Business Taxation Workshop
In collaboration with our friends from the Boston Chapter of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce, swissnex Boston organized a Business Taxation Workshop mainly for CTI-labeled companies in the Boston Area on December 3.
Jeffrey P. Somers, Robert Finkel and Diana Espanola of the law firm Morse Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, P.C. provided the Swiss-related companies with insights into current U.S. and Swiss-U.S. taxation issues focusing on topics like transactions between a U.S. entity and an affiliated Swiss entity, or how profits earned here can be distributed back to Switzerland and what the tax consequences are.
All the participants received their tailor-made answers and left with much food of thoughts how to improve and safeguard their next tax returns.
Harvest Party at the Residence
Old and new friends of swissnex Boston gathered at the Residence to celebrate a Harvest Fall evening. The event was an excellent opportunity to thank all those - students, entrepreneurs, professors, business executives and otherrs - without whom we would not be able to "connect the dots" in science, technology, education and research.
We were also very happy to welcome Jack Fultz and Jan Ross for this evening. Jack was the 1976 Boston Marathon winner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Fultz) and, he and Jan, are coaching and organizing the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge. This year's 500+ team will run to raise funds and awareness for basic cancer research. The web site is www.runDFMC.org and if you want to support Swiss team members, please visit the personal page of:
- Philipp Fischer: http://www.rundfmc.org/philippf2009
- Pascal Marmier: http://www.rundfmc.org/pascalm2009
Swiss Artist Ugo Rondinone at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008. The Consulate of Switzerland was very happy to co-sponsor the VIP opening of Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone’s spectacular Art Wall installation at the ICA. The artist’s installation will remain at the ICA for an entire year. The event was combined with the presentation of ICA’s latest Foster Prize and attracted a colorful crowd of well over 500 donors, artists, gallery owners, and other friends of contemporary art. One of the highlights of this very special event was the Swiss Consulate sponsored reception with culinary specialities from all corners of Switzerland.
Be sure to check the ICA’s Flickr page for more snapshots of this unique evening. The ICA and its great exhibitions are one of the many cultural highlights of Boston; check their website and enjoy a leader in contemporary art, www.icaboston.org.
Visit of Pierre Keller, director of Ecal, in Boston
Friday, November 14, was art and design day for swissnex Boston. Pierre Keller, director of the Lausanne University of Art and Design, known as Ecal (www.ecal.ch), made a stop in Boston on his way to the West Coast. Over the past 15 years, Pierre Keller has transformed the school into a university that is recognized as one of the best design schools in the world. For some, Pierre Keller has probably done as much to revitalize the image of Swiss design as the invention of the Swatch.
Interested in expanding existing collaborations and creating new links to selected U.S. art and design schools, he visited the Rhode Island School of Design and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. In the evening, Pascal Marmier, Consul and director of swissnex Boston, hosted a reception on the occasion of Pierre’s visit. After a refreshing presentation on the school and its various design projects, Pierre and the many guests of the Boston arts and design community enjoyed cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and great conversations.
On Saturday, Pierre continued his trip to our sister institution swissnex San Francisco, where he will participate in the opening of “Design Preis Schweiz”, an exhibit about contemporary Swiss design, which will be on display in Boston in February. For more info on the Design Preis Schweiz visit www.designpreis.ch. An article about the upcoming exhibit at swissnex San Francisco can be found here.
Election night at Swiss residence
Organized in partnership with L'Hebdo (a Swiss weekly newspaper), the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, and the Forum of 100 outstanding personalities from the French part of Switzerland, the election night at the newly decorated Swiss residence in Lexington gathered around 100 people. The participants included researchers from local institutions, entrepreneurs and business executives, all interested in discussing the importance of the election, especially from a transatlantic perspective.
Bruno Giussani, blogger, journalist and TED conference producer, moderated the discussions in particular with the two speakers that kicked off the evening. First, David Talbot of the MIT Technology Review shared his thoughts on the role of social technologies in the campaign leading to the election. He analyzed the way that the two campaigns built different organizations (see article in Technology Review). Using a social networking tool analyzing blogs and sentiment on the web, Swiss scientist Peter Gloor presented in realtime what people think about Obama and McCain in the blogosphere. After enjoying a buffet of Swiss and US food, the audience mingled awaiting the results which came around 11pm. Both the concession speech by Senator Mc Cain and the victory speech of President elect Barack Obama seemed to touch the hearts of the many guests.
See also the blog entry from "Forum des 100": http://www.forumdes100.com/2008/11/la-soire-lector.html
On Thursday October 9 the Consulate of Switzerland / Swissnex Boston invited to its Happy Hour.
About 50 participants used the opportunity at the very informal gathering to share ideas and discover what other fellow researchers and young professionals are doing in the area. Our guest speaker Christina Alfirev, Tufts, shared her insights gained from a summer internship at Greater Boston Legal Services. Please find her presentation below. And two visitors from University of Geneva joined to meet our community as well: Jacques de Werra, professor at the School of Law / Marisa Jaconi, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine.
Presentation Asylum in the US and Switzerland.pdf
Swiss Evening at Dudley House
Swissnex Boston was invited to participate in a Swiss Evening at Dudley House. Dudley House is the center at Harvard University for students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and a small community of undergraduates. Each year, the Intellectual and Cultural Fellows at Dudley House organize a series of events, including the “Dudley iTravel with iSee fellows”. The purpose of these events is to introduce different cultures from different countries and areas to the students at Harvard and to provide a platform where students around the world can share their experiences with their fellow students and other House members.
Swissnex Boston gave a presentation about the Swiss research and education landscape. The presentation aimed at making Harvard students and scholars aware of the outstanding quality of the Swiss education and research system and to show them what opportunities it could offer to them, be it in the academic or non-academic field. Although it was already midterm, the event successfully attracted more than 40 students and scholars. A Q&A session and a Swiss reception followed the presentation and offered the opportunity to engaging in further discussions about a variety of Swiss characteristics.
