Manuele Bertoli is State councillor of the Canton of Ticino in southern Switzerland. He’s the only blind member of a cantonal government in the country. We met him in his office in Bellinzona just before his retirement from political life.

How did he manage to have such a successful political career despite being blind? What is his vision of Swiss democracy and its instruments of direct democracy?

“Direct democracy in Switzerland is not something that those in power use to confirm their own ideas,” he explains, “But something that often starts from the bottom, with citizens’ initiatives.”

Bertoli, from the left-wing Social Democratic Party, became head of the government of the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in 2014. He has been a member of the Ticino government (composed of five

The Chalandamarz in Zuoz is very important. The spring custom was made world-famous thanks to Swiss children’s book "Schellen-Ursli" (A Bell for Ursli), whose story is set on March 1st, the day when this traditional parade takes place.

Ursli’s adventures take place in the Engadine village of Guarda, in southeastern Switzerland, but the actual stronghold of the custom has been the village of Zuoz for many years. Here, the Chalandamarz has remained as it was in the past – with a strict division of the sexes as only boys were allowed to parade with a bell through the little village.

For almost a year there was a dispute in the alpine village because girls were also to take part in the procession. The small revolution was initiated by the local council. It wanted to treat the girls at the

Video journalist Julie Hunt talks about her latest documentary that she filmed in Kyrgyzstan. It’s about a group of Swiss ski instructors helping to create new winter tourism jobs in a country where one in four people are out of work.

Watch Julie’s documentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8csbKtJGLA

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Kayaking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are just a few of the winter activities the Swiss are supporting in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan. The goal is creating new jobs in a country where one in four are out of work.
The programme, funded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by the Swiss NGO Helvetas, focuses on the northern mountainous region of Karakol. Local mountain guides, cultural guides and sports teachers are being trained so that they can earn a living in the winter as well as the summer. SWI swissinfo.ch was invited by Helvetas to sample the winter tourism package.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on

At SWI swissinfo.ch we like to explore new ways of untangling Swiss politics for our audience abroad. Here video journalist Michele Andina uses stop motion animation to show how the federal parliament is set up. This October, Swiss voters will elect their political representatives for the next four-year term.

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When and where the next avalanche will happen is hard to predict. In a special cold laboratory in Davos, researchers simulate the effects of wind on fresh snow to better understand the mechanisms that trigger avalanches.

For centuries, avalanches have posed a threat to mountain farmers and their livestock. With the development of winter tourism, roads, railways and hydropower plants, the interest in avalanche research and protective measures has grown.

The origins of the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF date back to 1936, when a small group of researchers moved into a snow lab on the Weissfluhjoch summit above Davos. Today the institute monitors the conditions of avalanches throughout Switzerland, investigates the effects of climate change on snow cover and operates the

Just like in alpine Switzerland, there is also a ski industry in the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, and it’s getting some help from the Swiss. Eight years ago, a dedicated ski instructor from the eastern Swiss canton of Graubünden started a winter tourism project in Kyrgyzstan to create jobs in the cold season. Edda Hergarten took fellow instructors with her to teach the Kyrgyz people how to ski. Now about 40 of them are instructors themselves. This is her story.

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In a special live recording of the Inside Geneva podcast, host Imogen Foulkes was joined by experts in conflict resolution to discuss what a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine might look like, and to find out what makes a successful, sustainable peace.

Why do some peace negotiations take years? Why do few succeed and why do so many fail?

This episode brought together: Katia Papagianni, Director of Policy and Mediation Support at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue; Keith Krause, Director at the Centre on Conflict, Development, and Peacebuilding at the Geneva Graduate Institute; Hiba Qasas, Head of Secretariat at the Principles for Peace Initiative and Shefali Nandhra, a student in sustainable development at the Geneva Graduate Institute.

“The fact that we’re talking about the

Cate Riley has flown to Switzerland from Australia on a mission to discover her Swiss roots. SWI swissinfo.ch joined her and her family as she retraced the footsteps of her father, who grew up in canton Jura.

Riley was the product of a short relationship between her parents in Australia. In 1970 there was no support for single mothers – they were urged to give up their babies for adoption. Riley grew up in Sydney with an older brother, the biological son of her adoptive parents. “I lacked a natural closeness between myself and my adoptive family,” says Riley. She longed for a deeper connection. At the age of 21, she finally accessed her birth certificate. “The fact that I was Swiss was completely unexpected,” Riley says.

After five years of searching, Riley tracked down her birth

The small city of Davos in southeastern Switzerland, located at an altitude of 1,560m above sea level in the Swiss Alps, attracted tuberculosis patients back in the 1800s and 1900s, after scientists discovered that the clean mountain air had a positive effect on their health. With the development of antibiotics, however, the sanatoriums eventually lost their purpose.

Today that same clean Davos air, marked by the absence of tree pollen, such as birch, oak or alder, minimal air pollution and extremely low amounts of indoor dust mites – presumably because of the cooler and dryer climate – is a draw for asthma and allergy patients seeking treatment in the town’s clinics.

