A Happy New Year – and a request from us

Dear readers and friends of SWI swissinfo.ch,

What affects you and the world also has consequences for SWI swissinfo.ch and Switzerland.

The big issues of our times are often reflected in the small moments of our everyday lives: the credibility of Western values, questions about human rights and international sanctions, the movement towards de-globalisation, and a reshaping of the world order due to major elections that have transformed the geopolitical landscape. There have been changes in trade dynamics, particularly in the context of US-China relations, as well as concerns about environmental risks, including severe storms and flooding in Switzerland. And in 2024, the use of artificial intelligence has become part of our everyday lives.

And Switzerland, one of the most globalised countries in the world, is right in the middle of this.

Misunderstandings and tensions are increasingly causing rifts in this world. We need people and the media to build bridges. And this is precisely the responsibility we take on. For 90 years, we have been committed to quality Swiss journalism and promoting intercultural dialogue and global understanding of different positions.

The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

We are delighted that we were able to reach around 40 million people worldwide in 2024, an encouraging sign for the coming year. The entire team of SWI swissinfo.ch – around 100 media professionals and many freelancers – would like to thank you for your loyalty. We will continue to fulfill our promise of being “the Swiss voice in the world since 1935” in 2025 as well, with well-founded, accurate and surprising journalism.

SWI swissinfo.ch will continue to focus on issues relating to geopolitics and International Geneva, global developments in democracy, and Swiss science in the world. We will highlight the global impact of multinational companies in the pharmaceutical and food industries, and remain connected to issues relating to Swiss identity, culture and society.

2025 – why SWI swissinfo.ch is still needed

SWI swissinfo.ch and the entire foreign mandate of Switzerland and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation are facing very important political decisions in 2025 that could jeopardise the future of Switzerland’s only international media company. In September the Swiss government announced its austerity package, which includes cutting half of the funding for the foreign mandate – this includes 3SAT and TV5 Monde, in addition to SWI swissinfo.ch and tvsvizzera.it – starting in 2027. We are directly affected by this question about our future. A strong voice for Switzerland abroad strengthens the country’s economic position, communicates its policy of neutrality, and improves the perception of Swiss science and culture globally. How did the Swiss government come to the conclusion that these services no longer deserve support?

A reduction would have drastic consequences for Switzerland and its open information space. If you search for information about Switzerland from abroad in English, Spanish or Russian, the first results that show up will be content from SWI. Without this service, people in the US, China and Russia will no longer find up-to-date results in their own languages, and there will be no certainty that credible information about Switzerland will appear in the search results.

And here is a request to you

Get in touch and tell us why you think SWI swissinfo.ch will still be needed in the future – or what we can improve so that we continue to be useful to you. Or write to us even if you are not convinced. We are open to feedback and look forward to the discussion.

On behalf of the entire SWI swissinfo.ch team, we wish you a happy and healthy new year with fewer political tensions and many opportunities.

Best wishes,

Larissa Bieler, director of SWI swissinfo.ch

Adapted from German/ac/gw