How Corporations tackle Climate Change: The Example of Swiss Re.
During a Brown Bag Seminar at Cambridge Innovation Center, Stephen Dishart, Managing Director, Corporate Communications & HR and Head, Americas Communications at Swiss Re, talked about climate change and the role of Swiss Re facing this major global problem.
Swiss Re is a leading and highly diversified global reinsurer and offers financial services products that enable risk taking essential to enterprise and progress. Stephen Dishart pointed out why climate change is such a main issue in the daily business of Swiss Re. Understanding the risk, developing products & services for
mitigation and adaptation, never stopping the risk dialogue and advocacy as well as addressing its own Carbon footprint are so much in the focus of the company that many nice projects and programs jumped out of this spirit which are helping to keep our world greener and safer.
The distinguished speech and the highly interesting discussion showed very well the innovative approach of a Swiss company tackling the probably main problem of the near future.
Reception during visit of Professor Jacques de Werra of University of Geneva
20 guets came to the Swiss residence to meet Professor Jacques de Werra of University of Geneva around cocktails and hors d'oeuves. Professor de Werra spent a week at Harvard to present his research activities in the field of IP, internet and arts law as well as to discuss research and educational collaboration with partners at the Harvard Law School. The guests attending the reception were business men involved in innovation and tech transfer, professors from various local universities (Harvard, MIT, Northeastern) and investors active with startup companies.
Swiss Experience
Members of the Harvard Law School LL.M. (*) Class of 2009 organized an event entitled “Swiss Experience” on Saturday, 12 October 2008. More than 30 Harvard Law School students took part in this event and enjoyed the opportunity of tasting various sorts of Swiss cheese (Gruyère, Raclette and Emmental), Swiss wines (red Dôle and white Fendant from the Swiss canton of Wallis) and, last but not least, the world-renowned Swiss chocolate!
Organizers and participants would like to thank Swissnex (Consulate of Switzerland) for its kind support in the organization of this event!
(Joëlle Becker / Philipp Fischer)
(*) The LL.M. (Master of Laws) program offered by Harvard Law School is a one-year post-graduate program in law. Members of the Harvard Law School LL.M. Class of 2009 come from over 60 countries and various professional backgrounds (e.g. lawyers, government officials, law professors, judges, diplomats, human rights activists and doctoral students). For further information, please visit http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/degrees/gradprogram/llm/index.html
Swissnex hosted the third meeting of the Strategic Investors Forum
On Monday September 22nd Swissnex hosted the third meeting of the Strategic Investors Forum. SIF was founded in January of 2008 by Andrew Jay, partner at Siemens Ventures, and Val Livada, a Boston based technology consultant and Senior Lecturer at the Sloan School of Management at MIT.
The Forum, which has a close working relationship with Sloan, is intended to provide an active social network for large corporations which have venture capital arms or other investment activities for emerging technologies.
At Monday's meeting the group heard from Leon Sandler, Director of MIT's Deshpande Center, and Prof. Chris Ober, Head of Technology Transfer at Cornell's School of Engineering. The audience included Kodak, Astra Zeneca, WR Grace, Johnson & Johnson, Partners Health, Silicon Valley Bank, Siemens.
Lounge Chairs at Logan International Airport
The next time you walk through Logan International Airport you might rest on one of the artistic lounge chairs, sponsored by the Consulate of Switzerland.
The lounge chairs are part of Logan’s effort to add a cultural touch and to provide local artists with the opportunity to showcase their work.
Photos from the opening event on September 17, 2008 at Logan International Airport.
Swissnex at Boston GreenFest 2008
On Sunday, September 28, Swissnex Boston was part of the first Boston GreenFest 2008, an entertaining education festival celebrating the many ways one can create a better world through greening the neighborhoods, the communities and the entire Boston area. Swissnex Boston showcased the ThinkSwiss Climate Trail which had been previously on view in Washington. Despite the trenchial downpour caused by the passing by of hurricane Kyle, the GreenFest attracted a good crowd of people interested in green issues.
The staff of swissnex Boston staff answered numerous questions with regard to Swiss “greenness”: Why does Switzerland take part in the GreenFest? What is so special about green building in Switzerland? What would it take to make U.S. housing more energy efficient? Thus, Boston GreenFest 2008 provided swissnex Boston with an excellent opportunity to showcase Switzerland as the most greenhouse gas-efficient country in the developed world, to display Swiss know-how in green building and clean energies and to illustrate the latest scientific findings on climate change.
Click here for more information about the ThinkSwiss Climate Trail.
Swiss Federal Councilor Micheline Calmy Rey at Harvard University
The Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs replied favorably to an invitation by Harvard University for a public talk on Thursday, September 25, 2008.
Ms. Calmy Rey participated in a special edition of the HPCR Live Seminar (Harvard Program for Conflict Research) on humanitarian law and diplomacy. The live seminar, initiated by HPCR Director Claude Bruderlein, is an innovative web-based discussion for UN and other humanitarian professionals from over 140 countries.
Harvard honored Ms. Calmy Rey with an official welcoming by the Harvard University Marshal, Jacqueline O’Neil. The ceremony took place at historic Wadsworth House and the guest of honor signed the official guest book.
The Consulate-swissnex Boston organized an informal afternoon tea at the Harvard Faculty Club for Ms. Calmy Rey and 9 young Swiss students and professionals from the Boston area (Christina Alfirev, Yvonne Moret, Daniela Domeisen, Sarah Kopse-Scholberg, Alwin Kopse, Marilyne Anderson, Anna Grichting, Alfonso von Wunschheim, and Daniel Kaufmann).
The official talk at the Harvard Center for European Studies (CES) attracted close to 100 people. Patricia Craig, Director of the CES welcomed the Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs to the presentation and discussion on the “Switzerland’s Challenges of the 21st Century in a Fragmented World”. The panel included Professor Jacqueline Bhabha, Director of Harvard’s University Committee on Human Rights Studies, Swiss Ambassador to the UN Peter Maurer, and moderator Claude Bruderlein.
