Joint Alumni Forum
Host & Virtual Sponsor: Walder Wyss AG
Unseen, Unheard, Unhoused: the sociology, psychology, and architecture of homelessness
Panel Discussion with Experts
Dear Harvardians, Joint Alumni Forum, and Interested Parties,
Whilst homelessness is a known problem in big cities like New York, San Francisco, Washington DC and London, homelessness in Switzerland is invisible to most of us, yet it exists and is growing, from the streets of Zurich to cities around the world. How much do you really know about it?
The Joint Alumni Forum invites you to a revealing evening that may change how you see your own backyard. Three voices, three perspectives: a politician who shapes policy, an academic who studies the root causes, and a street worker who meets people experiencing homelessness every day.
We will explore the sociology, psychology, and architecture of homelessness through an international lens, and you may be surprised by what actually helps and what doesn't. Come with your assumptions. Leave with new awareness.
Panel Speakers:
Stadtpräsident Raphael Golta, Mayor of Zurich, Head of Mayor’s Office - responsible for urban development, cultural affairs, housing & equality policy. Stadtpräsident Golta will open the discussion with a historical overview of homelessness in Kanton Zürich and his work in this area over the years. He will also talk about his ambitions to bring the Homelessness World Cup to Switzerland to raise global awareness of homelessness.
Dr. Matthias Drilling, Professor of Social Work, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, author of books on homelessness. Dr. Drilling will give a more global outlook on homelessness, including root causes and urban planning. He will also give a perspective on other social problems we are facing in Switzerland and elsewhere.
Friederike Rass, Geschäftsführerin, Strategie & Transformation, Social Impact & Innovation. Public-Private Partnerships. Friederike will talk about her work with homelessness in the streets, and the surprising revelation that only15% of homeless women will admit to being homeless or seek social assistance.
Moderator:
Diane Bailey, Executive Board, Harvard Club of Switzerland, and Founder of the Joint Alumni Forum
Jonathan Copley, President, Oxford & Cambridge Club of Switzerland, Joint Alumni Forum Committee
When: Friday, 13. November, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm (arrivals from 5:45 pm), Panel Discussion and Q&A, followed by drinks and networking
Where: Walder Wyss AG, Seefeldstrasse 123, 8008 Zürich
Voluntary Contributions: Professionals CHF20; Student/Part-timers/Retired CHF10; Free for Virtual Attendance, Refugees, and special circumstances.
We look forward to providing a forum for education, discussion, and networking.
For and on behalf of the Harvard Club of Switzerland and the Joint Alumni Forum
Diane B Bailey
Register here
Meet our Panel
Stadtpräsident Raphael Golta
Raphael Golta has been Mayor of Zurich and Head of the Mayor’s Office since May 2026.
After studying Communication Science, Economics and Computer Science at the University of Zurich, he pursued a career in communications and new technologies, working as a journalist, media scholar, independent communications consultant and app developer. From 2003 to 2014, Golta served as a member of the Cantonal Parliament, and from 2010 onwards he also served as President of the Social Democratic Party (SP) parliamentary group. In 2014, Golta was elected to Zurich’s City Executive. Until May 2026, he served as Head of the City of Zurich’s Department of Social Services. He is married and has two children.
As Mayor, Raphael Golta represents the City of Zurich externally. As Head of the Mayor’s Office, his responsibilities include urban development, cultural affairs, housing and equality policy.
Dr. Matthias Drilling
Dr. Matthias Drilling is a social scientist, spatial planner, and Professor of Social Work at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), where he heads the research unit on social space & community development. For more than two decades, he has led national and international research and policy projects focusing on homelessness, vulnerability, and socio-spatial inequality. His research examines how urban planning, social policies, and the built environment shape homelessness and access to housing, public space, and social participation. It includes some of the first comprehensive studies on homelessness in Switzerland, international comparative research on homelessness and housing exclusion, and research on vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Drilling has held a Visiting Professorship at the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape and has lectured at universities and international forums across Europe, North America, and the Middle East. He has authored and edited numerous academic books and articles and, more recently, has increasingly written for broader audiences. His latest publication, The Roofless Truth (Park Books), brings together perspectives from architecture, urban planning, social research, and design to rethink how cities understand and respond to homelessness.
Frederike Rass
Friederike Rass studied theology, philosophy and political science in Tübingen, Hamburg, and Buenos Aires and holds an Executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen. She earned her doctorate summa cum laude in philosophy of religion, conducting her research in Zurich and the United States. She began her professional career in international innovation cooperation, serving as a project manager at the State Secretariat for Research and Innovation. She subsequently became Director of the Foundation of the Protestant Social Services of the Canton of Zurich.
Since 2022, Friederike Rass has served as Director of the Pfarrer Sieber Social Services, an organization dedicated to supporting people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and social exclusion. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Competence Centre for Theology and Ethics of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (EKS) and as a mentor for the NPO Track of the Venture startup competition.
About the Joint Alumni Forum
The Joint Alumni Forum is a social responsibility committee of the Harvard Club of Switzerland in cooperation with the alumni clubs in Switzerland of Harvard, Oxford & Cambridge, Stanford, Yale, Columbia University, Northwestern and LSE. It was established in January 2018 as a forum for discussion, education and debate on various themes encompassing social responsibility (i.e. equality themes, environment, sustainability, human rights, etc.). The outreach for the speakers’ series is broader than the alumni of universities in the collaboration, but also like-minded representatives of institutions and interest groups and members of the public. Our goal is to trigger thoughts which trigger action which triggers impact.
If you’d like to know more about us or participate in our initiatives, please contact us.
Our Sponsors
Big thank you to our sponsors for this event:
Venue Sponsor:
