Made people laugh and cry: Swiss clown Dimitri

(RDB)

A well-known Swiss entertainer has died at the age of 80. Dimitri Jakob Müller – known simply as Dimitri – was a popular clown and mime.

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His death was confirmed by an agent of his family on Wednesday.

Bo in Ascona in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, Dimitri was just seven when he decided that he wanted to become a clown.

He trained in Paris with Etiee Decroux, performed with the Marcel Marceau troupe, and received accolades for his solo mime act during the 1962 Inteational Mime Festival in Berlin. In 1973, he performed in New York’s Big Apple Circus.

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He and his wife founded a theatre, and he also founded Scuola Teatro Dimitri – a performing arts college. Dimitri was inducted into the Inteational Clown Hall of Fame in 1995.

A national treasure, Dimitri won the SwissAward for culture in 2009 and 2014.

Tribute

Interior Minister Alain Berset paid tribute to Dimitri, saying the clown had marked the cultural life of Switzerland for more than 50 years.

"He was an inspiring and warmhearted person and one of the most important stage artists in the country," he told the Swiss News Agency.

"Switzerland will badly miss his poetic style and his ability to make people laugh. He made us all happy."

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Brexit, the British referendum decision to leave the European Union, has shown yet again that in Weste democracies, older people are overrepresented among voters. And Switzerland is no exception.

Ageing is an issue for Avenir Suisse, a think tank devoted to economic and social themes. On top of traditional topics like retirement and healthcare, it is also looking at the consequences of ‘gerontocracy’ for democracy. In Switzerland, the average age of citizens who go to the polls is greater than the average age of the population overall.

The elderly clearly vote more often than young people. Whereas tuout of under-30 voters averages around 35%, that of septuagenarians hovers around 70%.

In 2015, the average age of voters in Switzerland was 56. That number should soon exceed 60.

To counteract this overrepresentation, a few days before Brexit, Avenir Suisse published a proposal on its website advocating giving children the right to vote.

From the cradle to the polls

In the Brexit vote young Brits – the majority of whom chose to stay members of the EU – were outvoted by old voters, who voted to leave.

A clear majority (74%) in the 18–24 age group were in favour of remaining EU members, whereas 75% of voters 45 and older wanted to leave. The ‘go’ vote was cast by an overwhelming 83% of voters over age 65.

“Brexit is an example of the disparity we’re afraid of: the old make a decision, and the young have to live with it,” says Lukas Rühli, author of the Avenir Suisse position paper.

It’s not the first time

After the First World War, in France the Catholic right advocated a system built on a ‘family vote’. Fathers were given supplementary ballots for each of their children, in order to stimulate the repopulation of a country decimated by the war. The idea has never died out.

It resurged again in Germany in 2003, with a parliamentary motion giving children the right to vote from birth, in order to stimulate voting by young parents, especially on domestic policy issues.

Interest hasn’t abated. It resurges periodically, sometimes from the Christian Democrats, other times from the left or the Greens.

In Austria, a movement called Kinderwahlrecht jetzt! (Kids’ vote now!) supports the same cause, but is closer to the conservative parties.

In Switzerland, at the time of the 2007 legislative elections, a candidate from the leftwing Green Party launched the idea of a children’s vote. It found an echo among the other parties (except the conservative right Swiss People’s Party), but it never went beyond the discussion stage.

According to the proposal, the right to vote would be granted to children under age 18, but it would be their parents who actually voted on their behalf, using a supplementary ballot. That’s perhaps fine if it’s a child of three, who won’t protest, but what if it’s a 14-year-old teenager with their own political ideas, which aren’t in line with those of their parents? Wouldn’t letting them vote on their behalf be an abuse of authority?

“I can understand the objection, but I don’t share it,” says Rühli. “We aren’t proposing that parents directly represent the interests of their children. Parents already have decision-making capacity for their children, and make numerous decisions on their behalf. Those decisions may not always please the offspring.”

‘One person, one vote’

The proposal was not exactly met with waves of enthusiasm. Criticism came from across the political spectrum. In the French-language daily newspaper 24Heures, historian Olivier Meuwly of the centre-right Radical Party spoke of a “retu to the old regime”, while the centre-left Social Democrat François Cherix criticised the “ridiculous idea”.

Support was no greater among the youth sections of the political parties, all of whom rejected the idea. “Rights have to go hand in hand with civic obligations,” objected Andri Silberschmidt, president of the Young Radical Party. “From a legal point of view, it’s wrong to allow someone to vote who is not of legal age and thus not accountable. And allowing parents to vote on behalf of their children contradicts the principle of ‘one man, one vote’.”

Social Democrat Jacqueline Fehr, a former member of parliament who serves as the party’s vice president, also supports the concept ‘one person, one vote’. That didn’t stop her from floating a proposal on Facebook one week after Brexit that calls for a system whereby votes would be weighted: two votes for people aged 18–40, 1.5 votes for people between the ages of 40–65, and one vote for people over 65.

In Zurich’s daily newspaper the Tages-Anzeiger, the seasoned politician explained that this would not be her ‘preferred solution’; rather, she is interested in stimulating debate. She achieved her objective, but the majority of responses to her Facebook post were not in favour of the idea. Fehr herself – like many of her followers – supports reducing the voting age to 16 years.

Voting rights for graduates

The canton of Glarus took this step in 2007. To everyone’s surprise, the citizens’ assembly gave young people the right to vote on community and cantonal issues from the age of 16. To date, it is the only canton that has taken this step. Many others have considered the proposition, but none have passed it. The last to reject the idea was Be in 2009, with 75% of voters against.

Andri Silberschmidt, president of the Young Radicals, is sceptical as well. For him, “reducing the voting age to 16 simply to increase participation is just combatting the symptoms of the problem, and won’t change much in the long run”.

He believes that young people have to react differently. “We have to get our own house in order. We have to talk to each other when there’s an important subject, and make an effort to get out and vote.”

That’s a view shared by Flavio Bundi, who heads easyvote, an initiative of the umbrella organisation of youth parliaments in Switzerland. Easyvote produces brochures and videos that help 18 to 25-year-olds understand the issues that are being voted on.

The videos, created with animated drawings in the style of “draw my life”, give a completely neutral account of an issue in three minutes. The goal is to get young people interested in politics and to overcome their inhibitions, according to Favio Bundi.

“But I’m not sure that giving children the right to vote is the only solution. No more than giving 16-year-olds the right. It’s important to get them interested in politics at an early age. But voting isn’t the only way to get involved. There’s also the option of joining a youth parliament.”

Do you think young people's voices should be given more weight in democratic issues? Tell us in the Idea section below.

What’s your favourite stop along the Swiss portion of the Tour de France route? Contact the author on Twitter @SMisicka.

(Nicola Sznajder/Flickr http://h.swissin.fo/PMTG302nS2S )

Thousands of people drive across the border from France, Germany and Italy to Switzerland every day for work. One company wants to see if they can make their staff commute in a more environmentally-friendly way.

More than 34,000 people alone commute specifically from Lörrach and Waldshut, two areas in Germany close to the northe Swiss border, on a daily basis. And some of them are heading to work at ABB. The company found out from an employee survey that 80% of their staff who commute do so in a petrol or diesel-powered vehicle, and they come alone.

ABB is working with partners from academic institutions and politics on a small pilot project to see if loaning electric cars can make any difference to how their staff get to work. It’s also about setting an example for other companies, to help them encourage their employees to think about emissions when they travel to the office.

Five BMW i3 cars are being loaned for 12 months, and one is also being used as a pool car for employee business trips. The cars can be recharged for free at the ABB offices in four Swiss locations close to the border.

What would your company have to do to get you to use an electric car to get to work? Free recharging? Loan you a car? Some other form of subsidy?

Let us know in the Idea below! You can contact the author of this article on Facebook or Twitter.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić is one of the world leaders looking to Switzerland’s vocational training system to reform their country’s workforce. He takes Serbia’s workers to task for a lack of diligence but believes Swiss expertise can help put them on the right track.

swissinfo.ch spoke to Vučić at the second Inteational Congress on Vocational and Professional Education and Training, recently held in Winterthur.

swissinfo.ch: Where does Serbia stand in the process of introducing vocational training into its labour market?

Aleksandar Vučić: We have started to talk about it, we launched a huge discussion within our society two years ago and then I wanted to meet Swiss President Joha Schneider-Amma to collect as much information as possible. In the meantime [our businesses] got a lot of investors from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland who were saying that they didn't get the quality from our education system that they expected. So we started to think about it, especially with such a high unemployment rate among young people.

In a year and a half we have had 65 pilot projects that delivered good results. For the first time I saw young guys in our country – 16 years old, teenagers – who were working in a very diligent, dedicated way in several private companies. We need it not only because of the final results, which will be a bigger growth rate and lower unemployment; it's about a change of our mind sets, better working habits, better dedication and devotion, and it's a different approach to someone's life which I think is of the biggest significance.

That's why we signed an agreement with the Swiss Development Agency [for support in vocational training], and we expect a bigger Swiss presence that can teach us. We don't need money, we just need know-how.

"If people in Serbia would hear that two guys eaed more from apprenticeship work than someone with a PhD, they wouldn't believe it."

swissinfo.ch: In what specific ways do you hope Switzerland can help your country?

