Swiss Identity

Animal-rights activists crack the whip

This content was published on Jun 1, 2005 They say government proposals to tighten regulations are toothless and will fail to put Switzerland back among the most animal-friendly states in Europe. The draft law, presented by the cabinet in 2002, is aimed at better implementing current regulations and improving information for the general public. This includes training for those who keep animals as…

Demographics

Swiss act to limit traffic of illicit goods

This content was published on Jun 1, 2005 Switzerland earned a reputation as a transit point for stolen works of art because of its earlier reluctance to tighten laws on the transfer of cultural goods. “Cultural goods are not normal goods – there’s a difference between having your TV stolen and having a cultural good stolen,” Andrea Raschèr, head of international and legal…

Culture

Swiss artist restores paradise at the Biennale

This content was published on Jun 1, 2005 In her video installation, the internationally renowned artist conjures up a world without Adam and Eve’s original sin. One of the world’s top contemporary visual-arts events, the Biennale opened to the public last weekend and runs until November 6. Housed in the baroque church San Stae on the Grand Canal, Rist’s exhibition features the church…

Demographics

Swiss press for action on forced labour

This content was published on May 31, 2005 The Swiss also intend to use the two-week session to highlight the desperate situation of workers in the Palestinian territories and rising youth unemployment. A recent ILO study stated that 12.3 million people were trapped in forced labour around the world. Of these, at least a fifth were said to be victims of human trafficking.…

Culture

swissinfo honours artist Paul Klee

This content was published on May 31, 2005 The site goes online three weeks before the opening of the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern – the first cultural facility of its kind honouring one artist, combining an art gallery, museum, concert hall and research centre. Available in both html and flash, as well as in nine languages, the website takes the reader on…

Demographics

New city tours speak to the deaf

This content was published on May 31, 2005 swissinfo accompanied one of the first groups to take a tour for the hearing impaired around the Old Town of Switzerland’s biggest – and loudest – city. “Let’s move on,” says Peter Ern, our tour guide, halfway through an explanation of why Zurich’s Rennweg is called Rennweg. He waves us down a side alley. By…