A Swiss style reception concluded the short and successful visit of our Foreign Minister at Harvard University.
Click here for the Diplomacy Through Dialogue Video.
Click here to download a copy of the speech.
LOUIS PALMER: AROUND THE WORLD IN A SOLAR POWERED CAR
Boston September 15-16
“Today, we celebrate solutions”, announced Cambridge City Councilor Henrietta Davis while handing a diploma of recognition to Louis Palmer last Tuesday at the Harvard Faculty Club. The Swiss Consulate attracted twenty five prominent representatives of the Harvard community, Cambridge and Boston administration and the Swiss business and diplomatic world to a luncheon at the Faculty club. All of the guests were recognized as members of the community who strive towards an environmentally friendly future and the occasion for their gathering was to commemorate the second day of Mr. Palmer’s visit to Boston. In the keynote address of the speakers one could identify the unifying theme: change is necessary if we love our children, the overarching message: change is possible if we all take the right actions towards a sustainable lifestyle, and the recognition of Mr. Palmer’s invention– a fully solar powered car - as a creative yet immediately implementable path towards such a lifestyle.
Louis Palmer is a Swiss school teacher who since early child has had a dream – to travel the world in a solar car. After touring Africa on a bike, crossing Asia by car and setting a world record for flying over South America in the smallest aircraft, he decided to take on what at the time seemed like an impossible task – the construction of a solar car. With the help of enthusiastic Swiss college students, main sponsor Q-cells (the world’s largest manufacturer of solar batteries), and other Swiss business, he was able to construct the “first Swiss car”, which can be driven for a hundred miles without recharging. Mr. Palmer has spent the last fourteen months on the world roads, crossing desserts in Saudi Arabia, meeting with his local police escorts, conversing with and posing for journalists.
Everywhere but in one country of the world (and only due to an outdated government decree banning from entry Swiss licensed vehicles), he was welcome and safe. He danced with Dancing Davey (http://vimeo.com/1776258), was shown on CNN (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbbkK692FoY), The highlight of the trip – the climate change conference in Bali where the solar taxi was proclaimed the official taxi of over two hundred ministers, and the following ride with UN secretary general Ban Ki Mun in New York. Bank Ki Mun enjoyed himself so much that he invited Mr. Palmer to be his official driver at the UN climate change conference in Poland in November.
Louis Palmer visited Boston only for two days. But these two days were certainly eventful. On Monday at noon, over sixty students and press representatives welcomed Mr. Palmer at the Tufts Fletcher School for International Affairs. Later that day, the MIT Solar Race Team co-hosted a perfectly attended lecture on the MIT campus. The solar taxi parked in front of the building, right next to the solar car constructed by the MIT team as well as their new prototype for the next race in 2009. Everywhere, lecture attendees applauded Mr. Palmer for his innovative vision, sense of humor, and conviction.
For fueling the solar taxi, Mr. Palmer would refer to the sun. For fueling the batteries of all attendees at the lectures was responsible the Swiss Baker, who served homemade, all natural own style bread, gourmand meats, and colorful arrangements of fruit and refreshments.
Mr. Palmer just finished his tour of North America in Montreal and is currently awaiting the arrival of the ship to take him and the taxi back to Europe. Bon voyage, Louis, and we are looking forward to seeing you on TV when you drive Mr. Ban Ki Mun again at the conference in Poland!
www.solartaxi.com
(Divna Gogeva from Bulgaria, Harvard Class 2009, intern at the Swiss Consulate)
Swiss Beach Day at the Charles River
A large crowd gathered on Sunday, September 7, for a Swiss Beach Day at the Charles River to celebrate the unveiling of the exhibit „Think Swim, Think Swiss: Bringing Swiss-Style Swimming to the Charles River”, a joint project of swissnex Boston and the Charles River Conservancy. And what a great day at the river it was: an innovative exhibit, the Charles River glistening in the background, unexpectedly beautiful weather, thankful guests as well as great music and games all contributed to a very special outdoor event. The trip to Switzerland offered by Swiss International Air Lines and Switzerland Tourism as well as the Lindt Chocolate added extra excitement and sweetness to the Swiss Beach Day which was highly appreciated by the over 500 people attending the event.
The Swiss Beach Day at the Charles was a great example of our “ThinkSwiss” campaign which aims to showcase Switzerland’s innovative approaches to the many challenges facing us today, be it the field of water protection management where Switzerland successfully cleaned up its waters, or in many other fields such as life sciences, finance or public transportation. Find more information about the program at www.thinkswiss.org
We hope that the exhibit “Think Swim, Think Swiss” and the Swiss Beach Day at the Charles helped to further the idea of bringing back swimming to the Charles River. We are convinced that people left after the event with a vision of a swimmable Charles. For further details on the Swimmable Charles Initiative go to www.swimthecharles.org or www.thecharles.org.
Click here for a retrospective 
Lecture of Hope and Enthusiasm by Dr. Martin Vosseler
www.sunwalk2008.com
Dr. Martin Vosseler arrived at Boston Public Garden after having spent seven and a half months walking down the US roads, crossing the 3,500-mile distance from Los Angeles.
The lecture by Dr. Martin Vosseler, a sixty-year old Swiss physician, attracted almost a hundred friends of the environment at the Consulate of Switzerland in Cambridge.
What started as a passion for non-nuclear proliferation, in the 90s became for Dr. Vosseler a commitment to the promotion of solar power. In 1995 Dr. Vosseler quit his medical practice in Switzerland to dedicate his time exclusively to advocating fully renewable energy practices. In 2003, he walked from Basel, Switzerland, to Jerusalem to campaign for solar energy. And last year, he was a member of the crew of the first solar-powered vessel to cross the Atlantic.