A.V.: What is this all about? How do we find the best way to coect our education system to our employment system? How do they need to work together, and who is going to be in charge of it – industries, industry associations, faculties, deans, parents, youngsters? These are experiences we are leaing from Swiss development agencies and others. It's not about a huge amount of money, although Switzerland is one of the biggest donors to us. It’s about know-how, changing our mind sets, changing our habits – changing everything that we used to know, because the last 50 or 60 years were a big economic failure for us, and now we need to do something differently.

I once visited a Swiss company where there were two young Swiss guys originally from Serbia, 16 years old. And after so many years I saw young Serbian guys, ready to work, very mature, not living in the clouds. I have an 18-year-old son and they were much more mature than he was. They are ready to work, they are ready to improve their skills, and they are very much satisfied because they can ea something, they can spend that money and take a holiday for themselves without taking money from their parents or grandparents as we do in Serbia.

We are facing and will face a lot of resistance within our society because it's very easy for many people to just keep their privileges, not change anything and benefit from an old system, saying 'who cares about new generations'?

swissinfo.ch: What is the attitude in Serbia towards allowing young people to have a lot of responsibility in companies, as the Swiss vocational training system demands? Are youth as young as 16 allowed to work under current legislation?

A.V.: Legislatively and legally speaking, it is allowed, but it is not widespread among companies because they see it as a cost. And that's a huge problem for us. We'll need to change our labour law and education law and create a new system. And that's why we are working with the Swiss govement, the German govement and the Austrian chamber of commerce on these issues.

We know that this German-speaking model, particularly the Swiss model, gives the best results.

swissinfo.ch: Do you feel that you have legislative support from your colleagues to pass the necessary measures?

A.V.: We will get our support – we just had elections and we won with a landslide majority – although we will feel and face a lot of challenges and resistance. Particularly, the so-called "intellectual elite" will be opposed. Because they always say, as is also a custom in the United States, that college is the only place where you can lea something and be very successful. And my dream is not that. My dream is that my children are honest people who work hard and ea for themselves. That's why I invited Swiss experts to Serbia, to convey messages of real life and real success. If people in Serbia would hear that two guys eaed more from apprenticeship work than someone with a PhD, they wouldn't believe it.

swissinfo.ch: What do the young people in Serbia want? Are they looking beyond the university system for training?

A.V.: People want to get very decent jobs with very decent salaries, not to take any risks. We don't have the risk gene that Americans do, we lost it during the period of self-managed socialism and once again during those terrible wars in the 1990s. We lost our working habits, and now we need to revive and renew them.

In parts of India, the services of a trained mouer are called upon at funerals to create an atmosphere of grief and bereavement. One such mouer was invited to Switzerland as part of an artistic performance.

Jayalakshmi Gopalan is an Oppari performer, a dying southe Indian tradition of singing at other people’s funerals. She has been invited to Switzerland to perform at the Belluard Bollwerk Inteational festival in Fribourg where she shared her talent with swissinfo.ch.

Gopalan comes from a family of astrologers who are not comfortable with her singing at funerals, as it is something usually associated with lower castes.

She has to lea as much as she can about the deceased from their relatives to personalise the songs and generate strong emotions among the mouers.

To ensure an authentic performance, Gopalan remembers the deaths of her own family members to bring herself to the same emotional state as the bereaved.

Oppari performances used to be preceded by the beating of the drum, or “parai”, by the low caste members of the Paraiyar community. It’s where the English word “pariah” comes from. Beating the parai to aounce a death is also a disappearing custom, due to its negative cootations with caste hierarchy.

You can read the full story on swissinfo.ch on July 21.

A male oamental headdress 'me-àkà' from 1960-70, and decorative items to be wo on the arms from 1950, both from Brazil.

(MEG, J. Watts)

A Geneva museum is showcasing hundreds of items from Amazonian indigenous groups that were amassed by travellers and later gifted to the city. But do works like these belong here or in their country of origin?

Set amongst the pretend foliage, speckled light and sounds of jungle habitats lie everyday objects and ceremonial items. Recorded monkey screeches, bird squawks and even illegal logging can be heard, reminding visitors of the life and struggles of the Amazonian populations.

This is Amazonia - The Shaman and the Mind of the Forest, where three centuries’ worth of works are on show, collected by soldiers, botanists, engineers and diplomats who travelled to different parts of the watershed region.

“Most of the objects obtained in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries were often acquired through exchanges with the populations,” said Geneva’s Ethnographic Museum director Boris Wastiau.

In 1759 Ami Butini, a Genevan plantation proprietor and slave owner in Suriname was one of the first to donate curios from the region to the public library in Geneva.

Oscar Dusendschön, a Brazilian of German origin, who owned a rubber business in Manaus, bequeathed around 400 objects, at the time of his death, to Geneva, where he had retired. Many of these are on display at the new exhibit, such as colourful feather tiaras, axes and a shaman’s rattle.

According to Wastiau - he “most likely obtained” these objects from explorers who visited him in the Brazilian jungle town.

“The first things that were brought over were feather finery… to show what was exotic at the time… always with a Euro-centric, and ethnocentric perspective, to show that those people were savages,” explained archaeologist Leonid Velarde. “Through the type of items they collected – javelins, arrows, harpoons - the collectors were reflecting their views towards the indigenous peoples.”

A mid-20th Century mask from Brazil made with wood, reeds, palm stalk, feathers, pearl, tucum nuts, beeswax, resin, cotton and clay.

(MEG, J. Watts)

Objects of importance

In 2014, Switzerland retued a 2000-year-old stone monolith, representing the Illa del Ekeko, or deity of prosperity, to Bolivia. The figure, of important shamanistic significance, was obtained in 1858 by the Swiss explorer Joha Jakob von Tschudi allegedly in exchange for a bottle of cognac. After Tschudi died, his family donated the statue to Be’s History Museum.

Carine Simoes, deputy head of Switzerland’s Specialised Body for Inteational Transfer of Cultural Property which handles restitution, explained that often requests to retu objects are founded on “ethical and deontological” foundations, as opposed to law.

“Most times there is a discussion between the parties to find a solution that is the most fair and equitable. It is rarely based on law for objects which have been exported a long time ago and in particular before 2005, year of entry into force of the Swiss federal act on the inteational transfer of cultural property.”

Under Swiss legislation, cultural property refers to objects “of importance”, which are old and “of ethnological interest.”

Wastiau said national legislation in the countries of origin varied regarding the type of cultural property in question. In the region, legislation had often been drawn up with pre-Columbian objects in mind. “In the case of many South American countries archaeological patrimony legislation has existed since the early 19^th century. I don’t think that similar legal protection existed for items that may have been considered as artisanal objects and did not have the same patrimonial value in their countries of origin.”

No disputed items

Velarde, who has collaborated with the museum, explained that while objects were taken from their original owners and indigenous groups with agreements in more recent years, problems may arise more for the earlier pieces, which had been acquired before the begiing of the 20^th century.

“It would appear that the objects are clean, but not always. There are pieces that certainly should not have left [their ethnic groups and respective countries], certainly ritual ones.”

The show’s curator Philippe Mathez told swissinfo.ch that there are no ongoing disputes over items in the museum’s collection and any future claims would have to be considered.

While the reasons for collecting have changed since the times of the early collectors whose acquisitions are highlighted at the museum, appreciation of cultural objects by their original owners has also evolved.

Velarde said that before, many indigenous people had “not realised the scope of losing their patrimony . Now there is a growing awareness - which due to technologies, such as the inteet – allows it to spread more easily”.

“I think there will be an increasing mindfulness in the coming years to request the retu of objects to their countries of origin.”

Many of the early collections of Amazonian objects, some from as early as the 18^th century, which are now part of Geneva’s Ethnographic Museum, came to Europe and Geneva, in particular.

Hunting blowpipes, still tipped in poisonous curare, shields, bows and arrows, feathered jewellery and finery and hallucinogenic substances are amongst the nearly 500 items in the show, placed under the Swiss commission for UNESCO.

In one vitrine, a flute, only partially visible through a leafy screen, is exhibited. Traditionally, only certain members of ethnic groups are authorised to view the instrument, which comes from Brazil’s Mato Grosso region.

Curator Philippe Mathez explained that the museum hoped to be sensitive to indigenous rituals and traditions in the presentation of objects, many of which had strong spiritual meanings.

What do you think? Should artefacts like these belong in museums abroad? Tell us in the Idea section below.

The pack took in the Nydeggstalden hill in Be's old town as the city tued out to watch

They came, they saw, they cycled. Stage 16 of the Tour de France has arrived in Switzerland, and the crowds have tued out in their droves to cheer on the riders and give some special attention to Swiss pro cyclist, Fabian Cancellara.

The Swiss capital was in full-on Tour mode from Monday moing, with stalls out on the streets, public transport diverted and a summery party-atmosphere, although the race didn’t cross over the Swiss border with France until the afteoon.

Neuchâtel was the first Swiss city on the 209km (129.9 miles) route from the west of the country to Be, almost in the centre.

Temperatures were high and thousands of people were out on the streets to meet the race in Be, as the world’s biggest cycling race snaked its way through the country and then the city's streets.

Be's cobbles attracted some attention in the inteational media, as overall race leader and yellow-jersey holder, Chris Froome told British TV chael ITV4, “The last few kilometres was pretty sketchy."

