What is Switzerland’s reputation in the country where you live?
Many Swiss people believe their country has a good reputation worldwide. But how true is this?
What is the perception in your home country? What image does Switzerland have where you live? What are the positive and negative impressions?
And what do you think? What’s your personal view on Switzerland’s reputation?
Thanks for your contributions, which we may use in future SWI articles.
Hello!
Greetings Mario Trejo Domínguez:
Mexico and Switzerland have the potential to carry out joint research projects in sectors such as: environment and climate change; agriculture and rural development; education; and science and technology (biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technologies); among others.
I consider Switzerland's reputation in Mexico to be the best.
Congratulations!
¡Hola!
Te saluda Mario Trejo Domínguez:
México y Suiza tienen potencial para llevar a cabo proyectos de investigación conjunta en sectores como: medio ambiente y cambio climático; agricultura y desarrollo rural; educación; y ciencia y tecnología (biotecnología, nanotecnología y tecnologías de la información); entre otros.
Considero que la reputación de Suiza en México es la mejor.
¡Enhorabuena!
Exciting ideas! Switzerland also attaches great importance to science. Do you already know of any Swiss-Mexican projects that you consider to be successful?
Spannende Ideen! Die Schweiz misst ja der Wissenschaft auch einen hohen Stellenwert zu. Kennen Sie bereits schweizerisch-mexikanische Projekte, die in Ihren Augen erfolgreich sind?
I am Swiss and have been living in Kenya with my Kenyan husband for 19 years. My husband worked in Switzerland for 3 years, but couldn't stay for health reasons (winter). He didn't want to go back to Kenya, for him Switzerland is a paradise. And he tells everyone that.
Ich bin Schweizerin und lebe mit meinem kenianischen Mann seit 19 Jahren in Kenia. Mein Mann hat 3 Jahre in der Schweiz gearbeitet, konnte aber aus gesundheitlichen Gründen nicht bleiben (Winter). Er wollte gar nicht zurück nach Kenia für ihn ist die Schweiz ein Paradies. Und das erzählt er allen.
Thank you, very interesting! How would you say people in Kenya describe Switzerland?
Danke, sehr interessant! Was würden Sie sagen, wie beschreiben die Menschen in Kenia die Schweiz?
UTOPIA, a place that does not exist and that when I speak about it with people, they think that I am lying :-D
The neutral and peaceful country
who seeks to make peace
البلد المحايد المسالم
الذي يسعى لصنع السلام
As a direct neighbour to Switzerland (my place of residence is on the Rhine right on the Swiss border), I follow the activities in Switzerland with great interest. I find the way citizens are directly involved in political decision-making particularly exciting. I would like my home country to be as close to the people as well — Switzerland, a real role model! Of course, not everything is gold in Switzerland either, but they simply do a lot of things better there. Congratulations on that and keep up the good work! I also love the two radio stations “Swiss Classic” and “Swiss Jazz” and I am very grateful that we can also listen to them here.
Greetings from Austria
Als direkte Nachbarin zur Schweiz (mein Wohnort liegt am Rhein direkt an der Schweizer Grenze) verfolge ich die Aktivitäten in der Schweiz mit großem Interesse. Besonders spannend finde ich die Art, wie die Bürger direkt eingebunden werden in die politische Entscheidungsfindung. Ich würde mir wünschen, mein Heimatland wäre auch so nahe dran am Volk - die Schweiz, ein echtes Vorbild! Klar ist auch in der Schweiz nicht alles Gold, aber vieles machen sie dort einfach besser. Dazu herzlichen Glückwunsch und weiter so! Im Übrigen finde ich auch die zwei Radiosender "Swiss Classic" und"Swiss Jazz" super und bin sehr dankbar, dass wir sie hier auch hören können.
Liebe Grüße aus Österreich
Thanks for your comment What do you think: Are there (directly) democratic or other political instruments in Austria that would also be suitable for Switzerland?
