Alain Berset in Zurich: 80 years after Churchill’s speech, what is the future of European unity?

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s famous speech in Zurich, the University of Zurich’s Europa Institut will welcome Secretary General Alain Berset to give a lecture entitled “From Zurich to Strasbourg: European unity in a time of war and rupture”. In his lecture, he will highlight the fundamental part that democracy, human rights and the rule of law play in preserving European security, peace and unity. This event forms part of the Churchill Lectures, held every year by the University of Zurich’s Europa Institut and bringing together leading figures to discuss major European issues. The presence of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe underlines the historic and symbolic link between Zurich, where Churchill gave his founding speech, and Strasbourg, the European capital of human rights and the headquarters of the Council of Europe.

Wednesday 16 September 2026 — Zurich

• Welcome by Prof. Dr. Andreas Kellerhals, Director of the Europa-Institut
• Interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung
• Interview with Blick
• Welcome Reception
• Group Photo Stop in front of Churchill Sign
• Lecture: From Zurich to Strasbourg: European unity in a time of war and rupture and Q&A (80th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s speech of 19 September 1946)
• Dinner and exchange with students

Published interviews and articles

• Alain Berset endosse le costume de résistant européen — Blick, 17 September 2026
• Alain Berset: L’Europe démocratique est sous pression — Blick, podcast, 21 September 2026
• Alain Berset: «Es ist gefährlich, wenn Länder, die ihre Armeen aufrüsten, nicht auch in demokratische Institutionen investieren» — Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 6 October 2026 · full text on this site