He added, "there was lots of road fuiture, lefts and rights, and then there were the cobbles – we were just trying to stay out of trouble”.

The Swiss Fabian Cancellara, who finished 6th in this stage, had tweeted earlier in the day about how he was feeling to be taking part in the race in his last year as a pro rider.

As you might expect, there was a lot of support for the Beese sportsman Cancellara, as he raced into his hometown. Afterwards, he told the Associated Press he was “missing a little bit of strength”, adding, “It's special to ride in your own streets but, for now, I'm more tired than anything else.”

Here's that moment when the riders crossed the finish line.

Peter Sagan won the stage, and the spectators were keen to get close to the sports star at the Stade de Suisse stadium in Wankdorf, Be.

After today's efforts the riders will have a rest day in Be on Tuesday, before setting off again on Wednesday.

Where are they headed next? Take a look at their route.

What did you think of stage 16 and the route so far through Switzerland? Tell us in the Idea below, or get in touch with the author of this article on Facebook or via twitter @jofahy.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, jokes with Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland in January 2016

(Keystone)

Clinton or Trump: as far as Swiss interests go, it might not matter. Bilateral relations between the two countries have been dominated by trade issues and long-ruing banking and tax disputes.

Swiss banks – the issue

Around a dozen Swiss banks are still being probed for helping US citizens evade taxes. Could their cases hamper relations under a new president?

Not according to centre-right Radical parliamentarian Christa Markwalder, president of the Swiss Parliamentary Association Switzerland-USA: “The issue has calmed down, even though Swiss parliament didn't accept the so-called Lex USA [govement-sponsored 2013 agreement].”

Roland Büchel, a conservative right Swiss People’s Party MP and president of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, also believes the tax dispute is over. He said both countries had ‘tued the page’, adding that relations were in ‘much better shape’.

But Luzi Stamm, also from the People’s Party and a member of the foreign affairs committee, is sceptical: “I'm disappointed with the US about how they put Switzerland and others under pressure. I've heard many times in the past that this is a final solution to the [banking and tax dispute] but the discussions start over and over again. You can't trust the US in that sense.”

Swiss banks - the background

Following a $780 million (CHF762 million) fine for UBS in 2009, the US hit over 80 Swiss banks with penalties totalling over $5 billion in a dispute over tax-dodging American clients. In January 2016, the US Department of Justice finally wound up its ‘Swiss Bank Program’, a diplomatic plea bargain accord finalised in 2013 for Swiss banks with accounts belonging to US tax cheats.

Trade – the issue

Business and trade relations are growing. The US absorbed 13.5% of Swiss products (minus gold and jewelry goods) last year – a rise of 6% in value. By contrast, global Swiss exports fell 2.6% in 2015 and by 5% to Germany, the biggest single market for Swiss goods.

One trade issue that could cast a shadow on future relations is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a sweeping US-European free trade deal under discussion. Switzerland is in a ‘holding patte’, monitoring the talks it caot directly participate in and waiting to see if it can later join the TTIP. But officials are conceed by possible trading and investment disadvantages.

As the US presidential campaign heats up, protectionist and populist statements made by candidates have worried some Swiss observers.

“We have the impression that the US is a very open trade-friendly country but if you look at specific cases and also during the current campaign you see a movement against opening up markets,” said Markwalder. “I think protectionism is a real problem.”

Trade – Trump or Clinton?

Martin Naville, chief executive of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, is convinced that the positive trading partnership will continue no matter which candidate enters the White House in November.

Hillary Clinton has a proven political track record as both Senator and Secretary of State, and would likely continue Barack Obama’s pro-inteational business policies, Naville believes. “She is fully aware that this creates jobs and wealth rather than closing down borders to trade,” he told swissinfo.ch.

Unlike some other commentators, Naville is relaxed about the prospect of Donald Trump as president: “There has been a lot of campaign rhetoric from Trump that has alarmed many people, but he does not want to take a big hammer and smash everything up. He may be a loose caon with his Idea, and some people may not like his style, but he is far too pragmatic to want to change the world.”

“Fundamentally, Congress and the Supreme Court have more influence on foreign trade than whoever sits in the White House.”

FATCA - US expats

The entry into force of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), requiring financial institutions to share information about Americans' accounts worth more than $50,000, and other tax evasion legislation, continue to cause headaches for US expats in Switzerland.

“Americans are treated as toxic by Swiss banks (and banks in other non US countries around the world), primarily because of the draconian penalties the US has threatened if the banks do not tu over account information,” said Rick Adams, an American residing in Geneva.

“I know of one American who was to be hired by a Swiss company until the company's pension provider said "no Americans." Swiss companies, therefore, are denied the option of hiring talented individuals who happen to have a coection to the US tax system.”

US ambassador to Be Suzi Levine said Swiss banks such as UBS, Credit Suisse, Vontobel and Commerzbank had been persuaded to accept US clients and to not make decisions based on citizenship. “We believe that over time more and more banks will join up,” she added.

Vocational training – the issue

The Obama administration has embraced the idea of vocational training and apprenticeships and sought help from the Swiss to try to double the number of young people taking up schemes. Last September, both countries signed a joint declaration of intent – an agreement to work together, sharing knowledge on work-based leaing.

At the second Inteational Conference on Vocational and Professional Education and Training in Winterthur last month, Chris Lu, US Deputy Secretary of Labour, thanked Switzerland, describing the agreement as a ‘historic commitment to work with our counterparts who wrote the book on apprenticeships’. Swiss firms such as Nestlé, Bühler and Zurich Insurance have been actively promoting apprenticeships in the US.

Vocational training – moving forward

US ambassador to Be Suzi Levine believes Switzerland has the best apprenticeship model that could be adapted for the US. She admits it is difficult to know how things will move forward under a new administration but says there is ‘tremendous bipartisan support’ for US apprenticeship plans.

Intellectual property

One issue that may rear its ugly head is the protection of intellectual property. Although Switzerland is adapting its laws, the Office of the United States Trade Representative backed by the US music and film lobby and members of Congress insisted that Switzerland be added to a US govement watch list this year. US copyright holders claim to have been prevented from enforcing their rights against online infringers and the US believes Switzerland has become an increasingly popular host country for websites with pirated music, films and video games.

Intellectual property – tough Trump?

Some observers have raised eyebrows that the Office of the United States Trade Representative added IP-rights defender Switzerland to a watch list alongside countries like Brazil, Canada and Turkey in its latest “Special 301 Report on Protection of American Intellectual Property Rights Across the World”. According to the Intellectual Property Watch online publication, the report and watch list is more of an agenda for engagement but ‘in rare cases could extend to trade sanctions’. But in a widely-commented speech on the economy last month, Trump threatened to use ‘every lawful presidential power to remedy trade disputes’.

US-Switzerland

Between 1700 and 2015, about 460,000 Swiss citizens emigrated to the US. The number of Americans with Swiss origin is estimated to be around one million. In 2015, 80,218 Swiss citizens are living in the US, i.e. about 10% of all Swiss abroad.

In the 19th century, a relationship of friendship developed between the two “sister republics” – Switzerland and the US – on the basis of shared values such as democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.

In 1822, Switzerland opened its first consulates in the US, in Washington and in New York. Sixty years later, the opening of the Swiss embassy in Washington marked Switzerland’s first embassy outside Europe.

For the past few decades, Switzerland has provided ‘good offices’ (diplomatic mediation and facilitation efforts), representing the interests of one state in the other - the US in Cuba (and vice versa), Iran in Egypt, the US in Iran, as well as Russia in Georgia (and vice versa).

“Switzerland is known for its deep commitment to solving complex global problems. And it always helps out,” declared US Secretary of State John Kerry in January, as he thanked the Swiss efforts in hosting ongoing negotiations with the Iranian delegation over a deal to curb Tehran's nuclear programme.

(Source: Swiss foreign ministry)

What’s your favourite stop along the Swiss portion of the Tour de France route? Contact the author on Twitter @SMisicka.

These are the stories we’re following in the week of July 18.

(Keystone)

Monday

Will Swiss interests in the United States be better served by a Clinton or Trump presidency? The results of our survey of Swiss opinion leaders may surprise you.

(Keystone)

Tuesday

Serbia is the latest country to look to Switzerland to help reform the country’s workforce. We interview Serbia’s Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, who is interested in leaing from Switzerland’s vocational training system.

(Keystone)

Thursday

Each day ends in sleep and every life ends in death but our relationships with sleep and death are complicated and diverse. We hear how two Indian artists are exploring this complexity and diversity in Switzerland, and show that just because something is inevitable, it should not be taken for granted.

Saturday

The start of the Rio Olympics is nearing, and we ‘ring them in’ a bit early with a look inside the Swiss foundry making the traditional bells that sound the final lap of the athletics races.

What you may have missed last week:

The Pavillon Le Corbusier Museum Heidi Weber in Zurich is one of the architect's works to have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list

(Keystone)

The importance of Le Corbusier’s works has finally been recognised by UNESCO. Why did it take Switzerland so long to appreciate the greatness of the Swiss-French architect?

UNESCO added the architectural works of Le Corbusier – buildings in Switzerland, France, India and Argentina, among others – at the 40^th session of the body’s World Heritage Committee on Sunday.

