SWI swissinfo.ch – English
Using sound to find prehistoric ruins under Lake Lucerne
- Title
- Using sound to find prehistoric ruins under Lake Lucerne
- Runtime
- 21:48
- Date posted
- 3 years ago
- Description
- Construction workers got a surprise recently while laying a pipeline underneath Lake Lucerne in central Switzerland. On the lake floor they found the traces of a prehistoric village! This finally confirmed a long-standing theory among archaeologists, who believed that people had lived in the area thousands of years ago.
But why were the traces of their home so deep within the lake? Across Switzerland there are about 500 pile dwelling sites, but these are normally found along the shorelines of lakes. And how do archaeologists manage to unravel prehistoric findings underwater? On this episode of The Swiss Connection (#) podcast, we take a boat ride to get to the bottom of this mystery. While onboard, we meet a team of international experts and learn about an unusual technique using sound to map the depths of a lake.
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- Title
- Swiss vote on raising retirement age for women.
- Runtime
- 1:32
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- The Swiss are set to vote on plans to reform the pension system, which include raising the retirement age for women from 64 to 65, the age when men retire. There would also be a hike in value added tax on goods and services to help pay for pensions. The left-wing politicians and trade unions that launched the referendum are particularly concerned about the reform, given that they already have on average much lower pensions than men. Those in favour of the revision say it is vital to act given the demographic shift and looming pension funding gap.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
S...
- Title
- Swiss vote: sticking up for animal welfare
- Runtime
- 1:23
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- The Swiss will vote on September 25 whether to ban factory farming. The country is committed to agriculture and already has very strict animal welfare legislation. The popular initiative was organised by animal rights organisations, who say the welfare requirements for livestock and poultry should at least meet the criteria of the 2018 Bio Suisse standard. But the government and parliament consider farm animals to be adequately protected under current legislation and are calling on voters to reject the initiative.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?...
- Title
- Let’s Talk: pension reform debate (German with English Subtitles in close caption)
- Runtime
- 33:46
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- A revamp of Switzerland’s pension system is set for a popular vote. SWI swissinfo.ch discussed the issue with supporter Andri Silberschmidt and opponent Barbara Gysi.
The reform plans encompass two separate proposals to be decided by voters on September 25: the retirement age for women is to be hiked from 64 to 65, while value-added tax in Switzerland is to rise by 0.4%.
Opinion polls suggest the result could be tight. They also show that divisions among voters don’t just fall along left-right lines, but are above all between the sexes. Women – more affected by the proposal than men – are strongly against it.
In our video debate, follow the arguments of parliamentarians Andri Silberschmidt (from the centre-right Radical Liberal party) and Barbara Gysi (from the left-wing Social Democrats).
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and t...
- Title
- Explaining the circular economy: A new way of making and using things
- Runtime
- 8:40
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- A circular economy means moving away from using precious raw materials and producing goods that end up in the landfill. Products are repaired, reused and recycled instead. This video shows how the process works in Switzerland, a country with few raw materials that is good at recycling but that also generates among the most waste in Europe.
Various hurdles stand in the way of developing a circular economy and prevent the efficient use of resources, as a report by the Federal Council from March 2022 points out. It is currently examining measures to address these. The potential for improvement is particularly high in the areas of construction and housing, agriculture and food, transport, mechanical engineering and the chemical industry.
We take a closer look at some of these possibilities: For example, the report suggests that when construction companies could use existing components and recycled materials. There are also business opportunities for repair and l...
- Title
- Your views on female conscription
- Runtime
- 2:15
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- By the end of this decade, the Swiss army expects to have trouble recruiting enough personnel. So the defence department is studying the option of drafting women alongside men for military service or an alternative civilian service. We recently asked readers to send in their views on gender-neutral conscription.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos
- Title
- How a strike threat reshaped Swiss democracy
- Runtime
- 3:47
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- “Next stop: Olten.” The biggest rail junction in Switzerland was once also home to the Olten Action Committee, which in 1918 called the first nationwide strike – with far-reaching consequences for Swiss democracy.