Dr. Vosseler began his sunwalk in Los Angeles on January 1, 2008. An average day is well over 20 miles, and on some days, he clocks up to 38 miles. Despite the blisters on his feet and the fatigue weighing down his legs, his mind remains focused on his final destination, the Boston Common. The lessons learned as a physician translate seamlessly into his new role as an environmental activist. “The energy we use—coal, gas, and oil—is killing us. It’s as if our planet is suffering arterial bleeding. In a situation like this, you have one priority only - stop the bleeding!” he says in front of the absorbed audience
Dr. Vosseler met a countless number of people of all ages during his seven-and-a-half-month walk. He is fascinated with the wonderful hospitality of so many US citizens. And he hopes that the USA will take the leadership in the usage of renewable energy sources. After all, it was US President Jimmy Carter who installed solar panels on the White House thirty years ago in an attempt to sensitize the public opinion to the urgency and importance of the issue (more info).
1. of August, Swiss National Day
On Friday August 1st, nearly 90 members of SwissLinkBoston and friends of Switzerland got together for a BBQ at MIT's Edgerton House in celebration of Switzerland's National Day. The Boston weather on August 1st played along beautifully, unlike in most of Switzerland, where many celebrations were canceled due to heavy rainfalls.
In Switzerland, Swiss National Day is celebrated with displays of paper lanterns (lampions), bonfires, parades, fireworks, and the flying of the Swiss Flag. SwissLinkBoston, who planned and organized this event, ensured that this celebration in Boston included traditional aspects as well to make everybody feel "home", and decorated the courtyard with such paper lanterns and other displays with Swiss flag prints. Guests were also welcomed with a large Swiss flag at the main entrance.
A fun fact: One of the guest's RSVP included a question about the event's primary language and whether only the Swiss language would be spoken, as she would otherwise need to "bow out". The answer: Quite the opposite! This BBQ really brought all of the French-language Swiss, the German and Italian-speaking compatriots together. This fun mix of languages and people made this event a very successful one.
The students and young professionals of SwissLinkBoston thank swissnex (Consulate of Switzerland) for helping sponsor this event!
Farewell Dinner of the Continuing Education Program for Swiss Teachers at Salve Regina, Newport
The Consulate of Switzerland/ swissnex Boston was invited to join the farewell dinner of the Continuing Education Program for Swiss Teachers at Salve Regina University on August 1, 2008. The program, intended for prospective English teachers, was organized by Heinrich Wirth, Dean of Continuing Education and Graduate Studies at Thurgau University of Teacher Education and George Antone, Director of International Programs at Salve Regina University. Heinrich Wirth came in touch with Salve Regina on a study trip for Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences to the Greater Boston area that was organized by swissnex Boston in 2004. He then decided that Salve Regina would be an ideal place for a continuing education program. After four years of preparations the program became reality. 
The farewell dinner afforded swissnex Boston with the opportunity to get a glimpse of what the previous weeks had to offer and how much the Swiss teachers had enjoyed a great time at Newport. Not only the interesting mix of courses, but also Salve Regina’s exceptional hospitality in accommodating the Swiss teachers contributed to an outstanding program.
For more information about the program visit www.swiss-in-america.info.
Traveling Tradesman
"Auf der Walz" or "Auf Wanderschaft" is a German expression that means traveling on the job. It is a centuries-old custom that was started by the Craftsmen Guilds of Europe, around the Middle Ages, and is still practiced there. A young man could enter the apprenticeship of a stonemason, carpenter, roofer or furniture-maker under the supervision of a master of his chosen craft, performing at first menial work for very little money.
This Monday four young and strong Tradesman from Switzerland and Germany visited us.
Each year his responsibilities increase and if he proves himself trustworthy his wages are increased. When his three-year apprenticeship is up, he is considered a fellow (Geselle) after he’s taken a final exam. Then these young men and women are encouraged to go "Auf der Walz" if they want to take their learned craft and become a master.
In the past it was required to travel before becoming a master. Now it is voluntary and a matter of honor. The fellow, however, still has to be under the age of thirty and single and have accumulated no debt.
The decision to undertake this journey requires the fellow to remain outside a 50 km radius of his home. Once he acquired his craft after three years of apprenticeship, he will journey for two years and one day (in the past it was three to six years and one day), and can travel wherever he wants to including other European countries. Sometimes they will travel as far as Russia or Malaysia.
He will leave with only the bare necessities, literally packing only a bundle. He cannot return home until his journey is complete (with the exception of illness or death). His entire possessions consist of his craftsman's clothes (Zunft Kluft) and tools.
Most outfits for guilds are in black and white and adhere to strict dress codes. A proper outfit will be his black long pants, black shoes or boots, a white collarless shirt, and a velvet or corduroy vest with eight buttons (symbolizing an eight-hour work day). There's a colored scarf or tie that is pinned to the collar identifying his craft, sometimes necklaces that show the emblems of cities in which he worked, and a spiral walking-stick called Stenz that the fellow himself made. Last but not least his black wide-brimmed hat.
Farewell Garden Party
The Farewell Garden Party of Kathleen and Christoph von Arb on the eve of July 4 was about to begin on the beautiful back yard of the Swiss Residence in Lexington when the thunderstorm hit. In a miraculous team effort of less than 20 minutes, the entire set up for 120 guests - grill, tables, decorations, candles, chairs, bar, buffet, etc - had to be moved inside the house while the guests were arriving. As the first heavy drops fell, the last of 15 tables was moved inside and the party could begin. One would never have imagined possible such a big sit down dinner. But the cosiness just made it that much more friendly and comfortable. After a toast to the two sister Republics - the United States and Switzerland, the guests enjoyed food from the grill including some Swiss Bratwuerste. The Consul General gave a brief run down of all that has happened in the past six years and expressd his heartfelt thanks to the swissnex Team, to the many partners and sponsors and above all to his wife. The great success of the Science Consulate - swissnex Boston is all their doing. This was followed by kind words of appreciation to Kathleen and Christoph von Arb for the service they have rendered in Boston since 2002 by Joe von Rickenbach, CEO of Parexel International and by Prof. Wolfgang Klietmann from Harvard University. Finally, Christoph von Arb introduced his successor, Pascal Marmier who in turn expressed his thoughts and together with Kati Reusche handed Christoph some gifts which will be a great help in his new life back in Switzerland as he moves to the private sector and launches his own consultancy.
