On October 21, nearly every seat in the Swiss Parliament was up for election, making it the most important political event in Swiss domestic politics in four years. The bicameral Swiss legislature is composed of a House of Representatives called the National Council and a Senate called the Council of States. 

While there are strong similarities with the U.S. system, there are also some notable differences.  Unlike the mostly two-party system in the U.S., there are four major parties in Switzerland and several smaller parties who typically win seats in both chambers.  Also, Switzerland has a “militia” parliament, which means that even when serving in Parliament, members continue their work in a variety of professions keeping them connected to the people. The innovative Swiss also have designed a non-partisan website called Smartvote.ch to help voters find the candidates who best match their political preferences.  To view the results of the October 21 elections or to find more information, visit swissinfo.

2007 marks a special milestone for Swiss-U.S. relations:  the 125^th anniversary of the Swiss Embassy in Washington, D.C.  The United States and Switzerland established diplomatic relations in the 1820s and Switzerland established first a consulate in 1868 and then an embassy in Washington in 1882.  Washington was Switzerland’s first embassy outside of Europe and only its fifth embassy worldwide proving that already 125 years ago, the U.S. was a priority for Switzerland.  Today, Switzerland’s Embassy in Washington is one of its largest worldwide and includes among its 60-member staff representatives from six of the seven Swiss federal departments.  The Embassy works closely with the entire Swiss network of official representations in the U.S., specifically the six Consulates General, the Swiss Business Hub USA and three Offices of Science and Technology.

Switzerland and the U.S. continue to enjoy strong political, economic, and cultural relations.  The two countries established a Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum in 2005, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2006 expanding their political cooperation, and signed the Operative Working Arrangement on Law Enforcement Cooperation on Counterterrorism in 2007.  In addition, the Swiss continue to protect U.S. interests in Iran and Cuba and Switzerland consistently ranks among the top six direct investors in the U.S.

Across the U.S. and Europe companies are facing a common problem: a shortage of skilled workers in the manufacturing sector. In response, ThinkSwiss organized an expert panel of Swiss and U.S. representatives from business, government, academia, and trade associations to consider solutions. The high-level group identified vocational training and apprenticeship programs like those found in Switzerland as possible solutions to address these challenges.

Swiss Ambassador to the U.S. Urs Ziswiler who opened the panel introduced the concept of apprenticeship in Switzerland.  70% of high school students elect to undertake a program starting at age 15 that combines work in a company with classroom work, and is often followed by a university or other more formal education. The Swiss system is designed to provide greater choices and direction for young people as they think about their futures and offers an alternative to the U.S. education system.

The October 2 event which took place at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago was implemented by the Swiss Business Hub and included prominent speakers such as Rick Stephens, SVP at The Boeing Company,  Harry Moser, Chairman of Swiss company AgieCharmilles US, and Douglas Small, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor.

This year three projects supported by the Swiss Development Agency (SDC) have won international prizes. In Cuba, the CIDEM Research Institute is the winner of the World Habitat Award for addressing a housing shortage by producing low-cost ecological construction material.  In Peru, the T’ikapapa project won a United Nations SEED Award for fostering biodiversity through the marketing of indigenous species of potatoes. And in Burkina Faso, a central market built in a low-cost, environmentally-friendly way has won the Aga Khan Trust for Culture architecture award. 

Each project leverages local materials and personnel to address community challenges thereby stimulating the economies of each country and creating additional in-country expertise.  The CIDEM project has generated hundreds of jobs in Cuba, the T’ikapapa project has increased incomes for Peruvian potato farmers, and the Central Market project has boosted significantly the town’s economy.  All of the projects are also notable for their environmental-friendliness and sustainability.  The Cuba and Burkina Faso projects rely on locally-produced materials and the Peru project protects the region’s biodiversity through an effective marketing program.  All of the winning projects reflect SDC’s global strategies and serve as examples for future development work.

The wine-producing region of Lavaux celebrated in style over being named by UNESCO as Switzerland’s latest World Heritage Site.  The region has been abuzz since this summer’s UNESCO announcement especially with the arrival of hundreds of journalists from around the world invited by Switzerland Tourism to showcase the region’s beauty, fine wines, and cuisine. 

The Lavaux region’s wine terraces date back to at least the 11th century and even offer evidence of wine-producing from the Roman times.  UNESCO praised the region as an outstanding centuries-old example of a how people can interact with their environment to optimize local resources.  The Lavaux community has a history of protecting the environment from overdevelopment.  Lavaux is the first wine-producing region in the world to receive the World Heritage site designation and it is Switzerland's seventh location to achieve this honor.

For many decades, Switzerland’s Lucerne Festival has attracted crowds to the shore of Lake Lucerne in August.  This October, the Festival’s five-year young orchestra opened the season at New York’s Carnegie Hall.  How did an orchestra that is not a household name get to open the season at one of the U.S.’s most prestigious concert venues? Many factors make the LFO special. Musicians from 23 countries are handpicked by world-renowned conductor Claudio Abbado and brought together with magnificent musical results.  The LFO meets for only a few weeks every August in Lucerne where it opens the Festival. The LFO’s short-term association works very well but is an anomaly in the musical world where the best orchestras have worked together for many decades. The LFO has performed abroad before (in Rome and Tokyo) but the Carnegie Hall residency was its largest outreach to date.  Since Mr. Abbado was unable to direct the LFO in New York due to an illness, renowned American conductor David Robertson and legendary French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez led the LFO's Carnegie Hall performances.