On November 11, 1918, the First World War came to an end with the fall of the German Empire. One day later, workers in Switzerland started a general strike. It was organised by the “Olten Action Committee”, which coordinated the nationwide protest from a building there called the House of the People.
Olten, some 50km west of Zurich, is Switzerland’s main rail junction, where train lines from north to south and east to west come together. For a long time the station buffet at Olten was jokingly regarded as the unofficial centre of Switzerland. So Olten was just the right place to be the centre of a national strike. From there, militant workers could send out their instructions to every part of the country.
In the French-speaki...
- Title
- Swiss hospitality business school EHL expands its campus
- Runtime
- 1:21
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- The world’s oldest hotel school, the EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne, has unveiled a huge new campus costing CHF250 million ($254 million). The move comes as the Swiss hotel school seeks to boost its international standing.
The inauguration on July 8 took place in the presence of the Swiss President Ignazio Cassis, who praised the hotel school’s ambassadorial role.
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SWI swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos
- Title
- Episode 3: The Golden ticket
- Runtime
- 4:33
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In our satirical video format, Swiss comedian and director Patrick Karpiczenko apologises for Switzerland's transgressions – this time for so-called golden visas that have been given freely to Russian oligarchs.
Why are so many Russian oligarchs staying in Switzerland? How do they avoid getting sanctioned and having their assets frozen? Is Vladimir Putin hiding his children in southern Switzerland? And why does North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un speak Swiss German?
In this new episode, Patrick Karpiczenko visits "Little Moscow" in canton Zug, gives a short insight into Swiss hospitality before and after Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and looks into the childhood of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un who went to a Bern school.
If you want to know more about Russian oligarchs and hidden assets in Switzerland, we recommend these texts from our archive:
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/meet-the-oligarchs--switzerland-s-awkward-guests/47457106...
- Title
- How Covid changed Swiss democracy
- Runtime
- 7:41
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In April 2020, with the arrival of Covid-19, political analyst Martina Mousson expressed concerns about the curtailment of parliament and political rights in Switzerland. Two years on, she is visibly more relaxed about things.
Mousson, a project manager at the research and polling institute gfs.bern, is one of the busiest and most renowned observers of direct democracy in Switzerland.
What traces has the pandemic left on Swiss politics? Over two years ago, at the beginning of the pandemic, we asked Mousson this question (see below). Now we present her with her statements and predictions from April 2020, to see which of them came about and which not. After the initial shock, however, Mousson is now much more positive about how democracy dealt with Covid-19.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.<...
- Title
- Crystal hunters in the Swiss Alps
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Archaeologists are looking for crystals in the Swiss Alps as these are clues to how Stone Age craftspeople lived. Fragments of crystals can indicate how and where tools were made.
Check out the full article on our website: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/sci-tech/in-pursuit-of-the-crystal-hunters/47669880
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SWI swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos
- Title
- The Swiss army: your questions answered Part 7
- Runtime
- 1:20
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In Switzerland, all able-bodied men complete compulsory military service, while others opt for a civilian service. But how useful is a conscript army in light of what Russia did to Ukraine? This is one of many questions SWI readers sent to us. Daniel Reist, head of media relations for the Swiss armed forces, takes a shot at answering them.
Our seventh question and the last in our series is: why are women not conscripted in Switzerland?
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos
- Title
- The Swiss army: your questions answered Part 6
- Runtime
- 0:43
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In Switzerland, all able-bodied men complete compulsory military service, while others opt for a civilian service. But how useful is a conscript army in light of what Russia did to Ukraine? This is one of many questions SWI readers sent to us. Daniel Reist, head of media relations for the Swiss armed forces, takes a shot at answering them.
Our sixth question is: are Swiss soldiers being used as free labour?
