Government plans to invest CHF1 billion in Swiss culture
The Swiss government wants to invest CHF988 million in cultural activities for the 2025-2028 period – less than it had initially planned. The aim is to make the culture sector more sustainable long-term.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
The Federal Council on Friday announced that it had adopted its culture message and strategy on March 1, 2024, and sent it to parliament to be finalised.
It includes the federal government’s overall strategy for Switzerland’s culture sector for 2025-2029, objectives, key measures and budgets for its support of the Federal Office of Culture, the Swiss Cultural Foundation Pro Helvetia and the Swiss National Museum.
“The pandemic has highlighted the precariousness of many cultural professionals and the predominance of atypical situations,” Swiss Culture Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider told reporters in Bern on Friday. The situation of many people working in the culture sector is precarious, particularly in terms of social security, she added.
The federal authorities intends to take steps to ensure fair and equal pay and to boost welfare measures. It wants to guarantee fair framework conditions that take into account the recommendations of professional associations.
Baume-Schneider pointed out that culture is an important economic sector in Switzerland. It accounts for around 10.4% of all Swiss companies, or 268,000 jobs.
Due to the financial situation of the federal authorities, the budget has been cut by CHF14 million compared to an earlier figure cited in June 2023. For the previous period, the culture budget was fixed at CHF942.8 million.
On Friday, Suisseculture, the umbrella organisation of cultural organisations, expressed its dismay at the lower-than-planned funding, which it said amounted to a “blow for the Swiss cultural sector”.
For the 2025-2028 period, the government has budgeted around CHF210 million for film and cinema. Pro Helvetia will get CHF187 million and the Swiss National Museum will receive CHF139 million. Other large sums will go towards the conservation of monuments (CHF126 million), languages (CHF80 million), the transfer of cultural property (CHF3 million) and the encouragement of culture (CHF159 million).
Translated from French by DeepL/sb,dos
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria
This content was published on
As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.
Swiss government proposes CHF10 million UNRWA donation
This content was published on
After months of debate, Switzerland plans to give CHF10 million ($11 million) to the UN agency this year, rather than the CHF20 million initially foreseen.
Swiss study: insects mainly migrate at midday and dusk
This content was published on
A study led by the Swiss Ornithological Institute in canton Lucerne is helping to better understand the movement patterns of migratory insects.
Red Cross: 22 staff killed in Middle East since October
This content was published on
The Red Cross and Red Crescent network in Gaza and Israel has lost 22 staff members since last October, the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) said on Wednesday.
Dortmund’s Kobel is first Swiss goalie in Champions League final
This content was published on
Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel has achieved history by becoming the first Swiss goalkeeper to reach a Champion’s League final.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
How Covid-19 hit the Swiss culture sector
This content was published on
An official information brochure has listed the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Swiss culture sector last year.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.