Davos
Manuscrit, non publié à l’époque. Seul le prononcé fait foi. Les notes de travail ont été retirées.
Discours prononcé en anglais. Texte original, non traduit.
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Do you know what a Torrée is?
Probably not.
A Torrée is a special Swiss barbecue cultivated in Neuchâtel, at the other end of Switzerland.
It requires a particular type of sausage, namely a Neuchâtel saucisson. You wrap the sausage in a cabbage leaf – or simply in a sheet of newspaper – and then cook it directly on charcoal.
You savour the saucisson with potatoes, salad, bread, a little mustard and a glass of wine.
The tradition of the Torrée began with farmers clearing the land and has today become a popular outdoor celebration in the canton of Neuchâtel.
Why am I telling you this?
Because it is a good example that illustrates why we have come together here.
We can cook food just to survive. Or we can prepare food in an artful manner – even if it is very simple food – and at the same time satisfy people’s need for social interaction and culture.
The same applies to construction: we can build for the sake of building. Or we can build and at the same time create space for culture. For social interaction. For quality of life.
Construction is part of our culture.
Tradition and innovation are not opposites in this but are mutually dependent and inspire each other.
The same applies to eating and drinking.
The Torrée, ladies and gentlemen, the Torrée is one of 199 official living Swiss traditions. Switzerland established this list after ratifying the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Nothing is better suited to illustrating Swiss cultural diversity than this list. And UNESCO’s definition of intangible cultural heritage. Which is – luckily – broad enough to provide room for a sausage.
I hope that you will agree to join me in devoting this evening to this very tangible aspect of cultural heritage.
Ministers, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us in Switzerland and Davos.
I hope that you will enjoy the discussions and the food as much as you will enjoy spending some time in the mountains.
Enjoy your meal and have a wonderful evening.
Thank you very much.