School Buildings - The State of Affairs
A new architecture for a new education
Thank you for an informative day at your symposium. I enjoyed all the
speakers and was totally surprised by the lunch. You and Swissnex were
very good hosts!
***
Thanks so much for organizing yesterday’s symposium. It was a very thought-provoking and worthwhile discussion. We are lucky here in Cambridge and Boston to have such a generous and thoughtful Swiss presence!
***
Thank you for hosting yesterday’s symposium on school building architecture and education. My colleagues and I found the discussions very informative and helpful as we move forward with the development of two new academic buildings for UMass Boston.
***
These were some of the beautiful reactions to the symposium which swissnex Boston organized in combination with the opening of the exhibit “School Buildings – The State of Affairs: A New Architecture for A New Education.
Despite a thunderstorm and pouring rain, many visitors joined the Opening Reception to the month-long exhibit at the Compton Gallery which was organized in partnership with the MIT Museum. The reception started the fruitful discussion among the educators, architects, and educational planners and politicians about the everchanging direction of public education and the architectural challenges that come with it.
Inspired and motivated from the exhibit and the previous evening’s conversations, the symposium continued the discussions the following morning at MIT’s Stata Center. The two parted symposium began with a focus on the questions and issue linked to education. A couple of changes to the list of speakers resulted in a diverse, all embracing, fruitful, and lively exchange of ideas around the many related topics like: how do we create environments that people become designers in, how do we keep up a dialog between architects and educators, how do we create learning environments rather than buildings, shouldn’t schools be iconic buildings. The various Swiss and North American examples shown in the presentations supported the conceptual discussions well and added to the transatlantic dialog. After a nourishing lunch that also provided the opportunity for networking as well as experiencing the Stata Center’s exemplifying environment, the second part of the symposium continued with a focus on architecture. Incorporating new teaching methods as well as the student’s personal development, architects are asked to create environments that students can explore and experience their creative capabilities. Communities often need to share school facilities. Changing social patterns require new services at schools. Constrained municipal budgets lead to more multi-use buildings that serve educational as well as community needs. The insights provided by the speakers from the School Building Authorities of Boston and Zurich not only exemplified the difficulties and constraints but also the various approaches the two countries take. As the exhibit points out: Designing schools today is an increasingly collaborative effort including teacher, students, educational consultants, and parents. In response to these challenging policies and requirements, architects are creating schools that look, feel and function differently. It is a new architecture for a new education.
We invite you to visit the exhibtion: School Buildings – The State of Affairs until Friday, August 10, 2008, daily from 10-5. For further information, see http://www.thinkswiss.org/schoolbuildings/
Transatlantic Pitching Session
As the venture leaders reached the end of their stay in Boston, they were the central feature of a “Transatlantic Pitching Session”. The event gathered more than 150 participants from the local tech and innovation community. The participants had the chance to hear not only the 60 second pitches from the Swiss entrepreneurs, but also the pitches from a dozen local entrepreneurs active in biotech and IT. The transatlantic format allowed for an excellent amount of discussion and networking around Swiss and US food and wine! The slides of the pitches are available here
Visit of CTI directors
In parallel to the venture leaders program, swissnex Boston organized a week-long program for Dr. Ingrid Kissling-Naef, head of CTI and vice-director of BBT, and Martin Bopp, head of CTI startup support. Both CTI leaders visited local institutions (MIT, Harvard, Boston University) to learn more about the current strategies of facilitating startup activity at schools and the programs in place to coach entrepreneurs. A special meeting was also organized by Rudi Scheiber-Kurtz about women innovators and entrepreneurs. Rudi invited more than 15 guests to come discuss their experience and ideas related to “Patterns of Women, Business and Capital in Boston”. The discussion focused on a few key topics such as the role of mentoring for aspiring entrepreneurs, the support that is existing or could be developed as well as the difficulty to find financing.
8th edition of the venture leaders program
Swissnex Boston was delighted to have another group of 20 promising young entrepreneurs for a 10-day entrepreneurial bootcamp called venture leaders. Thanks to the support of CTI and venturelab, we put together a series of interactive sessions and meetings with leading figures of the local high-tech scene. The group also spent 4 days at Babson to analyze and reflect on business strategies for their growing ventures.
This year, the entrepreneurs from Switzerland were promoting spinoff companies from most universities and all regions. The diversity of the participants was impressive with several nationalities represented. The projects ranged from an imaginative social networking device to a new drug delivery syringe. An overview of each project and entrepreneur can be found at [please add link]. As last year, the group was coached by a team of innovation experts from Switzerland: Beat Schillig and Jordi Montserrat of venturelab as well as Jean-Pierre Vuilleumier of CTI Invest
Charles River One Mile Swim Race
The annual Charles River One Mile Swim took place on Sunday June 15th with 103 participants, a more than fifty percent increase over the previous year’s field size. “The swim was excellent! I had the best time swimming in the Charles River, the water temperature was perfect,” commented swimmer Guillermo Nuñez.
Overcast skies withheld long enough to launch the race at 8am. By the time the first swimmers had completed the course, just twenty minutes later, a light drizzle turned into a deluge which necessitated the cancellation of the post-race awards ceremony. A post-race event called the Celebratory Splash, organized by the Charles River Conservancy, was also a casualty of the weather. The event was planned to be a brief jump in the river by local celebrities and people who have played an important role in the improvement of the Charles. The list included Bob Zimmerman, head of the CRWA, Robert Varney, Regional Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s New England Office, Jarrett Barrios, former State Senator and President of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons, Nancy Schön, sculptor of the Make Way for Ducklings Statue in the Public Gardens, Renata von Tscharner, president of the Charles River Conservancy and Christoph von Arb, Consul General and director of swissnex boston.
swissnex Boston is partnering with the Charles River Conservancy to bring swimming back to the Charles River. As the water quality of the Charles River continues to improve, it is time to make “river swimming” in the United States a reality. The exhibition “Think Swim, Think Swiss: Bringing Swiss style swimming to the Charles River” will display examples of Swiss bathing structures to explore the technological, environmental and cultural context of river swimming. It is sponsored by “ThinkSwiss – Brainstorm the future”.