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More questions and answers are to follow in the coming weeks. ---
swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=...
- Title
- The UK and Switzerland's fall outs with the EU
- Runtime
- 3:12
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- What do Brexit and the Swiss breakdowns in relations with the EU have in common? According to a Swiss social historian, quite a lot. Switzerland has never been an EU member but enjoys almost full access to the EU’s internal market, thanks to 120 bilateral agreements. Attempts to update these with a new framework agreement collapsed in 2021 when the Swiss walked out of talks with the EU. The Financial Times dubbed the fallout “Swexit” in reference to Brexit, the divorce between the EU and the UK as both countries had similar sticking points with the 27-country block.
SWI swissinfo.ch met up with Oliver Zimmer, a Swiss expert in modern European history, who takes a closer look at the similarities between the two countries in their troubled relations with the EU. Zimmer is in a good position to compare the two: he was a renowned Oxford University professor who recently returned to Switzerland after 27 years in the UK. He now works for CREMAExternal link, the Zurich-base...
- Title
- The Swiss army: your questions answered Part 5
- Runtime
- 0:28
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In Switzerland, all able-bodied men complete compulsory military service, while others opt for a civilian service. But how useful is a conscript army in light of what Russia did to Ukraine? This is one of many questions SWI readers sent to us. Daniel Reist, head of media relations for the Swiss armed forces, takes a shot at answering them.
Our fifth question is: what would the army do if there was a nuclear war?
More questions and answers are to follow in the coming weeks.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=s...
- Title
- The Swiss army: your questions answered Part 4
- Runtime
- 0:57
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In Switzerland, all able-bodied men complete compulsory military service, while others opt for a civilian service. But how useful is a conscript army in light of what Russia did to Ukraine? This is one of many questions SWI readers sent to us. Daniel Reist, head of media relations for the Swiss armed forces, takes a shot at answering them.
Our fourth question is: how can a neutral country have an army?
More questions and answers are to follow in the coming weeks.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovi...
- Title
- Large Hadron Collider restart at CERN
- Runtime
- 2:51
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is back. Scientists are again firing proton beams at nearly the speed of light around its 27-kilometre loop as they resume their search for clues to the origins of the universe.
After three years of maintenance work, the world’s biggest particle accelerator, located at the CERN particle physics laboratory near Geneva, has started its third operational cycle, officials said this week. The increased amount of energy used this time is expected to lead to greater precision and discovery potential than ever before.
The ramping up of the energy and intensity of the beams in the upgraded collider coincides with the tenth anniversary of the LHC’s landmark discovery of the Higgs Boson particle, a long-sought fundamental particle that gives mass to other subatomic components of the universe.
Just before the LHC relaunch, Swiss television SRF visited CERN and got a glimpse of the ALICE experiment deep underground, as well...
- Title
- Swiss conference on Ukraine’s recovery
- Runtime
- 1:59
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- An international conference on reconstructing post-war Ukraine is being held in the Swiss city of Lugano.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the conference by video link. He said, “Russia’s war is not just an attempt to take our country, but a challenge to the European system. The reconstruction of Ukraine is therefore not just a local matter, but the task of the entire democratic world.”
The two-day event had already been scheduled before the Russian invasion began in February. Several international politicians, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, are participating. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is also there, along with several members of the Ukrainian parliament.
On the sidelines, Swiss Environment Minister Simonetta Sommaruga signed an agreement with Ukraine on implementing the Paris climate treaty. Elsewhere, delegates discussed the role of Ukraine’s parliament in the process of th...
- Title
- The Swiss army: your questions answered Part 3
- Runtime
- 0:37
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In Switzerland, all able-bodied men complete compulsory military service, while others opt for a civilian service. But how useful is a conscript army in light of what Russia did to Ukraine? This is one of many questions SWI readers sent to us. Daniel Reist, head of media relations for the Swiss armed forces, takes a shot at answering them.
Our third question is: why does Switzerland need an army?