An image of Le Corbusier – his ho-rimmed glasses raised to his forehead – has adoed the Swiss ten-franc note since 1997. “A wonderful honour for what is 5 x 2 francs,” said Swiss satirist Plonk ironically. The other half of the artistic duo, Replonk, added that it is usual for Switzerland to wait for an artist to become famous abroad before it pays homage.

The Swiss author Nicolas Verdan, who wrote a novel titled “Saga, Le Corbusier”, is of a similar opinion. “Switzerland kept its distance from its famous architect for a long time, and he paid his country back.”

This is most evident in his memoirs and private notes. Verdan said the man bo as Charles-Edouard Jeaeret in the weste Swiss town of La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1887 often added criticism or words of disillusionment next to the word Switzerland.

His disdain for the country can also be seen in this archive footage of a Swiss television reporter attempting to ask the architect questions.

See in other languages: 3

“He became even more frustrated when he wasn’t commissioned to build the Palais des Nations (UN building) in Geneva,” concluded Verdan.

Le Corbusier

Charles-Edouard Jeaeret, who called himself Le Corbusier, was bo in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1887.

After training as an engraver at the College of Art there, he made the leap to architecture.
He settled in Paris in 1917, where he opened an architecture firm.

In 1919, he launched the joual Esprit Nouveau.

From 1920 on, “purism” was his watchword.

From 1929 on, his work focused on the problems of overcrowded cities.

He died in 1965 at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, on the French Riviera, where he had built a holiday retreat.

Sharon Zielasek came out as transgender ten years ago. After telling her family and friends, explaining to the people she worked with was the next challenge. This part of the process often doesn’t go well.

Sharon told swissinfo.ch her personal story, and explained how she's helping others to overcome potential pitfalls and make a success of their new gender identity.

Lawrence crosses the Rhine and hears from the ferryman what it was like in the past.

Follow Lawrence’s blog on archaeology here. (Lawrence Desmond for swissinfo.ch)

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The name "Toblerone" calls to mind a pyramid-shaped chocolate bar that bears a resemblance to one of Switzerland's famous mountains: the Matterho. But "Toblerone" was also the word used to refer to the tank barriers which can still be found in some rural regions of Switzerland. Thanks to photographer Gabi Vogt these barriers have practically achieved cult status.

Switzerland built the barriers in the 1930s as a defence against the threat from Nazi Germany. They were also built during the Cold War due to the fear of a Soviet invasion. The blocks – each weighing nine tons – were supposed to prevent tanks and motorised military vehicles from passing through the area.

These barriers exist outside of Switzerland as well. The blocks – also known as 'dragons' teeth' – were used on various defensive lines during the Second World War – for example, the Maginot line in France and the Siegfried line in Germany.

Many barriers still haven't been removed today, although they've become obsolete in the meantime and have no further military use. They can serve as a tourist attraction, however, as in the Toblerone Trail, a collection of more than 2,700 blocks that stretch over dozens of kilometres from the foothills of the Jura all the way to Lake Geneva.

Photographer Gabi Vogt combed the country in search of these unusual objects, which have blended in with the landscape over the years.

(Text: Olivier Pauchard, swissinfo.ch)

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One of the most curious developments of the global economic malaise has been the rise of negative yielding bonds – investments that actually lose money. For the first time in recent history, all of the bonds that have been issued by the Swiss govement currently "boast" a guaranteed loss for the investor.

The current low interest rate era has already driven down the interest (or coupon) payments being offered by bond issuers. But the forces driving bonds into negative yields is somewhat counterintuitive – it is because demand for bonds is so strong that it outstrips supply.

That means investors are willing to buy bonds at above their face value. When the price inflates so far above face value that it is not covered by the remaining coupon payments, the yield goes into the red and buyers lose money on their investment.

The market has been driven into overdrive by central banks, such as the European Central Bank (ECB), buying up bonds in the hope of stimulating the economy and by the flight of investors to safe haven currencies, such as the Swiss franc.

“The ECB is currently gobbling up govement bonds, and even moving into corporate bonds. This action is artificially inflating demand for bonds, driving up their price and decreasing yields,” explains Julius Bär chief economist Janwillem Acket.

Given the terrible retus being offered by bonds, it seems remarkable that the market is booming. A good deal of the demand is being artificially generated by the ECB and other central banks, but there are other investors willing to take a loss.

Institutional investors such as banks, insurers and pension funds are obliged to hold bonds as part of their reserves for various reasons.

Another group of bond buyers are investors who move into strong currencies, such as the franc, hoping to recoup their losses – and even make a profit – from exchange rates.

And then there are the ultra-cautious investors looking to put some of their wealth into a safe investment that is backed by govements, local authorities or big companies. These investors are

willing to take a hit to escape potentially bigger losses to be found elsewhere in the volatile markets.

Julius Bär believes negative bond yields will be around for several months to come, probably not retuing to positive territory for the best part of a year. For Acket, the only cure is for the global economy to retu to a path of sustainable growth, probably led by a resurgent United States.

Would you still invest in Swiss govement bonds, given the yields? Tell us in the Idea.

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Mothers late in life: Aie Leibovitz, Margarita Louis-Dreyfus (with Philipp Hildebrand), Giaa Naini

(Keystone, getty, Keystone)

Around 30 women over 50 gave birth in Switzerland last year. In fact, there were even three newbos whose mothers had already celebrated their 60^th birthday. Doctors have expressed conce over this trend.

With 32 being the average age for giving birth in Switzerland, the case of advancing mateal age is leading to debate. Is criticism justified? And should lawmakers intervene? Opinions differ in the editorial offices of swissinfo.ch as well.

No, criticism is not justified, says Larissa M. Bieler, editor-in-chief of swissinfo.ch

The incredulity is strong, the outcry as well. Women who become pregnant late in life face significant criticism, attacks by the public and the media. They should be ashamed of themselves. But why?

Medically, a pregnancy that results from fertilisation of the eggs of a young donor is largely independent of the age of the woman carrying the child. According to reports in the media, the oldest Swiss woman to give birth was 66. She delivered twins conceived using donated egg cells and semen. The oldest Spanish woman was a week shy of her 67^th birthday, but died two years later of cancer.

And out comes the pseudo-moral sword that people swing whenever society is overwhelmed and doesn’t know to react toward an individual who takes advantage of her freedom to choose, and who chooses to reward her own desires.

Should we be able to exploit our freedoms whenever we want to? Should self-determination be the ultimate goal of our society?

The issue of the freedom of the individual raises serious ethical and psychological questions. Similar questions are at the heart of debates over other current issues. Assisted suicide, for example. Or the adoption of children by same-sex couples. Or the sterilisation of disabled people. Or, as in this case, late pregnancy. On the one side we have what is “medically possible” and on the other what is considered “ethically responsible”. But – and this is the salient point – there are no norms for deciding what is ethically responsible.

Should a woman be able to decide for herself, if her decision also affects a helpless child who is dependent on her? Such mothers are accused of being selfish and irresponsible.

But the argument of what is “for the good of the child” muddies the debate. “For the good of the child” caot be defined. Is a 20-year-old a better mother than a 60-year-old? Are lesbians better mothers than heterosexuals?

Ethical responsibility is something else. It is a responsibility you have to yourself, to make a carefully weighed, well-informed, and conscious decision. Women today are much more independent. Their lives are less affected by prevailing prejudices, clichés and society’s expectations. In the old days, having a child was not a choice. Today, women are separating themselves from restrictive imperatives and social norms – and are using their bodies the way they want to.

And that’s the way it should be.

Yes, criticism is justified, says Reto Gysi von Wartburg, assistant editor-in-chief of swissinfo.ch

The personal freedom to have children when you want is a valuable asset. And naturally there are circumstances that speak for waiting until well into the second half of life to start a family: a major career opportunity presents itself, it takes a while to find the right partner, or the desire to have a child develops over time.

But still: the good of the child should be the prevailing consideration. A child has the right to parents – ideally, to parents who are ready for the responsibility and who have at least a little of the energy needed to keep up with their offspring. Parents who are over 50 at the birth of their child will be retiring before their son or daughter even gets out of school.

The probability that a child bo to over-50 parents will celebrate his 20^th birthday without them is more than five times higher than for a child whose parents were in their 30’s when he was bo.

Being orphaned at an early age is not the only danger. The risk of having parents who are seriously ill or in need of nursing care while the child is still young is significantly higher as well. In any case it’s clear that children with old parents will have less chance of a “carefree” youth, and may also miss out on the opportunity to get to know their grandparents.

Personal responsibility and careful weighing of the risks are more important than regulation in this case. Physically, men retain the option of becoming parents at a greater age than even before, and women can go to nearby countries to find legal options to satisfy their desire for motherhood.

In fact, legislators have already thought about how old parents should be: according to Swiss laws on adoption, the difference in age between an adult and a child being adopted can be no greater than 45 years unless there is a pre-existing relationship between the two.

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Emergency services at the scene in Nice

The president of Switzerland, Joha Schneider-Amma, has strongly condemned an attack in neighbouring France, in which a truck ploughed into packed crowds gathered for Bastille Day celebrations. At least two Swiss are among the more than 80 people confirmed dead.

In a tweet, Schneider-Amma called the attack in the southe French city of Nice “cowardly”.