Allergic diseases have become more prevalent in recent decades. They now affect more than one billion people worldwide,

Livia Leu, Switzerland’s chief negotiator with the European Union, has been talking about the challenges ahead in 2023, especially when it comes to the free movement of people. For about 20 years, Switzerland has regulated its relations with the EU in bilateral agreements, an alternative to EU membership that it would like to maintain. But the rules governing EU market access have now changed so the bilaterals need updating. The EU and Switzerland are discussing how to package their agreements in the future.
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With its second federal constitution of 1874, Switzerland was suddenly catapulted to the forefront of democracy development worldwide. No canton had voted so strongly in favour of radical change as Schaffhausen.

Adopting the new federal constitution marked a milestone in Swiss history. It brought about several important improvements, making up for just about everything the original constitution lacked.

Many of these improvements would not have happened without what became known as the Democratic Movement. This movement had arisen in several parts of Switzerland in response to controversial decisions taken by cantonal parliaments, such as Basel Country and Basel City moving towards reunification and building railroads through farm land in Bern.

This episode is part of the series Swiss

In 2021, the Swiss government broke off negotiations with the EU on an institutional framework agreement to govern future relations. Now both sides are looking for a new path. In this video, Larissa Rhyn, a correspondent for Swiss Public Television, SRF, explains what’s at stake.
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What does neutrality even mean? Where does the world famous "chicken dance" come from? And why is Switzerland to blame? In our video we take a close look at the history of the famed Swiss neutrality and the diplomacy attached to it – and as always we have a reason to apologise!

Suggestions for things Switzerland should apologise for?

Send them to [email protected]

"Switzerland Says Sorry" is written, performed and produced by Swiss comedian Karpi; Music by artlist.io; 
Produced by Apéro Film in 2023 for Swissinfo; Thanks to Natascha Beller
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The first version of the Swiss constitution was a breakthrough on the road to democratisation. It gave the cantons more autonomy and paved the way for creating one of the greatest democracies in Europe. However, it was far from perfect. It triggered numerous crises and failed to put an end to injustice.

This episode is part of the series Swiss democracy hotspots with Claude Longchamp.

This series in several parts is tailored for our author: Claude Longchamp’s expertise makes him the man who can bring alive the places where important things happened.

Longchamp was a founder of the research institute gfs.bern and is the most experienced political analyst in Switzerland. He is also a historian. Combining these disciplines, Longchamp has for many years given highly acclaimed historic

The Swiss town of Davos is famous for mountain slopes, winter sports and the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. But did you know that it also attracts scientists and doctors from all over the world? In this six-part video series, SWI swissinfo.ch journalists Sara Ibrahim and Michele Andina take you on a journey to discover five of Davos’s research institutes.

In this first episode, they take you to the AO Davos Courses, a two-week training congress for surgeons learning to treat bone fractures. In hands-on workshops and online live surgeries, experts explain how to master everything from trauma surgery to prosthetics and joint replacement. Participants then practise on 3-D models with drills and screws.

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We met Lucia Syokau Muli in Makueni, south of Nairobi: she found out she had breast cancer at the age of 27. She explained us how she is dealing with her diagnosis and the challenges she faces accessing treatment.

Cost is one of Lucia’s biggest worries, she tells SWI when we meet outside the Empower cancer clinic at the county hospital. The biggest financial strain is the recurring cost of trastuzumab, which Swiss pharma firm Roche sells as Herceptin and is credited with dramatically improving survival rates.

Although it’s been around for more than two decades, it remains unaffordable for many people in Kenya, where some 45% of the population live below the World Bank’s poverty line of $2.15 a day. One of the recommended 18 cycles cost more than double Lucia’s monthly income.

She

In "Switzerland says sorry", our satirical video format, Swiss comedian and director Patrick Karpiczenko apologises for Switzerland’s Wild West-style handling of cryptocurrencies.

Switzerland has a very relaxed attitude when it comes to regulating cryptocurrency and finds itself now overrun by foreign businesses. Half a trillion dollars’ worth of crypto companies have set up their offices in the small Alpine nation.

In this video, we’ll visit the Wild West that is Switzerland’s Crypto Valley, an underregulated paradise where everything is possible, the sheriff is fast asleep and hordes of rogue blockchain start-ups are hunting gullible investors for coin…

Suggestions for things Switzerland should apologise for? Send them to [email protected]
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SWI swissinfo.ch, a branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), provides targeted information to all the Swiss living abroad. We deliver the latest news from and about Switzerland. We report on political events in Switzerland and on the international stage. We also look at how the government and the cantons deal with issues relating to the Swiss Abroad.

SWI swissinfo.ch provides independent reporting on Swiss politics, business, science, culture and society in ten languages.