More questions and answers are to follow in the coming weeks.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos
- Title
- James Webb - A glimpse into the origins of the universe
- Runtime
- 6:13
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- The James Webb Space Telescope, which lifted off into the heavens in December 2021, is on the hunt for distant galaxies, faint comets and early star formations. A key component of the telescope was part-developed in Switzerland.
The Webb, the biggest and most powerful telescope ever sent into space, is considered as the successor to the Hubble telescope launched in 1990 by NASA. However, while the Hubble captures images in the spectrum visible to the human eye, the Webb can see further in both space and time – largely thanks to the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), one of four scientific instruments on board. MIRI, developed with the help of Swiss researchers, can peer into the wavelength range from 5 to 28 microns – a mid-infrared range under-researched to date, and within which it’s hoped can be spotted galaxies at the edge of the universe.
The Swiss component was developed by the Paul Scherrer Institute in collaboration with industrial firms. Later the ...
- Title
- The Swiss army: your questions answered Part 2
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In Switzerland, all able-bodied men complete compulsory military service, while others opt for a civilian service. But how useful is a conscript army in light of what Russia did to Ukraine? This is one of many questions SWI readers sent to us. Daniel Reist, head of media relations for the Swiss armed forces, takes a shot at answering them.
Our second question is how would Switzerland defend itself, faced with a large-scale attack?
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos
- Title
- True Story Award 2020/21
- Runtime
- 1:33:03
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- On Friday, June 24 2022, the winners of the True Story Award 2020/21 were announced at the Kornhausforum in Bern.
Tune in here at 7pm CET (UTC +2) to find out who has won.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos
- Title
- Ukrainian students adjust to life in Switzerland
- Runtime
- 4:43
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- The Lucerne School of Art and Design has taken in 29 Ukrainian students as exchange students rather than refugees. This means their time in Switzerland counts towards their degree.
The 29 students come from the Lviv National Academy of Arts, a partner university. They came by bus via Warsaw, Poland, and then through Germany and on to Lucerne shortly after the war started in Ukraine.
Monika Gold, head of the Bachelor’s Programme in Graphic Design, was the driving force behind the move. Her own grandparents emigrated to Switzerland from what is now Ukraine and she has more than 20 years’ contact with the Lviv National Academy of Arts.
“A few days after the war broke out, I contacted the director there and asked if we could help," she told Swiss public television SRF.
The 29 students are now adjusting to life in Switzerland and to the Swiss study programme, as can be seen in the video above. In order to overcome the language barrie...
- Title
- The Swiss army: your questions answered Part 1
- Runtime
- 0:49
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In Switzerland, all able-bodied men complete compulsory military service, while others opt for a civilian service. But how useful is a conscript army in light of what Russia did to Ukraine? This is one of many questions SWI readers sent to us. Daniel Reist, head of media relations for the Swiss armed forces, takes a shot at answering them.
Our first question is can a small army be effective? More questions and answers are to follow in the coming weeks.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos
- Title
- Testing new Swiss prison: our journalist spent 24 hours behind bars
- Runtime
- 3:01
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Over 800 people volunteered to be locked up in a Zurich prison last month to test the new facility. SWI swissinfo.ch reporter May Elmahdi-Lichtsteiner was one of the lucky inmates selected for the trial.
The Zurich cantonal authorities recently came up with the unusual idea to give the detention facility and staff a test run before the prison starts taking real inmates.
The pilot project was intended as a good way of “ensuring the proper functioning of daily operations and allowing wardens to familiarise themselves with the facility”, according to the authorities. May stayed for 24 hours before being released.
The new Zurich West prison was built partly to alleviate criticism of conditions for remand prisoners in the canton.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For mor...
- Title
- Interview with Yello, the techno and synth-pop music pioneers from Zurich
- Runtime
- 1:59
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Hailed as pioneers of synth-pop and techno music and still filling halls in the wake of a career spanning four decades, the Zurich duo has just won the Swiss Grand Award for Music. Speaking to SWI swissinfo.ch, they explain the secret to success: not to care about success at all.