Swiss American Chamber of Commerce - Launch of the Boston Chapter
The inaugural meeting of the new Boston Chapter of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce took place on June 17, 2008 at the Residence of the Consul General in Lexington. After a hearty breakfast the Chairman, Peter Vogel from Bossard opened the meeting and discussed with the nine Board members present a range of issues regarding the first operational steps of the new Chapter. It is fair to say that the discussion was extremely positive and dynamic with lots of ideas brought to the table. Swissnex will be a close partner of the Chamber and is looking forward to launch many joint initiatives. This is also reflected in the fact that the Head of the Consulate and Director of swissnex Boston is invited to be present at the Board meetings as an advisory member. Any corporation in the New England Area is welcome to become a member for a modest annual fee and profit from the many services and networking opportunities provided by AmCham in Zurich and by the Boston Chapter by subscribing electronically on the official website: www.amcham.ch
EURO 08 OPENING GAME
In collaboration with SwissLinkBoston, a networking platform for Swiss students, researchers and young professionals living in the Boston area , swissnex Boston invited to the opening game of the European Soccer Championship taking place in Switzerland and Austria. Although our team was unfortunately defeated by the Czech Republic’s team, more than 100 Swiss supporters and guests from other nations (even two Czech fans found their way!) celebrated the beginning of the third biggest sport event worldwide, attracting more than a billion people to Switzerland and Austria for the upcoming month.
MIT Club of Boston: Gala Evening at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts
At this year's Gala Evening, the MIT Club of Boston celebrated MIT's International Programs. Switzerland was one of the main sponsors by providing every guest with a Swiss bag filled with travel guides, CDs, books and chocolate. The Consulate of Switzerland in Boston was represented by Christoph von Arb and his wife Kathleen. The Black Tie Dinner was preceded with Cultural performances from India, Macedonia and China at the Museum of Fine Arts and was a welcome opportunity for the Director of swissnex Boston to discuss with the President of MIT, Dr. Susan Hockfield many international issues confronting MIT today as the dinner progressed. MIT is not only committed to offer its best students more opportunities to study abroad, it also understands the need of gaining first hand experience in other cultural environments around the world and provide specific opportunities to that end such as the MISTI program. Dr. Hockfield showed great interest in further developping the ties with ETH and EPFL and again apologized for not being able to receive then Presidents of Swiss Universities during their UMEC 2008 visit in Boston a week later. 
UMEC
May 11-16, 2008
An incredibly insightful, diverse and valuable week has passed. swissnex Boston organized a weeklong study trip along the east coast for the majority of the nine Swiss University Presidents and Vice Presidents. To tackle a series of issues associated with the presidency of a University, we offered in depth encounters with University management and leadership at Boston University, Olin College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Yale University, meetings with MIT’s former president Charles Vest and the president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges Richard Legon at the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), and back up the coast to a meeting with young Swiss studying in Boston as well as with Glenn Strehle, MIT’s Treasurer Emeritus.
The mix of private and public, Ivy League, small and large, north and south, young and old, traditional and unconventional could not have been more prominent. However, as the week progressed and issues such as university structures and governance, funding and fundraising, global competition and networks, endowment and investment as well as truly impacting missions and philosophies were discussed in formal meetings, lunches, dinners and receptions, these initial difference started to blur. While each university has its own special history and presence, the questions and challenges they are facing are very similar.
Apart from the transatlantic exchanges, the value of the majority of Swiss university presidents’ having more than time- limited business exchanges with other rectorate members became a truly cherished the opportunity.
Swissnex Boston would like to thank all the incredible and fascinating people who have made this week only the beginning of many more fruitful contacts, exchanges and co-operations.
Delegation of Canton de Vaud visits Boston
swissnex Boston was delighted to welcome to the Boston area, Minister Mermoud (Economy) and a delegation of Canton de Vaud. In addition to Mr. Mermoud, the delegation was composed of Jacques Pasche, Executive Director, DEWS, Jean-Frederick Berthoud, Executive Director, DEV, and Lionel Eperon, Chef du service de l'economie, du logement et du tourisme. During their short stay in Boston, the delegates met with entrepreneurs and student leaders to talk about collaborative opportunities between Boston and Canton de Vaud. They visited both MIT and Harvard to meet with Faculty and Students. The delegation was coming from Canada and continued to New York at the end of a busy day.
Executive MBA Seminar Universities of Applied Sciences Bern and St.Gallen
The collaboration between the Universities of Applied Sciences Bern and St.Gallen, the Babson College and swissnex Boston provided the participants of the Executive MBA Program 2008 with an outstanding experience also during this year’s stay.
After their mostly theoretical 4-day-seminar on “Innovation to Market” at Babson, swissnex Boston offered two days full of different possibilities to get hands on accounts from people’s direct experiences. Besides the lively presentations from people who bridge Switzerland with the United States, the participants attended a workshop at which they had to prove their own innovation ability. On the second day, the group first visited Biogen Idec and then Patrick Dolberg (President and CEO U.S. part) welcomed the executives at the facilities of Holcim’s U.S. headquarter engaging in a lively exchange.
Groundbreaking
We are very excited to inform you that construction of our 2nd floor
pavilion at 420 Broadway has finally started and we anticipate to move
back by November.
Groundbreaking took place last Tuesday May 6, 2008. Please stop by
from time to time to check the progress of the work.