Danke für Ihren Kommentar. Was denken Sie: Gibt es in Österreich (direkt)demokratische oder sonstige politische Instrumente, die auch für die Schweiz in Frage kommen würden?
Good morning Indeed, Switzerland is highly respected in the world for various reasons. They are Peaceful Respectful - the major laws are subject to a referendum, which gives the cohesion of the citizens of Vitres Pays - They are very competent citizens for the most part. And environmentally friendly. One of the countries renowned for being among the happiest! Regards and respect
Bonjour. En effet , la suisse est très respectée dans le monde pour diverses raisons. Ils sont Pacifiques Respectueux - les grandes lois sont soumis à un référendum, ce qui donnent la cohésion des citoyens de vitres Pays - Ce sont des citoyens très compétant pour la plupart. Et respectueux de l’environnement. Un des Pays réputé pour être parmis les plus heureux ! Cordialement et respect
Thank you for your comment, Ms. Bedrossian. Are there also referendums or similar political instruments in your country?
Danke für Ihren Kommentar, Frau Bedrossian. Gibt es in Ihrem Land auch Referenden oder ähnliche politische Instrumente?
I have worked for Zimex Aviation, based out of Zurich, into Africa I have a personal respect for Swiss culture, traditions and citizens.
Because of the historical relationship, that Switzerland and Canada have had through the years, whether it be peacekeeping, banking, international travel security, UN support, etc, Canadians whom I interact with, consider Swiss to be Alpine cousins.
Come visit Canada...
Thank you, it's exciting. May I ask what your work looked like?
Vielen Dank, das ist spannend. Darf ich fragen, wie Ihre Arbeit ausgesehen hat?
democratic country with a transparent policy that talks with the citizen. A policy at the service of the citizen, and not a theoretical democracy that in practice suppresses the right aspirations of the citizen. Democracy, order, respect for nature. This is how I see it from outside Switzerland. The only critical point is the banking system, which often behaves like a tax haven for those who want to evade the tax authorities or create black funds at home.
paese democratico con una politica trasparente che colloquia col cittadino. Una politica al servizio del cittadino, e non una democrazia teorica che in pratica sopprime le giuste aspirazioni del cittadino. Democrazia, ordine, rispetto della natura. Da fuori la Svizzera la vedo così. L'unico punto critico è il sistema bancario con spesso un comportamento da paradiso fiscale per chi a casa sua vuole eludere il fisco o creare fondi neri.
Thanks for your contribution! Switzerland has adopted a white money strategy; banks should check with foreign customers whether the money was taxed. Are you aware of this change?
Danke für Ihren Beitrag! Die Schweiz hat sich ja eine Weissgeldstrategie gegeben, die Banken sollen bei ausländischen Kunden prüfen. ob das Geld versteuert wurde. Ist diese Änderung bei Ihnen bekannt?
Switzerland is well regarded in Brazil
Suiça é bem vistanoBrasil
Hello Mr. Silva. What do you think, for what reasons is that so? And are there also critical voices?
Guten Tag Herr Silva. Was denken Sie, aus welchen Gründen ist das so? Und gibt es auch kritische Stimmen?
In Brazil, Switzerland is seen as a dream country
No Brasil,a Suiça é vista como um país dos sonhos
Thank you for your comments. Out of curiosity: Would it also be possible to write a column for a medium in Sri Lanka? Do you think there would be interest in that?
Danke für Ihre Ausführungen. Aus Neugier: Wäre es auch möglich, für ein Medium in Sri Lanka eine Kolumne zu schreiben? Denken Sie, dass das Interesse dafür gegeben wäre?
Utterly boooooooooring.
A bit concise, but congruent in terms of content. May I ask why?
Etwas knapp, aber inhaltlich kongruent. Darf ich fragen, weshalb?
It is 100 percent true . I am a Sri Lankan by birth bu was granted Swiss citizenship after my 26 years stay in Switzerland. Switzerland has a very good reputation among my circle of friends and relations.. It is a clean beautiful country to all of them.