Boris Blank is the musical brains, but he confesses that he can’t read a score. Dieter Meier is the singer who learned how to sing on the job. Together they are Yello, probably the most globally successful and influential Swiss band in history. These two assumed dilettantes couldn’t be more different from each other – Boris, the shy genius behind the group's unique samples, and Dieter the lyricist and front man, who also doubles as a business maverick, bohemian, conceptual artist, and gambler.
Yello has so many contradictions in its DNA that it’s hard to fathom how the duo became a sudden global hit right from their beginnings, in the early 1980s. Maybe the reason lies in the...
- Title
- Why young people no longer want to work in hotels
- Runtime
- 2:25
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- The Swiss catering industry is finding it hard to attract staff – apprentices included. Young people are turning their backs on the long and irregular hours that come with working in hotels. The Covid pandemic has not helped.
A glance at the statistics confirms the trend: in 2020, 429 young people started training as specialists in restaurant service – a drop of 40% on 2011 when the number was 731.
The hotel sector is also affected by a lack of applicants. In 2011, 379 young people started an apprenticeship in the industry, but by 2020 this number had fallen to 252, according to statistics quoted by SRF.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http:...
- Title
- Episode 2: The fondue invasion
- Runtime
- 4:44
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- The new episode of our "Switzerland says sorry" series tells the unbelievable story of how Switzerland «invented» fondue as a way to get rid of all the surplus cheese it produced but was unable to sell otherwise. The video gives a short insight into the Swiss Cheese Union, a mafia-like cheese cartel responsible for price-fixing, bribery and flooding the world with melted cheese.
«Switzerland Says Sorry» is a work of satire.
Written, performed and produced by Swiss comedian Karpi
Music by artlist.io
Produced by Apéro Film in 2022 for SWI swissinfo.ch
If you want to know more about the Swiss Cheese Union, check out my sources:
«Swiss Cheese» by Dominik Flammer & Fabian Scheffold (book about the history of Swiss cheesemaking)
«The Fondue Conspiracy» Planet Money (podcast episode shorturl.at/foqsA)
«Federal institute or cartel?» by Dorothee Ryser (text in german shorturl.at/vwD25)
- Title
- How canton Ticino became a democracy pioneer in Europe
- Runtime
- 3:23
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- History books often point to the second French Revolution in July 1830 as the start of a democratising wave that swept Europe, including Switzerland. What is often overlooked is the role of canton Ticino, which pioneered many of the ideas at the heart of these revolutions.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos
- Title
- Afghan women footballers take to the field again in Bern
- Runtime
- 4:14
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- Two former players with Afghanistan’s national women’s team have started football training for women in Bern, both to improve their footballing skills and to defend the rights of women to play the game. It’s part of Armisa and Sahar’s (pseudonyms) continuing efforts to rebuild their lives after being forced to flee their country for fear of the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist group that was waging an insurgency in Afghanistan when they left.
swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos
- Title
- New ways of creating and selling in the digital art world
- Runtime
- 3:17
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- The final installment in the series explores the work of Dirk Koy, a Swiss artist in the rapidly growing digital art scene. Dirk Koy makes art using tools including 3D cameras, drones, and computers. Because digital images, videos, and animations can in theory be randomly downloaded and copied by anyone, they are bought and sold using non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
NFTs, operated through the blockchain, are digital documents which provide proof of who the sole actual owner of an artwork is. But while NFTs provide artists with new economic opportunities, they also have downsides, notably when it comes to their ecological impact.
This video portrait is part of the “Digital offensive” series by Swiss public television SRF. It looks at the work of five young people trying to make a difference in the digital world. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)
This content was published on April 16, 2022 - 09:00
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch o...