I’m looking forward to your being back on Broadway; it’s a couple blocks down the street from where I live - Bette Davis
The swissnex San Francisco team wishes its colleagues in Boston all
the best for the construction phase and looks forward to visiting you
in your new offices asap ! - Christian Simm
great news and great to have an ETA of completion for the Swissnex
building I am sure. - Karen Feinberg
Human Rights
|  |
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Human Security Division
| Federal Department of Interior, State Secretariat for Education and Research |
| Karl Popper Foundation, Zug-Switzerland | THINK SWISS – BRAINSTORM THE FUTURE |
A joint venture between Harvard University and the Consulate of Switzerland/swissnex Boston, the Rights of the Child conference, held on Monday, May 5, 2008, has been a long time coming. In May of 2006, swissnex Boston, formerly SHARE, hosted a panel discussion on the formation of the new UN Human Rights Council whose inaugural meeting took place on June 19, 2006. Led by Professor Jacqueline Bhabha, Professor Walter Kälin, and Swiss Ambassador to the UN New York Peter Maurer, the two-day event included discussions on the formation of the new council as well as general human rights topics. A year later, the highly successful être Human Rights Exhibtion was held from April until July of 2007 at Logan International Airport. In conjunction with a Human Rights lecture held at Harvard University by Swiss Ambassador to the UN Geneva Blaise Godet, swissnex Boston continues its long history of holding human rights related events with the Spring, 2008 Rights of the Child Conference and the Fall, 2008 Property Rights Conference. more
Think Swiss/MIT Museum Climate Change Walking Tour
As part of the Cambridge Science Festival and within the framework of the ThinkSwiss program, swissnex Boston, the Swiss consulate, and the MIT Museum organized the second Climate Change Walking Tour.
Starting at the MIT Museum with some unique climate change demos, animations, and hands-on workshops especially for kids, the participants had a unique opportunity to learn about climate change science and solutions by walking the route through the MIT campus to various zones with interactive displays and experts. Despite of the rainy weather, lots of water proved attendees followed the competent tour guides.
In addition, each family or participant could calculate its own carbon footprint by walking the trail and replying to questions. A cool prop will allowed the participants to visually realize their footprints!
At the end, we offered to the first 200 finishers a “Green Swiss cookie” and an eco friendly gift. And of course also during the trail there was the occasion to taste various flavors of chocolate offered by Lindt.
Sierra Leone Day at Harvard
April 26, 2008
Sierra Leone Day at Harvard
co-sponsored by:
the Consulate of Switzerland
David Sengeh Harvard student and former guide at the Swiss Human Rights Exhibition être at Logan airport organized with his team from the Harvard College Sierra Leone Initiative a festive and meaningful day in honor of Sierra Leone’s 47th Independence Day. The events started with a moving discussion with former child soldier Ishmael Beah, author of the book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. The second part included a panel discussion with Sierra Leone’s most known scholar, 93 year old Dr. Karefa-Smart, Ishmael Beah, popular artist Isaiah Washington and Eleanor Thompson, a 2005 Harvard Graduate. The day ended in a dinner in honor of the 4 panelists and the moderator of the day, Cynthia Mesh. The Consulate of Switzerland donated the books Realizing the Rights of the Child and Human Security and Business for panelists and participants. More info: http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/hcsli/events.html
Prof. Walter Kälin at Wellesley College
March 19, Prof. Walter Kälin at Wellesley College
On March 19, Prof. Walter Kälin held a well received lecture at Wellesley's Slater International Center. His presentation "A common standard of achievement?
Human Rights 60 Years after the Universal Declaration” focused on the many amazing achievements in the field of human rights over the last 60 years. Nevertheless, there are plenty of opportunities in the world to promote justice and dignity for all.
The over 60 highly interested students took full advantage of the opportunity to ask Prof. Kälin a great number of meaningful questions. A Swiss style reception concluded this successful event.
Walter Kaelin is a Professor of constitutional and international public law at the Faculty of Law of Bern, Switzerland. From 1991 to 1992 he served as a Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Kuwait under Iraqi occupation. He is currently a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee and was also one of the key drafters of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Prof. Kaelin is the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on the human rights of internally displaced persons.
AFS INTERCULTURAL EVENT
The Consulate of Switzerland-swissnex Boston
April 9, 2008, 6.30 pm, info-networking event
The American Field Service-AFS Intercultural Programs USA
The Swiss Society of Boston
The Friends of Switzerland
The first co-organized information and networking event attracted 60 people at the Consulate’s temporary offices on the 14th Floor at 1 Broadway. The guests got an overview over the different Swiss related activities of the 4 organizations, had ample time to pick up brochures, taste Swiss food, and to exchange views and ideas with old and new friends. A second edition is planned for 2009
Visit NWNY University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland
As a part of their project “Networking New York” (NWNY), swissnex Boston hosted a group of twenty people from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland from March 25th to the 26th. The students’ project consisted of two interdisciplinary seminars. One seminar has been held in Olten (Switzerland) in February, the other one in New York City and Boston in March.
Their first day in Boston was tightly packed: the Boston seminar began with a short introduction to innovation and entrepreneurship. Inspired by Pascal Marmier who lead a discussion about the changes in the management strategy of IBM, Bettina Hein, a young entrepreneur, shared her experience in building up successful startups, Consul General Christoph von Arb welcomed the group to the one of a kind science and technology consulate, and Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Researches opened their door for an introduction in their business and a company tour.
The second day started with a guided tour through Harvard College and a presentation on “U.S. politics” held by Thomas Aeschi from the Kennedy School of Governance. The morning was completed by David Kaufmann who shared his thoughts about being an entrepreneur and founding his own company. Afterwards, Tim Rowe revealed the many ways his Cambridge Innovation Center (where swissnex Boston is currently located) fosters networking.
In the afternoon, the trip was concluded by several highlights at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): two young Swiss scientists (Manuel Oechslin and Yvonne Moret) enriched the program with a presentation about “Wealth creation and international development” and a campus tour. Finally, a lecture held by Professor Paulo Goncalves put the finishing touch to the program.
We thank all the contributors who helped us providing a variegated bouquet of agenda items and we are looking forward to welcome the next NWNY group in Boston.
Ouverture de la Quinzaine de la Francophonie 2008 et 3ème petit déjeuner annuel «réseautage» science et technologie
La Quinzaine de la Francophonie a débuté le 13 mars avec la levée du drapeau de la Francophone sur la place de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boston.
de gauche à droite : Marie-Louise Burke, Association Boston-Strasbourg, Élaine Uzan-Leary, Executive Director French Library/Alliance française de Boston, François Gauthier, Consul général de France à Boston, France Dionne, Déléguée du Québec à Boston et Présidente du comité de concertation francophone 2008, Gladys Joseph, Consule générale d’Haïti ad interim, Neil Leblanc, Consul général du Canada à Boston et Emil Wyss, Consul adjoint de Suisse.
3ème petit déjeuner annuel «réseautage» science et technologie en collaboration avec…
- Mission pour la Science et la Technologie, Consulat de France
- Chambre de commerce Franco-Américaine
- HubTech 21
- MIT Club Francophone
- Cafe des Sciences
- Délégation du Québec Consulat Général du Canada
La troisième édition du petit déjeuner francophone a attiré une bonne centaine de professeurs, chercheurs, étudiants et entrepreneurs.
http://www.claudediallo.ch/ www.swissbakers.com
Accompagné par la musique de Claude Diallo, les invités ont pu déguster des spécialités suisses, faire de nouvelles connaissances – bref, de commencer ce vendredi dans une atmosphère fort agréable et enrichissante.
Diploma defense with HES-SO Valais (visio-conference)
Fabien Kuchler, a student at the University of Applied Sciences in Sion, Switzerland (HES-SO Valais), did his diploma work in Boston. He worked
for six months at the Schepens Eye Research Institute (SERI), an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, under the supervision of Francois Delori, Senior Scientist at the SERI and Associate Professor of ophtalmology at the Harvard Medical School.The purpose of the work was to do the conception of a small reflectometer to measure the reflectance spectrum of the iris. The oral defense of the diploma work has been done by visio-conference at Swissnex, the Consulate of Switzerland in Boston.Contact HES-SO Valais : www.hevs.ch
Contact Fabien : fabienkuchler@netplus.ch
Members of Swiss Parliament are visiting Boston
On February 12th and 13th, swissnex Boston hosted a parliamentary delegation from Switzerland, consisting of four members of the Swiss Council of State (Staenderat) and the National Council (Nationalrat). The parliamentarians – Peter Briner, FDP; Christian Miesch, SVP; Walter Mueller, FDP; and Johannes Randegger, FDP – are part of the Friends of Switzerland Caucus, and before meeting with their counterparts in Congress in Washington, DC they spent two days in Boston.
The delegation started a very busy day on Tuesday morning with a visit to the Cambridge Innovation Center where the Consulate of Switzerland has its temporary offices. The group was welcomed by Consul Christoph von Arb and met with Tim Rowe, CEO of CIC and Andreas Goeldi, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Buzzient Inc. Andreas talked about his experience as a Swiss entrepreneur in the Boston area. Next on the agenda was a visit to Boston University where Doug Sears, Associate Provost and Assistant to the President for Outreach and Special Initiatives, talked about higher education in the United States. A luncheon followed at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) with Mark Fishman, President of NIBR and member of the Executive Committee of Novartis. Also attending were Christian Klee, NIBR CFO, Jeff Elton, NIBR COO, and Jeff Lockwood, Executive Director for Communications. The topic was on the “Globalization of Science”.
After a well-deserved break, the members of Parliament visited the construction site of the Swiss Consulate and the future of swissnex Boston at 420 Broadway before meeting with Professor Jacqueline Bhabha who is the Executive Director of the Harvard University Committee on Human Rights Studies to talk about cooperation between Harvard University and Switzerland in the area of human rights. The last meeting of the day took place at Highland Capital Partners where Paul Maeder, Managing General Partner, talked about the role of venture capital in the innovation economy. The day concluded in Lexington where Christoph von Arb welcomed over 90 guests for a reception at his residence while six young Swiss scientists and entrepreneurs from various fields presented on their research and work in the U.S.
On Wednesday morning, the delegation met with a number of Swiss students at MIT to discuss the academic, professional and personal experiences of studying in the United States. Professor Herbert Einstein then met with the group to talk about the background of MIT including his (Swiss) perspective. Following an early light lunch with Claude Bruderlein who presented his research on human security and conflict which is funded by the Political Division IV of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Afffairs, the group departed to Washington, DC where Ambassador Urs Ziswiler would welcome the group for a reception at his residence the same night.
swissnex Boston participates for the second time at the MIT European Career Fair!
swissnex Boston was one of 143 companies and organizations that participated in the 12th MIT European Career Fair. The objective of the fair is to bring European employers and highly qualified individuals interested in a career in Europe together. The swissnex Boston team, supported this year by Anders Hagstrom from ETH Zurich, offered free chocolate sponsored by Lindt & Sprungli. In addition, we gave away a career-building round-trip ticket to Switzerland sponsored by Swiss International Airlines. The winner, David John Grasso-Ortega from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, will take the opportunity to travel to Switzerland this spring in order to organize a summer internship.
We informed a diverse audience of young researchers, professionals and students ranging from undergrads to post-docs about opportunities in science and technology in Switzerland. The “Swiss brand” displayed by the flag and the word “Switzerland” on our poster proved once more to be a magnet and attracted a lot of science and technology graduates from leading universities in the New England area. We had many requests for information including questions about contacts in the private sector for possible internships to the various PhD programs at Swiss universities. In addition, over fifty people used the opportunity and signed up on our mailing list to keep informed on a regular basis about the many events at swissnex.