“Our hearts go out to France and its population,” he wrote.

“We have to fight against every form of terrorism, but there is no clear answer, or else we could have already reacted,” Schneider-Amma told the Swiss News Agency from the sidelines of the Asia-Europe meeting in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, which he is currently attending.

"Switzerland is shocked and deeply saddened by the attack in Nice," said a statement from the Federal Chancellery.

The govement has offered its condolences to French President François Hollande on behalf of the Swiss population.

At least two Swiss citizens, including a woman and a child, were killed in the attack on Thursday night.

Swiss victims

The authorities say they caot rule out that there might be more Swiss nationals among the victims.

The Swiss foreign ministry added that clarifications were in progress. It said it is supporting the families of the victims as part of its consular protection service.

A task force has been set up, which is cooperating closely with the French authorities.

The foreign ministry said it had received 48 calls on its hotline by Friday evening asking it to search for missing people. All but five cases could be resolved.

The Italian-language news site Corriere del Ticino is reporting that one of the victims is a 54-year-old Swiss woman. The information came from the woman's husband. The couple were said to be on holiday in Nice.

The Swiss Federal Office of Police said that it had activated its task force, with govement and cantonal partners, in the wake of the Nice attacks.

The office is in contact with French investigators to see if there is any link to Switzerland. The Federal Intelligence Service said the risk of terrorist attacks remained unchanged but there are no immediate threats.

Half-mast

Flags are flying at half-mast in front of the Swiss parliament and the French embassy in Be.

The embassy organised a gathering in silence outside its premises in the capital, Be, on Friday evening to remember the victims of the Nice attacks and their families. Gatherings were also held outside the French consulates in Zurich and Geneva.

National holiday

At around 11pm local time on Thursday a large white truck plunged into the crowd gathered on Nice’s Promenade des Anglais. Thousands of people were assembled to watch fireworks for France’s national holiday. Reports say the driver fired shots.

(swissinfo.ch)

At least 84 people are dead, including many children and tourists, the French interior ministry said early Friday moing. A further 50 people were in critical condition in hospital.

The attacker was shot dead by police after driving for two kilometres.

President Hollande said in a pre-dawn television address that the country was "under the threat of Islamic terrorism".

World leaders, including President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, joined in condemnation of what they called a terrorist attack.

France has declared three days of national mouing, starting on Saturday.

The Nice attack comes eight months and a day after a series of bomb and gun attacks on Paris in which 130 people died.

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Young people are actively taking part in Swiss politics and they are not systematically overruled by the older generation of voters

(Keystone)

Contrary to widespread perception, the young generation is not necessarily on the losing side in votes. Research in the wake of recent ballot box upsets in Switzerland and in Britain shows that the reality is more complex.

The outcome of the Swiss vote in February 2014 to curb immigration from the European Union didn’t just shock the political and business establishment; it also caused an outcry among the younger generation, notably in the science community.

Many young scientists are conceed that their career prospects could be seriously damaged by the suspension of Switzerland from a prestigious EU research programme.

It did not take long for critics to wa that older – and allegedly more conservative – voters were blocking crucial cooperation between different countries. It prompted an array of reform ideas, including a proposal to prioritise youth votes.

Similar allegations about the voices of youth being silenced by a majority of older citizens were raised again in Britain following June’s Brexit referendum on EU membership.

However, a study by the Centre of Democracy Studies in Aarau found there is no generation gap as such.

“There is no empirical evidence to show that the older generation permanently outvotes the group of young voters,” says political scientist Thomas Milic.

He points out that his research is based on a total of 135 nationwide votes in Switzerland over the past 15 years, and not just a single, isolated case.

Nevertheless, Milic acknowledges that there are cases where the younger generation might feel hard done by. “These are likely to be votes with a big impact where the younger generation is particularly conceed,” he says.

He singles out social issues, including paid mateity leave, same-sex partnership, gun law and genetically engineered food, as well as European integration and foreigners.

More radical

Milic's latest research, which was published in German by the DeFacto platform, found that the voting behaviour of the majority of under-30s and those above 70 is similar.

This leaves 35 nationwide votes in Switzerland where the majorities of the young and old age groups differed. The senior citizen voters had the upper hand in 24 cases, while the younger generation was the wier in 11 votes.

Milic also offers an explanation for the lower success rate of the young.

“They are often more radical in their demands and opinions,” he says.

There is no evidence that the majority of the young generation votes with the political left, while issues typically supported by the political centre or the right would automatically tend to convince the over-70s.

There are also cases – people’s initiatives on the introduction of a paid mateity leave – where the younger generation was initially outvoted (notably in 1999), but was ultimately on the wiing side in a ballot five years later.

“This appears to show that it can be a question of the timing,” Milic says.

Milic admits that the amount of data available for individual votes might not always be robust, leaving a rather large margin of error. The figures were taken from Vox analyses by three Swiss universities and the leading GfS Be research and polling institute.

“But looking at the overall picture, the results are solid,” he adds.

Young Brits for Brexit

Coincidentally, the London-based Opinium institute recently published its findings about Brexit – the referendum on Britain’s EU membership.

Challenging previous surveys, the Opinium study says the vast majority of 18 to 39-year-olds did take part in the June 23 referendum. The study focuses on the alleged generation gap in the tuout of voters, but not necessarily on how they voted.

It is generally accepted that the young massively supported EU membership, but the question of youth tuout has been subject to controversy.

The researchers say nearly two out of three people in the registered 18 to 35 age group participated in the consultative referendum, which saw 51.9% voters approving a proposal for Britain to leave the 28-nation bloc.

In their report, the authors say that the British media used outdated figures, apparently for lack of data from an official election study or exit polls.

“The generation gap was really about how people voted, and not about whether they voted or not,” Michael Butler and Sarah Harrison from the London School of Economics conclude.

Links

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The Meyers have transformed the less than perfect Montreux halls into a cutting edge sound experience

(Keystone)

Sporting a pony tail, straggly grey beard, long white hair and flowing robes, John and Helen Meyer have a certain mystical air about them. The elderly co-owners of Meyer Sound, in charge of the sound of the Montreux Jazz Festival, have been working their magic on festival-goers for the past 30 years.

Standing in the middle of the empty 4,000-capacity Stravinski Hall, the main concert room, the Meyers listen intently as Max Jury and his band, tonight’s warm-up artist for pop superstar Lana Del Rey, do their sound check.

“The sound was punchy and loud and clear and you could hear every word which was good,” says Helen with a smile.

John, dressed in green-and black checked lumber jacket and chinos, fixes the stage, quietly scratching his chin. At the mixing desk at the back of the room, technicians adjust the levels of the Meyer top-of-the-range Leopard sound system. These are huge banks of line-array speakers hanging either side of the stage as well as subwoofers and other speakers dotted around the room.

“The quality is very high. It’s designed to be very powerful from a dynamic perspective. You can have loud levels and feel the peaks but without it being painful,” says John. “It’s a very pure sound with clarity and a directional aspect so you can design and focus the sound.”

Dead Heads

Since 1986 the Meyers, who come from Berkeley, Califoia, have been transforming the acoustics at the Montreux Jazz Festival via their latest high-end equipment, which is considered by many as the gold standard in audio engineering. The couple regularly work with artists from Metallica to Justin Bieber, and have installed systems in dozens of places from LA film studios to Viea’s Musikverein concert hall.

Chief sound guru John Meyer was bo in Oakland in 1943 and grew up surrounded by music. His parents produced radio dramas. In the late sixties he worked in a Berkeley hi-fi store and one of his clients was Steve “Fly Like an Eagle” Miller, for whom he built a customised amplifier.

At that time John met Helen, a Russian Studies student at the University of Califoia and together they started their first professional audio company, Glyph, in 1969. John became friends with members of the Grateful Dead and helped play a role in developing their famous “Wall of Sound”.

In 1973, the Meyers moved to Switzerland. John had a job as director of the acoustics department of the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Montreux, making audio recordings and building powerful speakers for classical music. There they met Montreux’s founder, the late Claude Nobs, who was excited about what John was doing.

“When I was growing up it was about doing higher quality and pushing the envelope,” said John. “I came from the hi-fi and FM radio world, so I like that high dynamic range. But that wasn't being done in the ‘70s. It was about getting the loudest sound possible. We wanted to do something different to make it hi-fi and interesting. It didn't need to be super loud and run at full power. This was a really new idea at the time.”

Forceful Claude Nobs

In the seventies, bands and engineers built different sound systems for different styles of music – one for classical, one for rock and roll and another for jazz.

“I always thought we should do something more universal,” said John.

He eventually built a prototype classical music speaker for Nobs that was tested in the former Congress Hall in Montreux.

“Claude didn't need much convincing,” said Helen. “Once he recognised the technology was the most far out he made it happen and we went along with it. Claude was right on it. He knew what he wanted.”

But their collaboration didn’t start immediately. In 1975 the couple retued to Califoia and started a new company, Meyer Sound, four years later. They stayed in touch with Nobs, but it took ten years before they were back in Switzerland in 1986.

Initially, the local tourist office, which partly funded the festival, was not convinced by the benefits of such a high-end sound system.

“I told them you'd get lots of young visitors, but they argued that kids wouldn't be paying to stay in the hotels,” said John.

