The theme of the forum is “Always on”, connected at all times and everywhere. Alain Berset recalls the strategy decided by the Federal Council in the spring: combining educational and regulatory measures. New media carry risks (violent or pornographic content, cyberbullying, sexual abuse), but they are also an opportunity to learn and develop. The national […]
In Aarau, Alain Berset salutes folk music: “Die Volksmusik verbindet uns alle.” A heritage once again recognised as an expression of Swiss identity. Speeches on this site Fête fédérale de la musique populaire (in German, French-language page) Sources FDHA, speech of 11.09.2015
In Basel Minster, Alain Berset opens the second presentation of the Swiss Grand Award for Music. The winner, the oboist, conductor and composer Heinz Holliger, on tour in Japan, responds live. The speech quotes Nietzsche, a former professor in Basel: “Ohne Musik wäre das Leben ein Irrtum.” In Berne, he says, it would be put […]
Alain Berset opens the FFFH in Biel/Bienne. His subject: the “popcorn barrier” that separates the language regions. A box-office success in one region almost always turns into a flop in the others. Promoting French-language cinema in German-speaking Switzerland from Biel/Bienne, he tells the French guests, is like promoting Breton cinema in Paris. Speeches on this […]
Alain Berset receives the new Minister of the CFDA, Bi Jingquan. They take stock of the cooperation agreement signed in Davos in January, on foodstuffs, medicines, medical devices and cosmetics. A steering committee met for the first time in Beijing in June; the agreement extends a 2005 memorandum on health. Sources FDHA, press release of […]
On the rue des Francs-Bourgeois, Alain Berset celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of Pro Helvetia’s Swiss Cultural Centre. “For a socialist, it is even a moment of intense emotion to do so on the rue des Francs-Bourgeois.” He invokes Benjamin Constant, for whom gratitude “has a short memory”, and intends to prove him wrong. The evening […]
At the opening gala, Alain Berset welcomes the audience together with Nadja Schildknecht, Karl Spoerri and the Mayor, Corine Mauch. Opening film: “The Man Who Knew Infinity”. A few weeks before the elections, he salutes the balance of the guests, from Jeremy Irons to Arnold Schwarzenegger: a range that reminds him of the composition of […]
Alain Berset begins in Ningxia province: a village where migrants have been resettled, the cave dwellings of the loess plateau, the fight against desertification. In Beijing, he signs with the Minister of Culture, Luo Shugang, a declaration of intent opening negotiations on a cultural agreement. On 30 September, he signs with Yin Weimin, Minister of […]
Alain Berset opens the conference of the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Commission, organised with the Federal Office for Gender Equality. “Equal access to justice is essential to achieving equality between women and men in all areas.” He starts from a question, “What is progress?”, and quotes Victor Hugo: “Progress is the collective step of […]
At the Théâtre Equilibre in Fribourg, Alain Berset presents the Swiss Grand Award for Dance to the Geneva choreographer Gilles Jobin. “Without dance, we would not even have been born.” He is surprised that the classification of the arts, since Hegel, ranks dance only fourth, and describes the protein biosynthesis danced at Stanford in the […]
At the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Alain Berset salutes the vitality of the watchmaking industry. The Aiguille d’Or goes to Greubel Forsey for the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision. He quotes the historian Daniel Boorstin: to measure time precisely, humanity had to free itself from the sun. If SBB set its timetables by the sundial, the […]
The Federal Commission for Child and Youth Affairs holds a national conference based on the survey “Ma Suisse et moi” (“My Switzerland and me”) of young people who came of age in 2015. Alain Berset: “A country must offer prospects to its young people, otherwise it risks growing weaker.” As the youngest member of the […]
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