- Title
- Hacking as a tool for highlighting grievances
- Runtime
- 3:14
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- Hacker Tillie Kottmann exposes security holes in computer systems and has been charged in the United States for making them public. For Kottmann, tracking down digital vulnerabilities provides a dose of euphoria and adrenaline. The hacker wants to shine a light on data of public interest.
This video portrait is part of the “Digital offensive” series by Swiss public television SRF. It looks at the work of five young people trying to make a difference in the digital world. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?ad...
- Title
- Saying no to a tax on streaming companies in Switzerland
- Runtime
- 1:53
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- Should streaming services like Netflix be forced to support filmmakers in the countries where they operate? Under the the so-called “Lex Netflix” law, they will be required to invest 4% of their Swiss turnover in local productions.
The youth wings of Switzerland’s major centre right and rightwing political parties have criticised the law and collected enough signatures to force a national referendum on May 15. They fear the law could drive up subscription prices for streaming services and that less content will be available because of the higher costs for the providers.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinf...
- Title
- Upmarket Swiss hotel welcomes Ukrainian refugees
- Runtime
- 3:54
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- The four-star SeePark Hotel in the lakeside town of Murten in western Switzerland has opened its doors to refugees from the war in Ukraine. They get to stay for free in rooms that would normally cost more than CHF200 ($214) a night. The hotel is owned by a limited company of ethnic Russians based in western Europe. The hotel administrator, Ukrainian-born Lyudmyla Rigert, persuaded the director to help her compatriots fleeing the war. So far, 200 refugees from Ukraine have stayed there. But Liza from Krematorsk says she is still in shock and not yet able to appreciate the beauty of the place.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/...
- Title
- The birth of modern democracy in the heart of Europe
- Runtime
- 3:26
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- The "Swiss Revolution" brought democracy to Switzerland. It was an uprising against the aristocracy – and the beginning of a long journey that the country could only complete with foreign help.
On a spring day in 1798, Peter Ochs of Basel declared the birth of the Helvetic Republic from a balcony of the Aarau city hall. There was great rejoicing on the streets because this marked the liberation of the central territories from their Bernese masters.
Two democratic innovations of the Helvetic Republic stand out, and they also influenced the emergence of other democracies:
In 1799, the first assemblies of active male citizens were established.
The second experiment concerned the first national referendum. It was introduced on the occasion of the 1802 revision of the constitution. The new aspect was that there were no longer open-air assemblies: instead, secret ballots cast by individuals were counted.
This is the firs...
- Title
- Episode 1: Follow the Monet - the Bührle art collection
- Runtime
- 3:45
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- In our new satirical format, we explore this ambivalence and say "sorry" to the world - for minor and major transgressions.
Realised and developed by Swiss comedian, writer and director Patrick Karpiczenko, the segments are intended to inform and entertain, especially on social media.
The first episode discusses the new museum built by the city of Zurich to display the art collection of controversial arms dealer Emil Bührle - a collection whose legitimate acquisition during the Second World War is in doubt. What many experts consider insufficient provenance research has become a PR disaster for the politically left-leaning city.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Websit...
- Title
- Swiss act as early warning system in Bosnia
- Runtime
- 3:54
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- Swiss information gatherers are keeping a close eye on the situation in Bosnia & Herzegovina, as the country is facing a political crisis that some fear could lead to armed conflict. The Swiss Liaison and Observation Teams (LOT) in Mostar and Trebinje are part of the EUFOR peacekeeping mission. Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, announced last year that Republika Srpska would break away in violation of the 1995 Dayton peace accords that ended the war there about 25 years ago. Vera Wagner from the Mostar LOT team explains that the country is still struggling to overcome the legacy of the conflict.
swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
...
- Title
- Switzerland's S permit for refugees from Ukraine
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- People fleeing the war in Ukraine will be granted an S permit upon arrival in Switzerland. It's the first time this permit will be issued since its introduction in 1999.
The protection status "S" was created following the Balkan conflicts in the 1990s but it was never used until now. It allows refugees to live and work in Switzerland for a year with an option to extend if necessary.
