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Mountain regions to benefit from digital push

Panel at ETH Zurich on digitalisation
Economics Minister Schneider-Ammann (second from right) and his counterparts from Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein attended a panel discussion at the ETH Zurich on digitalisation. Keystone

A campaign has been launched to promote digitalisation in small companies based in Swiss mountain regions.

On Wednesday, the Federation of Adult LearningExternal link and Swiss Mountain AidExternal link presented a project for companies with fewer than 50 employees to allow for training in internet technology.

The joint project provides a total of CHF500,000 ($500,000) for the further education offensive. Companies in nearly 1,000 municipalities in mountain regions are eligible for the subsidies.

“Digitalisation is one of the most powerful drivers of economic change worldwide,” according to the campaigners, who say that this is also true for Swiss mountain regions, where job offers are essential to fight against residents leaving the mountain villages.

A nationwide Digital DayExternal link will be held in 12 cities and towns across the country on Thursday. Organised by a cross-industry association, some 80 events are to draw public attention to the opportunities of digital innovation. Swiss President Alain Berset will attend an event at Zurich’s main railway station.

At a panel discussion on Tuesday, the economics minister, Johann Schneider-Ammann, said Switzerland’s small- and medium-sized companies needed incentives to “offer jobs and keep added value in the country”.

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