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Women are still a minority in international peacekeeping operations. The Swiss armed forces’ contingent in Kosovo, SWISSCOY, shows just how important their role can be.
We spent a day with Iris Probst, who now just completed her training module which is part of her three-month pre-deployment preparation at SWISSINT, the Swiss armed forces’ centre for international peacebuilding in Stans-Oberdorf, in canton Nidwalden. She has now been posted to Kosovo for six months, as deputy press and information officer with the Swiss peace-support mission, SWISSCOY.
The proportion of women in the peacekeeping force has risen steadily in recent years. In 2020, around 60 women were sent on mission to Kosovo; by September 2022, this number had risen to nearly 70.  
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

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Switzerland’s largest private railway operator, Rhaetian Railway (RhB), set a new world record for the longest passenger train on a spectacular narrow gauge track. The train – comprising 100 carriages for a total length of 1,910 metres – travelled for 25 kilometres on the Albula/Bernina route from Preda to Alvaneu in canton Graubünden in southeast Switzerland.
It comprised 25 newly delivered train units, or 100 carriages, making a total length of 1,910 metres. On its journey from Preda to Alvaneu the train descended 568 metres. When braking on its way down, it generated the same amount of electricity as a family house consumes in a year.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss

Switzerland has built a reputation for nurturing a new industry based on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Experts give their take on the pros and cons of the fledgling ‘Crypto Nation’.

More than 1,000 blockchain companies, supporting 6,000 jobs, have set anchor in Switzerland, encouraged by the welcoming political and legal infrastructure.

But other countries are raising their game, determined to entice the world’s best technology innovators to their realms. How will Switzerland cling on to its lead as the competition heats up.

SWI swissinfo.ch invited guests from Switzerland, Dubai and the United States to gauge the strength of the blockchain industry and unpick the best strategies for countries to adopt.

Alexander Brunner is president of Home of Blockchain.swiss, a

Some may question the value of polar research when there are other problems closer to home. But what is happening in these remote regions has a knock-on effect all over the globe.

SWI swissinfo.ch invited two Swiss-based scientists to discuss their experiences – including working on the sea ice and examining the largest glacier outside the north and south poles.

Julia Schmale is a professor and head of the Extreme Environments Research Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). She studies the Earth’s atmosphere – especially how aerosols interact with clouds to influence and maybe accelerate polar warming. Schmale has spent a lot of time working on Antarctic and Arctic climate expeditions, including the MOSAiC expedition, which drifted for a year with

Things are tense in northern Kosovo as a deadline approaches for Serbs to swap their Belgrade-issued number plates for local ones. A seemingly trivial request from Kosovo’s government has stoked discontent among ethnic Serbs. Swiss military personnel are among 3,600 NATO peacekeepers in the country, keeping watch. David Olumese, Team Commander LMT (liaison and monitoring team), works in the divided city of Mitrovica, where Albanian and Serb settlements are separated by the river Ibar. He talks to different communities and reports back to KFOR headquarters. He says there is a feeling of uncertainty among people there, as “they don’t know what’s coming”.

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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to

The Serb community in northern Kosovo has been instructed by the government to ditch their Belgrade-issued number plates for Kosovan ones, but for many people, this is tantamount to accepting Kosovo’s independence, something Serbia has avoided since 2008. This video looks at the background to the number plates row and the chances of reconciliation. Swiss peacekeepers are present in northern Kosovo as part of NATO’s KFOR mission.
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It is a widely held belief that political inclusion has been an integral part of Swiss life since women gained the right to vote in 1971. Democracy, however, is a work in progress. To this day, some people remain excluded from Swiss political life.

The move towards full democracy has happened in small, sometimes surprising, steps. One example is a historical 2020 vote in canton Geneva: 75% of voters agreed that citizens with mental or physical disabilities were entitled to full voting rights.

This resounding “yes” paved the way for 1,200 citizens previously excluded from the polls to cast their votes in elections and referendums, and even to stand for election.

Geneva thus became the first canton to adopt the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which

The first woman in Switzerland ever to be elected to a cantonal parliament was Raymonde Schweizer. This Social Democrat came from the industrial town of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Neuchâtel Jura. A trade unionist and feminist, she was elected on her first try in 1960, thereby becoming a trendsetter at a time when Swiss women were not even allowed to vote in national elections.

Not once but twice was Neuchâtel the setting for key developments in the decades-long exclusion of women from the country’s democratic system.

This episode is part of the series Swiss democracy hotspots with Claude Longchamp.

This series in several parts is tailored for our author: Claude Longchamp’s expertise makes him the man who can bring alive the places where important things happened.

Longchamp was a

Switzerland’s melting glaciers have revealed more unexpected, macabre secrets than ever this summer: human remains and plane wreckage trapped in the ice for over 50 years. Such discoveries are set to multiply in the coming years, says Robert Bolognesi, a snow science expert.
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The Swiss will vote on September 25 whether to ban factory farming. The country is committed to agriculture and already has very strict animal welfare legislation. The popular initiative was organised by animal rights organisations, who say the welfare requirements for livestock and poultry should at least meet the criteria of the 2018 Bio Suisse standard. But the government and parliament consider farm animals to be adequately protected under current legislation and are calling on voters to reject the initiative.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our