Over 6,000 Ukrainians have registered with Swiss authorities since the outbreak of the war on February 24. The United Nations says more than 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the war started. The majority have travelled to Poland.
Between 50,000-60,000 Ukrainians could seek protection in Switzerland, according to Swiss justice minister Karin Keller-Sutter. The government said it had allocated 5,000 places in Swiss federal asylum centres for people fleeing the war. Some 45,000 places have been offered by private citizens in their homes.
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...
- Title
- A microbiome backup for our health
- Runtime
- 3:26
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- The microbial diversity that is crucial for our health is threatened worldwide by urbanisation. The project "The Microbiota Vault" aims to create a biobank for the whole world.
The microbiome is part of our metabolic system and has a significant influence on human health. The gut microbiome is thought to have many important functions in addition to processing ingested food, including synthesising essential vitamins, fighting inflammation and displacing pathogens. "The Microbiota Vault" aims to preserve this important human microbial diversity for posterity.
In an initial pilot phase, different stool samples from people at the University Hospital Basel will be collected, sequenced and stored. In a later phase, bacteria found in animals, plants and fermented foods will be added. The researchers are also looking for an ideal location where the samples can be stored safely for decades to come.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the...
- Title
- A visit to the AI lab
- Runtime
- 3:47
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- Taking high-quality images with our smartphones, translating texts from one language to another in just a few seconds, streaming services that make suggestions for music and films – these are some of the many tasks that are performed by algorithms. It takes a lot of data and training for these algorithms to perform well, which in turn, require a lot of people and computing power.
For the average user, it is often not easy to understand what algorithms actually are and what they have to do with artificial intelligence (AI). Researchers at the Idiap Research Institute in the canton Valais have recently developed some playful applications that demonstrate to the public what AI can do and how it works. One day, these applications could be used to support elderly or disabled people.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on internation...
- Title
- Understanding ESG Bonds and Their Use Cases
- Runtime
- 3:54
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- Interest in ESG bonds has been steadily growing these past years, as investors seek to align their portfolios to climate and social goals like those featured in the Paris Agreement.
There are different types of ESG bonds depending on their end goal: either directly support a project, or support a company in reaching general corporate targets. Green bonds, like social and sustainability ones, belong to the first type. Sustainability-linked bonds to the latter.
Clear guidelines to gauge the credibility of the issued bonds do not yet exist: critics on the real impact of ESG investing are being raised.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
...
- Title
- Empowering linguistic diversity in newsrooms
- Runtime
- 9:00
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- SWI swissinfo.ch is a team of journalists producing content in ten languages for an international audience. This multilingual work environment is inspiring and enriching but also comes with its special challenges. Take a look behind the scenes in our video and hear directly from our staff members about how they work.
The employees of SWI swissinfo.ch come from many parts of the world. Around 15 languages are spoken across our departments. Our journalists' perspectives and cultural backgrounds are correspondingly diverse. This opens up new opportunities when researching and monitoring the important issues and debates around the world.
SWI swissinfo.ch benefits from this diversity not just in the production of content but also in making it accessible in other languages. Not all stories can simply be translated and often require careful adaptation and editing keeping the cultural codes of the different target audiences in mind. Most articles are not published i...
- Title
- Switzerland and the EU: close, but not too close
- Runtime
- 2:11
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- The European Union assumed that Switzerland would one day join the club. But, if anything, the Alpine country in the heart of Europe is moving further and further away. It has no intention of joining. The EU considers Switzerland a troublesome country. In 1992 it said no to the European Economic Area. In 2021 it unilaterally broke off negotiations on a framework agreement with the EU. It says “Yes, gladly!” to economic cooperation, but “No, thanks!” to more political integration or membership. Some people say Switzerland’s wealth and stability are part of the reason for its reluctance to jump on the EU bandwagon. But that’s not the whole story.
swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
W...
