Support us
Become a volunteer
Volunteers are involved in the various programs during the Open House weekend. There are various tasks for volunteers: They are responsible for looking after the building, opening doors and being the first point of contact on site - taking care of knowledge transfer and giving guided tours themselves.
How do I become a volunteer?
You can register here: www.helfereinsatz.ch as a volunteer for Saturday, Sunday or for both days.
An assignment usually lasts 3-5 hours.
As soon as the building programme has been finalised, we will get in touch with you and together we will find the right task and suitable time period for your assignment(s).
All the important information will then follow at the volunteer training beforehand so that you can start your Open House assignment perfectly prepared.
This is what you can look forward to as a volunteer:
- You will be up close and personal and your commitment will make it possible for Open House Bern to take place at all.
- You will be part of a community that is interested in architecture and get to know like-minded people and people who are well-connected in the professional world.
- You will receive an official "Open House Bern" shirt and a jute bag from the current edition.
- Together with the other volunteers, we will invite you to the opening evening on the Friday before Open House and to other additional events as a thank-you.
Picture from our volunteer event at Kino Rex on 2 October 2024.
"Merci tuusig" for your enormously important commitment!
Your assignment is limited to the day you choose. As a rule, an assignment lasts three to a maximum of five hours. This gives you enough time to visit other buildings. You can choose the location yourself.
Some volunteers also take on several assignments at the weekend or work in the run-up to the event. They support us with organisational tasks, with the preparation of materials or with publicising the festival.
People from all backgrounds and ages are welcome in our volunteer community. You don't necessarily have to have any specialised knowledge or experience; with us you can learn, take risks and gain new experiences.
As a volunteer for Open House Bern, you will be in direct contact with our visitors, so a friendly and reliable manner is important. You should also be prepared to take part in the 45-minute volunteer training course (online) and pick up the materials for your assignment (T-shirt, posters, programme booklets) in person at the festival centre.
As a volunteer, you will be on site for 3-5 hours at one of our programme events.
If you are responsible for building management, your main task is to welcome visitors and inform them about the event and the tours on site. You will ensure that everyone adheres to the rules that apply on site and support the experts in organising the visitor groups.
As a volunteer, you will be on site for 3-5 hours at one of our programme events.
Do you enjoy speaking in front of an audience? Then perhaps guided tours are just the thing for you! If you take on a guided tour, you will welcome the colourful groups of visitors, answer individual questions and ensure that the visitors are just as enthusiastic about the respective architecture after the tour as you are (#no pressure). You will receive the material for preparing the guided tours from us in advance - if you have the time and inclination, you can compile further documents in addition to our materials.
Building partners
As a building partner, you make Open House Bern possible by supporting the opening of the buildings on this weekend in advance. Without the trust of open owners, users and architects, we would not be able to offer any programme items.
Our building partners ...
- Open houses from different periods that are worth seeing and offer free guided tours.
- Determine at what time how many people can visit the building and whether volunteers are needed on site.
- Define whether the building partners themselves, employees, people involved in the construction or our volunteers will guide you through the building.
- Communicate any special needs (reduced accessibility, safety instructions, etc.). The Open House Bern team takes care of all other organisational matters and ensures that everything runs smoothly on the day of the event.
Would you also like to open the doors to your home in 2025? Become part of the Open House Bern community and submit a building proposal.
If your building is part of our programme, we will invite you to the exclusive opening aperitif on the evening before the event.