In fact I am writing an artical to a local e-weekly about my past experience in Switzerland and my stay in Birsfelden(BL)
I am originally from Iran, but lived most of my adult life in US. Growing up in Iran, I thought everyone in CH speaks German and Zurich is the capital. As a kid we all loved Heidi and associated CH with green meadows and lots of cute cows and I am afraid yodeling and St. Bernard dogs :)
I was a teen in nineties so by then we were all into Swatches and so I learnt about Swiss watch industry and of course Geneva as the center of diplomatic discourse. I also realized Switzerland is big in terms of skiing and leaned about fondue. We thought Swiss are very peace loving and civilized (I assume this came to be because of Switzerland's neutral stance during WWII).
Later on living in the US, I started associating CH more with banking and financial sector. I am afraid to say many of my American could not tell Switzerland and Sweden apart :) Then I visited CH for work a summer, staying in Zurich, and fell in love with it. So few years back I moved here and I still absolutely love the country.
Living here, I learnt that Swiss German is quite different than German. It is so much more melodious and happy sounding to me (although my Swiss Romand friends tend to disagree). I find the Bernese and Solothurn accents just absolutely adorable, especially the so-called L vocalization.
I hope I do not offend anyone saying this, but to me Swiss are a bit like hobbits and CH is like the Shire. And I still love Swiss chocolate more than any other brand. I feel this way even about the basic Lindt and not just fancy brands such as Sprungli.
Thank you very much for your interesting comments! Greetings from a hobbit:)
Vielen Dank für Ihre interessanten Ausführungen! Herzliche Grüsse von einem Hobbit :)
I will gladly return to Switzerland this year, because in Switzerland order and cleanliness are impressive. In the USA there is disorder, danger to life because the laws are very weak. Politicians in the USA are terribly inhuman, most of the time they only think of themselves and not of the country.
Gerne werde ich dieses Jahr in die Schweiz zuruckkeren, weil in der Schweiz Ordnung und Sauberkeit sind beeindruckend. In den USA herscht Unordnung , Gefahr furs Leben weil die Gesezte sehr schwach sind. Politiker in den USA sind furchtbar unmenschlich, meistens denken sie nur an sich selbst und nicht an das Land.
What do you think: How do people in the USA view Switzerland? What kind of reputation does the country have there?
Was schätzen Sie: Wie sehen die Menschen in den USA die Schweiz? Was hat das Land dort für einen Ruf?
I get to Switzerland on occasion. Order and neatness are impressive. I often wish that the same was true where I live in the U.S. I have to look at a neighbors cluster when he puts it out days in advance. Clutter is common in front of his house.
We even have a video on the subject (in English, German, French and Italian), which I recommend you watch: [url]https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/multimedia/schweizer-wunder--sauberkeit/48736844[/url]
Wir haben zum Thema sogar einen Video-Beitrag (auf Englisch, Deutsch, Französisch und Italienisch), den ich Ihnen empfehle: [url]https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/multimedia/schweizer-wunder--sauberkeit/48736844[/url]
In my home country India - Switzerland is perceieved for its nature, the care towards preserving the nature, the cleanliness. Ofcourse the whole belt looks Switzerland through the lenses of movie makers, be it Kollywood or Bollywood.
Another topic which comes to the mind of common people are the Swiss Banks, as this topic is always discussed. They all believe that a lot of HNI have stashed their money in the banks of Switzerland.
Interesting that Switzerland is known as a backdrop! I knew that there were some Indian productions in the Alps, but I didn't realize that the phenomenon was so big...
Interessant, dass die Schweiz als Kulisse bekannt ist! Ich wusste zwar, dass es einige indische Produktionen in den Alpen gab, mir war aber nicht bewusst, dass das Phänomen so gross ist...
In my home country in Scandinavia, Switzerland has a good reputation as a tourist destination; good infrastructure, cleanliness, fantastic landscape, top hospitality industry.