- Title
- Swiss women in space
- Runtime
- 3:10
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- Far more men have been to space than women. The European Space Agency is recruiting and would be happy to hire females. To be considered, you need a master’s degree in a STEM subject (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), a medicine degree or a pilot’s license. The problem is that many girls in school consider STEM subjects to be a male domain. One Swiss woman who may have the right stuff is Deborah Müller, an engineer and manager at the space company RUAG. She has applied for astronaut training with ESA and if successful she could become a great role model for other women in Switzerland.
swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: htt...
- Title
- Gaming influencer on Twitch
- Runtime
- 3:54
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- Millions of people watch others play games on live streaming portals. One of the biggest gaming platforms is Twitch. It's where you can find Stefanie "Stefy" Holenweg. Under the name "8bitblonde", she is one of the best-known Twitch users in Switzerland.
She gives us a glimpse into her world, which is not just about games but also about social encounters. Private topics, such as heartbreak, are also discussed in her community. Stefy sees this as one of the advantages of the medium: In the stream, participants can decide how much they want to reveal about themselves.
This video portrait is the third in the “Digital offensive” series by Swiss public television SRF. It looks at the work of five young people trying to make a difference in the digital world. (SRF/swissinfo.ch).
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on i...
- Title
- Swiss vote on animal testing ban
- Runtime
- 1:27
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- On February 13, the Swiss will vote for the fourth time on whether to ban animal testing in this country. The people’s initiative calls for a halt to all experiments on humans and animals and a ban on the import of new products developed using such methods. About 556,000 animals were used for experimental purposes in Switzerland last year, according to official statistics. That's a decrease of 18% relative to 2015, when the downhill trend started. However, around 1,400 more animals were subjected to degree 3 experiments (+7.8%), tests that cause severe pain to the animals.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos<...
- Title
- Clamping down on tobacco advertising
- Runtime
- 1:16
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- Swiss voters will decide on February 13 on a wide ban on tobacco advertising, aimed at protecting young people. Switzerland, home to the world’s largest cigarette companies, has some of the weakest laws against tobacco advertising in Europe. About a quarter of the population are smokers, including around 100,000 aged 15 to 19. Under the people’s initiative, launched in 2018, only tobacco advertising directly targeting adults would be allowed. Behind the campaign is an alliance health groups, sports organisations, doctors and teachers.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.yo...
- Title
- All you need is a laptop and a backpack
- Runtime
- 2:48
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- Maik Disch works from the most beautiful beaches in Thailand for clients in Switzerland. He sees himself as a typical digital nomad: constantly on the lookout for the next dream destination. Disch's salary is lower than that of colleagues in Switzerland. On the other hand, the cost of living on the island of Ko Phangan is low and the warm, tropical climate allows him to work outdoors. Fast internet also helps.
Disch's video portrait is the second in the “Digital offensive” series by Swiss public television SRF. It looks at the work of five young people trying to make a difference in the digital world. (SRF/swissinfo.ch).
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: ht...
- Title
- Internet campaigner fights for more data awareness
- Runtime
- 3:19
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- Nikki Böhler is a young Swiss internet campaigner who is part of a growing community seeking to shape the digital transformation of society. The 29-year-old wants people to become more aware of the importance of their personal online data and of the traces they leave behind on the internet. But she also wants to improve data transparency so that existing, anonymised data can be used for the common good.
Her video portrait is the first in the “Digital offensive” series by Swiss public television SRF. It looks at the work of five young people trying to make a difference in the digital world. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo....
- Title
- Swiss ski manufacturer facing global supply chain disruption
- Runtime
- 1:14
- Date posted
- 5 years ago
- Description
- The pandemic disrupted global supply chains, causing delayed deliveries for raw materials and crucial components. Those affected had to scramble to keep their production chain going. We visited Swiss ski manufacturer Stöckli in Lucerne to see how they adapted to the new situation.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.
For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos
