Quantum computing is positioned to complement classical computing, eventually expanding research and development. While not ready yet, quantum computing is developing rapidly. Are governments, industries, citizens aware of the enormous challenges – technical, political, intellectual –  that come with this technology? Can we identify what is missing today in the fields of governance and infrastructure in order to benefit from this revolution?

Speakers 
Jonathan Home, Professor for Experimental Quantum Optics and Photonics, ETH Zurich
Anna Foncuberta, Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials, EPFL
Heike Riel, Head Science of Quantum & Information Technologies, IBM Research

Moderation 
Jennifer Schenker, The Innovator

Our society is at a critical juncture. The numerous crises we're facing call for "Bold Collective Action", according to the 2023 Davos Manifesto.

What kind of stakeholder governance will support upcoming regulations? How can collective action help meet the biggest challenges of our time?
How to deal with all these challenges at the Board level?
Leaders are asked to support a strategy focused on long-term value and positive impact. What does it take to make your board aligned with 21st-century imperatives?

Building on B Lab’s impact management approach, we will explore the Board’s role in mobilizing the value chain. We will also discuss and learn what it takes to adopt Stakeholder Governance, anchoring nature and people at core of the business strategy. 

This exclusive session, reserved for CEOs and Board Members, will lay out the practical steps to drive sustainability from the boardroom.

Welcome Speech

• André Hoffmann, Vice-Chairman, Roche
• Ignazio Cassis, Federal Councilor

Podium speakers

• Jonathan Normand, CEO, B Lab Switzerland 
• Tony Golnder, Executive Director, TNFD
• Knut Haanaes, Professor of Sustainability, IMD
• Maïlys Serrano, Board member, Loyco
• Nadja Lang, Board Member, Genossenschaft ZFV-Unternehmungen
• Nicola Thibaudeau, Board Member, MPS
• Katell Le Goulven, Board Member, InTent & Director, HGIBS INSEAD
• Karl Schmedders, Professor, IMD 
   

Contact person
Suzanne Letren   
Communication Lead & Engagement  
suzanne@blab-switzerland.ch, nicolas@blab-switzerland.ch, +33787310637    

The world faces a plastic crisis. If current trends continue, production of plastics will double in the next 20 years. The environmental impacts of plastic pollution occur across the life cycle of plastics - with impacts on all ecosystems and on the triple planetary crisis. Plastic pollution also presents health concerns, ranging from microplastics present in food and human bodies to risks associated with chemical additives in plastic products. In 2022, in a historic resolution to ‘End Plastic Pollution' governments launched negotiations for an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. The ambition is to achieve nothing less than a system change to achieve sustainable plastic production and consumption as well as a circular economy for plastics that protects the environment and human health.
This panel will identify and highlight how this paradigm shift will require all hands on deck – from governments, International Organizations, civil society, private sector and scientists alike. 

Welcome Speech

• H.E. Mr. Alain Berset, President of the Swiss Confederation
• Ms. Nathalie Fontanet, State Councillor, Canton of Geneva

Keynotes

• H.E. Mr. Alain Berset, President of the Swiss Confederation
• H.E. Mr. Guillermo Lasso Mendoza, President of the Republic of Ecuador

Speakers

• Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO 
• Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General, WTO 
• H.E. Ms. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Rwanda 
• Mr. Marco Lambertini, Special Envoy, WWF 
• Ms. Kristin Hughes, Director, Global Plastic Action Partnership, WEF 
• Ms. Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, UNEP, Executive Secretary, Secretariat for the INC on plastic pollution

Moderator

• Dr. Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Director, Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs, Geneva Graduate Institute

The video of the event will be published on https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-onu-geneve/en/home.html. 

Media requests
Paola Ceresetti
Spokesperson
paola.ceresetti@eda.admin.ch
+41 79 240 19 18

We are running out of time to take action against climate change and biodiversity loss. Climate change has a reverberating effect on all aspects of our lives and the whole economic value chain. The private sector is an engine for economic growth while having a decisive impact on climate change and nature. Emerging markets are essential to “net zero transition” but they lack the capital to fund it.