In the end it was Nobs’ forceful character that won them over.

“One day he just brought the new speakers in and said this is what we're going to do now and pushed it through. People went along with it as he had a strong personality,” said Helen. “Claude was a very special person. He had an incredible sense of what to do, even if he didn't know all the practical steps. He had a vision. He and John clicked as John had the technical vision and Claude the creative vision.”

Acoustic challenges

This year Muse, Herbie Hancock and Neil Young are just a few of the stars gracing the Stravinski stage and putting the Meyer speakers through their paces. Over 500 Meyer loudspeakers are also fitted in other Montreux clubs, bars and venues.

For the French pop group Air, which played on the Stravinski stage on July 1, Montreux is a favourite venue for musicians, especially because of the sound.

“Often it’s a real mess, but there it’s as if you are in the studio. The sound quality is impeccable,” they told the Le Matin Dimanche newspaper in an interview.

The elderly Califoia duo are more critical, however. They say Montreux’s halls are not particularly well designed inside for concerts.

“The Casino was pretty tough with low ceilings,” explains John. “Before they remodelled the Stravinski it was reverberating in a different way. We had to help them design the heavy sound curtains and put black thick things on the ceiling to absorb the sound.”

Helen is more forthright: “The fact that we make these rooms sound so good is a testament is what we can do. These rooms by themselves are not good.”

Despite these sonic issues, the Meyers say they feel intimately coected to the festival and Switzerland, which they visit very year to tweak and install new equipment.

“Our daughter was bo here when we lived here. We love coming back and we love the creativity and spirit of the festival,” says Helen.

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Blockchain enthusiasts insist that new technologies are safer than traditional financial services, such as Swift (Diessenhofen data centre pictured).

(Keystone)

Despite a large, established financial centre and top marks in global iovation scoreboards, the Swiss lag behind in a creative sector that promises to bring jobs and wealth creation.

The Swiss fintech scene pales in comparison with the likes of New York, London and Berlin. Even the likes of Luxembourg and the Netherlands are threatening to overtake Switzerland as a European fintech centre, while China, India and Singapore are causing waves in Asia.

One crucial industry figure shows just how much work Switzerland has to catch up with the big players. Swiss fintech start-ups attract just a fraction of the venture capital as other locations (see graph).

According to research group Statistica, the volume of money generated by digital finance transactions should easily surpass $2 trillion this year, and grow to $5 trillion in 2020. Switzerland accounts for just under $16.9 billion (see graph).

This is better, at least, than Singapore and Hong Kong. But considering that Zurich is the world’s seventh most important financial centre – and Geneva 13^th – according to the Global Financial Centers Index, this does not make for impressive reading.

There are several reasons why Switzerland currently remains a global fintech miow.

The wrong type of iovation

The IMD Global Iovation Index is just one survey that places Switzerland at the top, or near to the top, of its rankings. Switzerland always attracts high scores for the number of patents its companies file, but much of this space is taken up by established firms like Nestlé or Roche.

As Est & Young points out in its Swiss Fintech 2016 report, Switzerland occupies the middle ground when it comes to measuring activity by early stage start-ups.

A recent trawl of European fintech start-ups by Zurich-based consultancy nexussquared found few Swiss applicants for its nexuslab accelerator programme. In fact, only one of the eight finalists from the project was Swiss.

“There is a lot of iovation in Switzerland, but it is very risk adverse,” said nexuslab co-founder Daniel Grassinger. “Swiss iovators tend to over-engineer their ideas, keeping them under wraps as they theoretically work on every detail to make them best in class. Then someone else comes up with the same idea and puts it into action.”

Talent restrictions

“The fintech hubs in Berlin and London are full of easte European developers who are attracted to the flair and vibrant living conditions of these cities,” according to Fabian Vogesteller, a lead developer at the Ethereum foundation. “This is where London may start to suffer following Brexit.”

Switzerland is slowly working its way towards a new corporate tax regime, having been forced to abandon its current “anti-competitive” system by the EU. But it is unlikely that foreign firms will know exactly what the new corporate tax landscape will look like for another three years.

Regulations slow to adapt

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) has started to react to the new reality of digital financial services. It has introduced lighter supervisory practices for some fintech services, allowed consumers to sign up to some such services digitally and introduced a regulatory “sandbox” for start-ups to test their iovations in the marketplace.

But Finma still lags behind countries like Britain, according to John Hucker, president of Swiss Finance & Technology Association. “The British financial regulator has done a great job at pioneering new measures for fintech,” he said. “It has developed a flavor of interactivity with start-ups, collaborating with them to adapt regulation. Switzerland, by contrast, traditionally adopts a more liberal, hand-off approach – we don’t see such interactivity here.”

Finma director, Mark Branson, said his hands are tied by outdated legislation. “Regulation that is based on 1936 banking law is related to the analogue world, which by definition discriminates against digital providers,” he said. “The financial revolution is evolving so rapidly that we can’t get bogged down striving for a 100% perfect legislative solution. We are advocating swift action that we can fine tune later.”

Dots not joined

Britain and other countries have adopted fintech strategies, with top govement officials throwing their weight behind such coordinated schemes. In April, the Swiss govement published its Digital Switzerland strategy paper that promises to coordinate policy and the output of several departments to look at legislation, data protection, communication infrastructure and the economic benefits of digitalisation.

This white paper has now entered the consultation phase as the wheels of Swiss administration grind slowly into gear.

In the meantime, several fintech associations and tailored start-up incubators have popped up, with more to come. “Wouldn’t it be great if they all collaborated together towards a common goal,” ventured one delegate at a recent fintech event in Zurich.

Some fintech players have also complained that cantonal and federal economic development agencies were slow to grasp the importance of fintech and have only recently started to jump on the bandwagon.

Game not over

“The train has not yet left, there is still a lot to play for,” says nexussquared co-founder Daniel Gasteiger. He believes that Switzerland has potential to become a leading player in blockchain technology.

The fintech industry could also take heart from Switzerland’s thriving biotech and medtech sectors, which also started from humble begiings at the tu of the Milleium. With the fledgling biotech industry struggling to make headway against legislation and regulation, Domenico Alexakis started up Swiss Biotech in 2003. The association has grown from 145 members in 2006 to 279 last year, supporting 15,000 jobs and generating CHF5 billion in revenues.

“It can be difficult getting such an idea off the ground as the big guns tend to look down on the small start-ups,” Alexakis explained. “The key was presenting the economic advantages of a strong biotech sector. As soon as people understood the potential economic impact, they started to get on board and support it.”

Swiss fintech

There are several reasons to be cheerful about Switzerland’s fledgling fintech scene. According to Swisscom, there are currently 185 start-ups offering a wide variety of services, from robo-advising (such as InvestGlass), insurance (Knip), software (Temenos) and payment services (Twint/Paymit).

Switzerland’s strong data protection laws, corporate tax regime and political neutrality have attracted such overseas companies as Ethereum, Xapo and Blackphone.

UBS and Credit Suisse banks, insurer SwissRe, state telecoms company Swisscom and the Swiss stock exchange SIX are among the established financial and infrastructure companies to get heavily involved in the fintech scene. Several start-up accelerators have sprung up in the last couple of years, including one from consultancy nexussquared that has the ambition to tu Switzerland into a global fintech hub.

Fintech

The rapidly expanding financial technology industry now encompasses a wide range of digital financial services. A host of new software platforms and apps now offer people a range of new options from retail banking to remittances, insurance and wealth management.

A developing decentralised system called blockchain can store and distribute crypto-currencies (such as bitcoin) and digital contracts (such as land deeds) without the need for banks or formal clearing systems. This promises to reduce fees, improve security and bypass the volatility of central bank controlled fiat currencies.

Huge technology firms like Google, Amazon and Alibaba are also joining the feeding frenzy. And consumers are just as likely to be ordinary households as Wall Street traders and billionaires.

Fintech – overrated dotcom style bubble or the future of finance? Have your say in the Idea section below.

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Around 400 students from 90 different countries are competing in Zurich in the 47th Inteational Physics Olympiad where the hunt is on for the next Einstein. (SRF, swissinfo.ch)

Open to students aged14 to 19, the Inteational Physics Olympiad (IPhO) takes place once a year in a different country, with Switzerland and Liechtenstein hosting the 2016 edition.

This inteational competition is aimed at secondary school students who are particularly talented in physics. Each country holds national elimination rounds that culminate in the selection of the five best students who then compete in the IPhO.

During the Olympiad, students are tested on their ability to tackle physics problems, both theoretically and through experiments, with tasks covering a wide range of physics from thermodynamics to quantum mechanics.
Switzerland started participating in the IPhO in 1995 and since then it has won two gold, five silver and 19 bronze medals, plus 42 honorable mentions.

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Most undocumented workers work in domestic jobs, construction, hospitality and agriculture.

(Reusser & Islas)

It’s the dream of many to come to Switzerland to work, but what’s it like if you’re forced to work illegally? That’s the case for tens of thousands of people.

Rita, 51, eas CHF500 ($510) for five days’ work. “That’s good money. I spend the whole day looking after an old lady. I clean the flat and cook for her, her son and his wife,” she told swissinfo.ch.

Before arriving in Switzerland last September, she looked for a job as a secretary in her native Guatemala, but without success.

