The neighbouring towns of Nidau and Biel/Bienne agreed last year to accept 50 caravans from the Swiss travellers’ group known as the Yéniche. It was a temporary arrangement and a reminder that no long-term solution has been found to accommodate this persecuted group, most of whom are Swiss citizens. When some 70 caravans arrived in […]
Only the young can master a new language: myth or truth?
Popular wisdom has long held it that the younger you are the easier it is to learn a foreign language. Whether expat or immigrant, parents of small children have long noticed, often to their own chagrin, how quickly their offspring become bilingual. It’s a phenomenon the Swiss have long exploited in order to preserve the […]
Christmas in Switzerland
Christmas begins early in Switzerland. Not just the commercial onslaught noticed in shops but the quieter celebration of Advent on the 4th Sunday before Christmas Eve, which this year fell on 30 November. Swiss children traditionally receive Advent calendars with 24 small flaps to open one each day until the 24th to reveal a Christmas […]
Switzerland has many carnivals but Halloween is not one of them
Many Anglo expats, particularly Americans, may be dismayed to discover that Halloween is not among the many festivals widely celebrated in carnival-happy Switzerland. In fact, after a surge of popularity around 1999 and 2000, the holiday seems to be on the wane. “Today you notice it mostly in the shops, maybe a result of globalization,” […]
Swiss apprenticeships: Major employment advantage
Switzerland, Germany and Austria, three countries where apprenticeship programmes are most prevalent, also have the lowest youth unemployment rates in Europe. Some policy makers are wondering if there is a connection and whether the focus on ever higher education is the best way to address youth unemployment Stefan Wolter, director of the Swiss Coordination Center […]
UDC seeks to block Islamic Centre
The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (UDC) of Fribourg is gathering signatures for a referendum to oppose an Islamic studies center at the University of Fribourg. The move comes at a time when reaching out to Muslim communities seems more important than ever. That is certainly the opinion of Antonio Loprieno of the University of Basel, […]
Who is speaking out for Swiss Muslims?
If Swiss Muslims are not speaking out with a single voice to condemn the brutalities of ISIS, it may be because there is no single voice that speaks for all of Islam. The majority of Swiss Muslims come from Balkan countries such as Kosovo, Bosnia and Macedonia, and practise Sufism, a moderate form of Sunni […]
Organic food for thought
There was a time when only ‘tree huggers’ and hippies insisted on buying organic produce, but those days are long gone, especially in Switzerland. Today, the Swiss are among the biggest consumers of organic food in Europe, just behind Germans and Danes. Bio foods are no longer relegated to specialty shops and farmer’s markets. For […]
Aid workers: unsung and unarmed
Fighting the Ebola crisis in Liberia or delivering aid to the Ukraine is not for the faint of heart. Despite the risk of disease, kidnapping and death by beheading, humanitarian workers around the world continue to offer their services in danger zones far from their comfortable homelands. Are they braver than the rest of us, […]
Social assistance higher in Suisse romande
BERN The number of people on welfare in Swiss cities is generally higher in Suisse romande than in German-speaking cities, according to a study by Bern University and the Cities Initiative for Social Policy. Lausanne and Bienne/Biel have the greatest percentage of people on welfare among 13 cities surveyed, with increases in five other cities, […]
