Swiss Justice Minister opens the first national exchange week
"Dear students, getting involved in another language is always exhausting," said Elisabeth Baume-Schneider in her speech. "Thank you for leaving your comfort zone." Unfortunately, there were no language exchanges when she was at school, said Baume-Schneider.
However, her son had been to Basel. There, he was allowed to eat “all kinds of crisps” for the first time, which were not available in her household. “It’s not just about language, it’s also about behaviour.”
Zurich and Vaud sign agreement
On Tuesday, Zurich and Vaud will sign a declaration of cooperation, which stipulates that all pupils from both cantons will spend at least one week in another language region during their primary school years. A second opening ceremony for the exchange week took place in Prangins (VD), the other location of the National Museum. Martin Candinas, parliamentarian in the House of Representatives, was present.
The exchange between the different parts of the country is also a theme on Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) stations this week: on Tuesday and Thursday, presenters from the German-language Swiss public television, SRF, the western Swiss public television RTS and the Romansh-language RTR will swap places for one evening.
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