At the request of universities and universities of applied sciences, ISS Switzerland contributes to initial and continuing professional training such as Bachelor’s, MAS, CAS and DAS programmes. It currently holds mandates in French-speaking Switzerland, with the HES and HETS in Fribourg, Lausanne, Geneva and Sierre, and in German-speaking Switzerland, with the schools of social work in Zurich, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Bern.
Webinars and workshops
Webinars and thematic workshops are organised by ISS Switzerland’s teams as needed or on request. For German-speaking Switzerland, a webinar is offered every spring on ISS Switzerland’s services and the legal bases of international child and adult protection; it is open to professionals from child and adult protection authorities (APEA/KESB), deputyship services and protection services. A second annual webinar in German is aimed at social services working in the asylum field.
Link to the next webinar event
Organising training and professional meetings
- International conference on parental separation — 1 October 2026 (link)
- AIFI biennial conferences (link)