Her daughter, Laura, found her the job. “A teacher I know was looking for someone to take care of his mother, who is almost 90. I suggested my mother, but it’s really risky. I’m worried that the working relationship won’t last long,” said the 29-year-old, a shop assistant in a village in canton Be. She has a residence permit (a B permit) after marrying a Swiss.

Doesn’t the teacher care that his mother is employing someone illegally? “He says it’s a way of helping both his family and our family. But we have to be discreet. Although care workers are needed to look after old people, the Swiss govement is not giving out the corresponding work permits,” she said.

Asked whether swissinfo.ch could speak to the teacher, Laura replied: “Good heavens no!”

Rita is one of 76,000 people who work in Switzerland without the required papers, according to a 2015 report by the State Secretariat for Migration.

The authors of the study acknowledge that this is a rough estimate. “The number of clandestine workers caot be determined with certainty and probably lies someone between 50,000 and 99,000,” they said.

Fulfilling demand

That report, the first large scale study of illegal workers since 2005, found that only 18% of them are rejected asylum seekers.

“The majority never went through the asylum process,” said Martin Reichlin, spokesman for the State Secretariat for Migration. “Their aim is to come to Switzerland and stay in order to fulfil the demand for clandestine workers in the Swiss labour market.”

The study confirmed that nine out of ten adult illegal immigrants work in one or more paid jobs. In other words, around 60,000 men and women work on the black market, half in private Swiss households.

“They are economic migrants and they don’t have a permit, quite simply because the Swiss authorities – apart from exceptions for specially qualified people – approve immigration only for workers from the EU or EFTA [Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein],” said Francisco Merlo from La Frateité, an advice centre for immigrants in Lausae which took part in the govement study.

Some 63% of clandestine workers crossed the Swiss border without valid travel documents or as tourists.

A further 19% had been given a residence permit but this had since expired. These were “people who were socially and professionally better integrated and as a result were less conspicuous”, according to the report.

This was the case with Ana, a 30-year-old Brazilian. She lives with “relatives” in Zurich and says she didn’t choose anonymity voluntarily. “My Swiss ex-husband wanted a divorce four years ago – before I was able to apply for a residence permit,” she told swissinfo.ch.

Ana went into hiding. “I clean homes and work as a call girl. I set up all my meetings by mobile phone – this means I keep a low profile. I have regular clients. By doing that and by working as a cleaner, I can support my son and mother in Brazil.”

‘Policy failure’

The 2015 study found that 43% of illegal workers come from Latin America.

“They come above all from Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil and have created niche jobs cleaning or looking after children and elderly people in private households,” Merlo said.

After Latin America, 24% of illegal immigrants come from European countries outside the EU and EFTA. Many come from the former Yugoslavia. After Switzerland limited immigration for foreign workers from the EU and EFTA and in 2002 cancelled seasonal worker status, the black market was the only alteative for people from Macedonia and Kosovo without unlimited work contracts.

The govement study did not include clandestine workers from the EU. But Merlo and other migration experts point out that there are many of them, despite the free movement of people, which allows EU citizens to live and work in other EU states. Workers from the EU become clandestine when they lose their jobs – and therefore also their residence permits – in Switzerland but then don’t leave the country as required.

Another reason is when a foreign worker’s family joins them but lack the legally necessary living space, resulting in the residence permit being withheld.

Merlo says such cases are common. “Workers from Portugal, Spain or Italy will not send their relatives home. They remain in Switzerland illegally until a large enough apartment becomes available and thus a family reunion is legally possible.”

Since the previous study in 2005, the number of clandestine workers has remained relatively stable. The reasons for this are the short-term demand for flexible workers and the cost pressure in sectors with small profit margins.

For Merlo, this is evidence of the “failure of a restrictive immigration policy while a stable demand for this cheap workforce exists in the economy and society”.

He adds that this demand is based on the fact that state efforts to create nurseries for children and options for looking after elderly people remain unsuccessful.

"We move everything possible abroad to save costs, but three sectors caot be outsourced: construction, hospitality and work in private households. So because of demand, we tolerate that these people move here and work for us at their own risk and with no rights - a collective hypocrisy".

Illegal workers

The State Secretariat for Migration is responsible for the regulation of permits for entry, residence and work. According to the report “Paperless workers in Switzerland 2015”, there are a total of 76,000 paperless workers in Switzerland, of whom 12% are minors.

A total of 19% of illegal workers live in Switzerland for more than ten years, 35% for five to ten years, 25% for less than five years and 21% for less than a year.

Only two of Switzerland’s 26 cantons – Vaud and Geneva – have shown interest in legalising illegal workers.

Do you think it is a good idea to legalise illegal workers who have been employed in Switzerland for many years? Tell us in the Idea section below.

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(fdecomite/flickr)

What makes people keep or apply for more than one passport? We asked our followers and fans on Facebook and twitter if they have a second passport, and why.

After the Brexit vote, there was a rush of applications by UK citizens to get an Irish passport. We wondered if the same might apply in Switzerland, which is going through its own EU negotiations, or if other nationalities kept different passports for similar reasons.

Some readers like Patricia had various reasons for keeping different passports. But many of our readers told us that their reasons for having more than one passport was really about being able to belong to the place in which they live.

A sense of identity

“I was bo in Switzerland, but as you know that doesn’t make me Swiss, as my parents are from abroad. I am therefore French but my parents had me naturalised when I tued 18. It was absurd to say ‘I’m French but I come from Switzerland’, to people who asked and didn’t really understand. The lack of a sense of belonging to a place made me focused on my identity.” Sophie A. (in French).

"Each of my children have three passports. My husband and I each have two but different nationalities. For children, it is up to them to choose to keep or retu the passport when they are adults. I caot decide for them. For my husband he loves both countries. For me, convenience is the reason.” Matilda S.

“Swiss and Kiwi [New Zealand] because we have two hearts, one beating for each country :-)” Leo S.

“I have two, US and Swiss. I only got my Swiss passport out of Swiss pride and almost always use my US passport.” Curtis F.

For others, practical reasons determined their choices.

“I’ve got three; Swiss, French and Australian. Swiss by birth, French from my mother and Australian by naturalisation. Travel with all three and it does help.” Christophe W.

“I had two [passports] for 12 years (after getting my Swiss), until I finally got around to going all the way to Be to give up my US one in 2009…My kids have three each (CH, US, CDN), but are looking to give up the US due to the banking problems. I kept my US passport until my kids were adults, otherwise would have given it up sooner.” Tom O.

“Three citizenships (Switzerland, UK, Canada) but only one passport (Swiss), because renewing passports is tedious, expensive and not always indispensable.” Andrea V.

Urgency over symbolism

The fear that a change in your own legal right to remain in a country, or in a group of nations, can drive an urgent sense of the need to secure your legal status. As seen by Brits rushing to get Irish (ie. EU) passports, or foreigners in Switzerland rushing to apply to become Swiss.

In February 2016, Swiss voters rejected an initiative to enforce a previous ‘yes’ vote on the deportation of convicted foreigners. However it did not change the fact that people without a Swiss passport – a quarter of the Swiss population – who commit a serious crime (or two lesser crimes within ten years) could still be deported for up to 15 years.

The vote highlighted that foreigners face the potential threat of being thrown out of the country – if they commit a crime, of course. This, coupled with the ongoing uncertainty of how a vote to re-introduce quotas for EU citizens will be implemented has meant more non-Swiss who live in the country are applying to become Swiss.

Between January and May 2016 the State Secretariat for Migration recorded a 27.7% increase on naturalisations compared to the same period a year earlier. That’s 15,265 people who received Swiss citizenship within this timeframe. Since the begiing of the year, Italians, then Germans and the Portuguese were the biggest groups adding another passport to their nationality portfolio.

While multiple nationalities are not a problem in Switzerland, not all countries allow their citizens to hold more than one passport. Whether it’s for emotional or practical reasons, having more options to hand seems to make sense for many people.

Are you someone who has applied for another passport? What were your reasons? Get in touch with the author on Facebook or twitter @jofahy or tell us in the Idea below.

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Here are the stories we’re following the week of July 11.

Monday

We take an in-depth look at why Switzerland is behind in the field of palliative care, looking after the terminally ill and their families. The Swiss appear to have greater awareness of curative treatment, acute care and assisted suicide as end of life options.

Swiss President Joha Schneider-Amma is starting a tour of three Asian countries. He begins in Singapore on Monday, before travelling to South Korea, and then to the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. Switzerland has been working hard to develop stronger ties with Asia in recent years.

Tuesday

A Swiss dentist has made it a labour of love to document life-size terracotta statues from rural Indian traditions that could soon disappear. We talk to Stephan Gottet about his passion for India’s vanishing village folk traditions.

Wednesday

Thousands of people dream of one day living and working in Switzerland, whatever the cost. We meet a couple of the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to find out how they get by in one of the most expensive countries in the world. Around 60,000 people are thought to work illegally, half in private homes.

Thursday

Lots of people in Switzerland, especially businesses, talk about ‘Swissness’. But what does it mean and how much added value does it bring? Experts from St Gallen University have been delving into the issue and are presenting their latest report on the value of Swiss brands.