Switzerland's non-existent family policy has a strong influence on the Swiss mentality, and of course the very weak humanitarian thinking. Throughout Europe, the Swiss are seen as extremely old-fashioned. The biggest disadvantage of all; becoming chronically ill in Switzerland can have catastrophic consequences. Why? Yes, let's look at the mentality and the lack of humanitarian commitment. People have little value when they become ill and unable to work. They either have to kill themselves or leave the country.
In meine Heimatland in Skandinavien hat Schweiz eine guten Ruf betreffend Turist in der schweiz zu sein; gute Infrastruktur, Sauberkeit, fantastische Landschaft, Gastgewerbe top.
Die schweizerische nicht vorhandene Familienpolitik beeinflusst sehr die Schweizer Mentalität, und natürlich auch das sehr schwache humanitäre Denken. In ganze Europa sieht man Schweizer als extrem altmodisch. Der aller grösste Nachteil; in der Schweiz chronisch krank zu werden, kann katastrophale Konsequenzen haben. Warum? Ja schauen wir die Mentalität und das fehlende humanitäre Engagement an. Der Mensch hat kaum noch Wert wenn er krank und arbeitsunfähig wird. Entweder muss er sich umbringen oder das Land verlassen.
That seems a bit harsh to me: the welfare state in Switzerland is well developed - although perhaps not as well developed as in the Scandinavian countries.
Das scheint mir etwas harsch: Der Sozialstaat in der Schweiz ist gut ausgebaut – wenn auch vielleicht nicht so ausgeprägt wie in den skandinavischen Staaten.
That seems a bit harsh? Go to the website of the Independent Social Welfare Office http://www.sozialhilfeberatung.ch/
There are just a few examples of what you can do with these people!
I'm not going to publish my documents here, but I've already sent everything to Swiss television. It's called abuse of power/abuse of authority.
The public prosecutor's office is my next step.
Das schient etwas harsch? Gehen sie auf die Webseite von das Unabhängige Fachstelle für Sozialhilfe http://www.sozialhilfeberatung.ch/
Dort sind nur wenige Beispiele was man mit dem Leute tun!
Ich werde hier nicht meine Unterlagen veröffentlichen, aber zum Schweizer Fernsehen habe ich schon alles gesendet. Es heisst Machtmissbrauch/Amtsmissbrauch.
Der Staatsanwaltschaft ist m meine nächste Schritt.
Switzerland has a good reputation in the USA. Personally, I don't see anything negative about Switzerland.
I know people from different countries and they all agree that Switzerland is a wonderland.
I will return to Switzerland this year. In my heart I have never left Switzerland.
Die Schweiz hat einen guten Ruf in den USA. Ich personlich sehe nichts negativ in die Schweiz.
Ich kenne Leute von verschiedenen Landen und alle sind der gleicher Meinung, die Schweiz ist ein Wunderland.
Dieses Jahr werde ich in die Schweiz zuruckkehren. In meinem Herz habe ich die Schweiz nie verlassen.
I wish you a safe return! May I ask why you have decided to return?
Gute Rückkehr wünsche ich Ihnen! Darf ich fragen, warum Sie sich entschieden haben, zurückzukehren?
I travelled through Switzerland last summer and hit most of the major cities was impressed by the cleanliness, trains etc. Also impressed by lack of homeless people on streets which is a major issue in my country. I saw several large billboards saying Support Not Punish (referring to drug addicts). I asked around and there is apparently a 4 pillars approach that they talk about alot in Canada. But yet is not implemented at all, the downtown Eastside in Vancouver is a national embarrassment. Switzerland seens to have gotten it right well done! Will come back again beautiful country great people!
Swiss drug policy focused early on prevention and minimized punishment. You can find more information on this here (in 10 languages): [url]https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/wie-weit-geht-die-schweiz-bei-der-entkriminalisierung-von-drogen/45810184[/url]
Die Schweizer Drogenpolitik hat früh auf Prävention gesetzt und Bestrafung minimiert. Hier finden Sie mehr Informationen dazu (in 10 Sprachen): [url]https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/wie-weit-geht-die-schweiz-bei-der-entkriminalisierung-von-drogen/45810184[/url]
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