Friday

We’ll introduce you to Andy Yen, a particle physicist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, who has created ProtonMail, a secure email encryption application. He claims it’s a foolproof way of keeping your emails safe from the prying eyes of govements and hackers.

What you may have missed last week:

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Regardless of whether job seekers are young or old, foreign or Swiss, finding a job in Switzerland can be a difficult and lengthy process. swissinfo joualist Jeaie Wurz talks with job seekers and a job counselor about the experience.

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Growing numbers of Arab visitors to southe Switzerland were helping save the region’s tourist industry. But now a ‘burka ban’ is in force, which could tu many away. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)

Italian-speaking Ticino became the first and only Swiss canton to introduce a ban on any face covering headgear, which came into effect on July 1. The first fine was handed out on the same day to a Swiss niqab-wearing Muslim from Zurich who travelled to Ticino in defiance of the law.

Hotels in the region oppose the new law since they say it’s bad for business. Ticino has experienced a significant decline in German-speaking Swiss tourists and Germans over the past few years, and has partially made up for their absence by targeting well-to-do Gulf State Arabs.

Both the govements of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have called on their citizens to abide by the various bans on religious dress in different parts of Europe, including Ticino.

In this series of images, photographer Christian Helmle captures the majestic mountain scenery around Lake Thun. The many towns and villages, roads, and railway lines dotting its shores are reduced to the role of extras.

The photographer has been acquainted with the region – about half an hour’s drive from the Swiss capital, Be – since his youth. His understanding of light and shadow, and his ability to see the iconic lakeside peaks as more than mountains, carries on the tradition of Swiss artists like Ferdinand Hodler and Paul Klee, who were also inspired by the setting.

In only two of the photos, which were taken after dark, can the viewer see how built-up the area clearly is, with a chain of towns and villages lining Lake Thun's shores and valleys.

The lake itself has been violated by man. Up until the 1960s, the Swiss army dumped thousands of toes of munitions here, as well as in other large alpine bodies of water.

The book

Pictures: Christian Helmle, Text: Dale Bechtel

Schaffhausen is also famous for its Rhine Falls.

(Keystone)

Schaffhausen is the Swiss champion of direct democracy according to voter tuout. What is it that makes people in this northeast coer of Switzerland so politically involved?

Take any vote or election in Switzerland – it ends with the rest of the country looking enviously towards to the small canton of Schaffhausen. Here 65% of residents eligible to vote, do so. This sits in stark contrast to the rest of Switzerland, where voter tuout has lagged behind for decades at the relatively low level of 45%. This means that a minority is making decisions for the population, going against the principle of direct democracy.

So what is different in Schaffhausen? It is compulsory to vote in the canton, and has been so for 140 years. Those refusing to vote are fined: in the 1970s the amount was CHF1 ($1), it then rose to CHF3, and since last year it has been CHF6. So it’s of a symbolic nature. In fact, people still have three days to cast their ballot after the vote if they want to avoid a fine.

Pride

People may not feel forced to vote, but they still have a sense of pride about it.

“We are very proud of our high voter tuout in Schaffhausen,” confirms Thomas Minder, a senator for the canton in the Swiss parliament.

This sentiment is echoed by two old ladies sitting on a park bench in the old town. “Every Schaffhausen citizen should be proud of it,” says one.

But the 51-year-old owner of a home fuishing store says it’s not pride but pressure that makes people vote. It’s not the fear of being fined that makes her cast her ballot but the fact that everyone has always voted in her family. “It was a completely normal thing,” she said.

It’s a similar situation for the 17-year-old carpenter’s apprentice rolling a cigarette at the bus stop. Politics is discussed over the kitchen table in his house. Next year he’ll tu 18 and can vote for the first time.

“I’m looking forward to voting. Why? Because finally I can have a say,” he said. But he thinks he might sometimes not vote.

The middle-aged man enjoying a sandwich says he doesn’t always vote. “Voting is a bit tedious, we have to go to the voting booths much too often,” said the warehouse worker. But he is nevertheless proud of the high tuout. “It’s part of us,” he said.

“Almost implanted in us”

Voting fatigue is, according to a University of Zurich study from 2012, one of the main reasons why overall Swiss voter tuout is lower than in many other countries.

Another reason is the fact that voting practices are not being passed down along the generations. If parents don’t vote or only sporadically vote, their children will do the same and so will their children. This doesn’t seem to be the case in Schaffhausen.

“Down the generations, the duty to vote has become a civic duty. Taking part in the political process is almost implanted in us now,” said Christian Ritzma, the deputy cantonal chancellor, whose department oversees votes.

The canton’s manageable size - its population stands at 80,000 - is one reason for this, believes Ritzma. Politicians are closer to the people than in larger cantons, you might even meet them on the street or sit next to them on the bus. This encourages people to get politically involved, he said.

Dear minister…

But this involvement does not go beyond the ballot box, remarks Minder. “Like in many other communities in Switzerland, it is hard to find the next generation of politicians at communal level,” he said.

Robin Blanck, editor-in-chief of the Schaffhauser Nachrichten, the small canton’s only newspaper, agrees. But adds: “I think that politics is at least discussed more intensively in this canton though.” Readers’ letters are published twice a week on page two of the paper. “We can get around 100 letters if it’s a controversial topic,” he says.

The two old ladies on the park bench take part in political discussions amongst themselves, via letters and by contacting politicians directly.

“If I get upset about a political decision, I head to a computer,” says one of the ladies, who is 79 years old. “Sometimes I send a letter straight to a local govement minister or even to a Swiss cabinet minister. Perhaps it doesn’t make any difference. But I find that you should say what you think – if you can.”

Compulsory voting worldwide

In Weste Europe: Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen, Cyprus and Greece (not enforced). Compulsory voting legislation exists in some form in most countries of Central America and South America with varying degrees of enforcement.

In Australia compulsory voting was introduced in 1924, mainly as a response to lower voter tuout. In Singapore it was introduced in 1959. Fiji and Thailand gained much later in 1997.

(Source: Electoral Commission Britain, The Inteational Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance)

This text is part of #DearDemocracy, swissinfo.ch’s platform on direct democracy.

In a nutshell: Switzerland is not the cradle of the people’s initiative but has merely been an important launching pad for the spread of this direct democratic tool.

Would you be more inclined to vote if you were facing a fine or should it be left up to the individual? Tell us what you think in the Idea section below.

The ageing population is increasing at an unprecedented rate. If the phenomenon only affected developed economies in the past, now it has a worldwide effect. Pensions, health costs, lower economic growth ... Through a weekly series of graphics, swissinfo.ch will help explain this global phenomenon and its many implications.

The Swiss population is one of the oldest on the planet. But even Switzerland has notably been surpassed in this regard by nations such as Germany, Italy and Japan.

Even if it is well known that people are living longer than before, understanding how this transformation occurred during the past century is more complex. The animated graphic below illustrates these profound changes. In 1860, there were 12 Swiss aged 20 to 64 years old for every person aged 65 and over. Today, this ratio is only 3.4:1.

(swissinfo.ch)

Life expectancy

The life expectancy of the Swiss is among the highest in the world. According to the latest estimates by the World Health Organization, Swiss men are world champions in the lifespan stakes. Boys bo in 2015 can expect to live up to 81.3 years on average. But around the world it is women who live the longer and the Swiss women are no exception with a life expectancy of 85.3 years.

Globally, life expectancy has increased since 1960, with a 19 additional years of life added since then – a hike of 36%. The graph below highlights the small difference among developed countries as well as the tragic consequences of conflicts on life expectancy.

Contrary to popular belief, it is the drop in fertility rate, not the increase in life expectancy, that explains an ageing population. The global fertility rate has more than halved since 1960 – falling from an average of five births down to two per woman. During the same period, life expectancy has increased by 36%.

Several theories have been proposed to explain the decline in fertility rates: urbanisation, empowerment of women, rise in education costs. For almost a century several govements have introduced measures aimed at increasing birth rates but without much success.

During the baby boom years the Swiss fertility rate rose to 2.5 compared to a mere 1.5 currently. Like many European and east Asian countries this rate is below the population replacement level. In other words, the population of these countries are contracting. In Switzerland this contraction is offset – some would say more than necessary – by immigration. According to current estimates, the global fertility rate will fall below the population replacement level by 2050.

Going global

Society is ageing, life expectancies are rising, and premature death is less likely. These trends are expected to continue and become global. The Federal Statistical Office expects the number of retired people in Switzerland to increase by 50% by 2045.

(swissinfo.ch)

In its 2014 report, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Europe (OECD) waed: “As the population gets older and immigration slows, economic policy must put greater focus on measures to increase productivity, to make better use of under-used labour resources, in particular women, and to continue to improve the integration of first and second-generation immigrants.”

The Swiss workplace, however, remains extremely unequal. The magazine The Economist ranked Switzerland as the worst place in Europe to work in a recent study. It pointed to a penury of childcare places and the high costs of nurseries – Swiss crèches are considered the most expensive in the world. Mateity leave and the wage gap between men and women are also said to be the most discriminatory in Europe.

In recent years, Swiss voters have been asked to limit the number of foreigners in a number of national initiatives. Statistically, there is a higher percentage of foreign residents in Switzerland of working age than of Swiss citizens, as the graphic below shows.

Do you think that life expectancy in your country has reached its upper limit?

You can also contact the author via Twitter @duc_qn