Opening by

• Ms. Fabienne Fischer, State Councillor, Canton of Geneva

Speakers

• Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director General, ILO
• Mr. Patrick Odier, Managing Partner, Lombard Odier
• Dr. Celia Sapart,Scientific Director, Co2 Value Europe
• Mr. Lesley Ndlovu, CEO, African Risk Capacity, Representative Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance
• Ms. Dorothy Maseke, Group Head, Risk and Compliance, ICEA Lion Group 
• Mr. Christoph Baumann, Special Envoy for sustainable finance, SIF

Moderation 

• Ms. Juliet Linley, Broadcast Journalist

The video of the event will be published on https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-onu-geneve/en/home.html. 

Media requests
Paola Ceresetti
Spokesperson
paola.ceresetti@eda.admin.ch
+41 79 240 19 18

Recent years have highlighted that humanity’s biggest challenges are truly global and that we can only address them collectively. At the same time, crises have led to more fragmentation among member States and within societies. If the pandemic highlighted the agility of multilateralism to continue delivering in the midst of the crisis, the response has been uneven and global solidarity imperfect. The Russian aggression against Ukraine has violated basic norms of international law and its reverberation have only widened fault lines at the geopolitical level and between regions. Measures taken to address the triple planetary crisis are falling short of the urgency of the situation. In this context, there is not only a need to reaffirm basic norms of international law and to build on the achievements and legitimacy of multilateral institutions. It is also clear that multilateralism must become more agile to include all relevant actors, to break silos and to address emerging issues. This panel will discuss how to strike a balance between “classic” and “new” multilateralism and will explore the contribution of international Geneva to this endeavor. It will also highlight concrete initiatives that contribute to an innovative and future-oriented multilateralism and that can support cooperation over fragmentation.

Opening by

• H.E. Mr. Ignazio Cassis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation
• H.E. Ms. Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa 

Speakers

• Mr. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman, GESDA
• Ms. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, President, ICRC
• Ms. Ngaire Woods, Dean, Blavatnic School of Government, Oxford
• Ms. Catrin Hinkel, General Manager, Microsoft Switzerland
• Mr. Volker Türk, UN High-Commissioner for Human Rights
• Ms. Nathalie Fontanet, State Councillor, Canton of Geneva

Moderator

• Ms. Marie-Laure Salles, Director, Geneva Graduate Institute

Media requests
Paola Ceresetti
Spokesperson
paola.ceresetti@eda.admin.ch
+41 79 240 19 18

Digital innovation, data science, and the emergence of new actors, are opening up new paths for humanity to address the challenges of today and tomorrow. This panel discussion will address the risks and opportunities of translating data into decision-making. In a fragmented world characterized by complexity, we must harness the power of data and develop innovative partnerships to reach global goals. The potential for better translating data into policy is particularly untapped when it comes to level the playing field and promote inclusive multilateralism. 

Speakers

• Ms. Melike Yetken Krilla, Head of International Organizations, Google
• Ms. Judith Bellaiche, Member of the National Council, Switzerland
• Mr. Georges-Simon Ulrich, Director, Swiss Federal Statistical Office
• Prof. Pascal Peduzzi, Director UNEP/GRID, UNIGE

Moderator

• Ms. Claire Doole, Claire Doole Communications

The video of the event will be published on https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-onu-geneve/en/home.html. 

Media requests 
Paola Ceresetti
Spokesperson
paola.ceresetti@eda.admin.ch
+41 79 240 19 18

The current energy crisis, as well as the global climate goals, underline the need to transform the global energy system. Much of the necessary technology for a successful transition to a secure, reliable, and fossil-free economy already exists. Hydrogen is one of these solutions. It is needless to say that the energy system transformation requires the deployment of decarbonization technologies on a large scale. However, its deployment largely depends on political will, the right regulatory framework, and finance. Political and economic decision-makers and society need to move from long-term strategies to concrete implementation.

The event will shed light on the latest innovative solutions from the research work of Swiss companies and institutions in the field of decarbonization technologies and will include panel discussions about the current and future hydrogen infrastructure projects, energy supply chains, existing policies, and business opportunities. The main part will be followed by a lunch break that will offer ample time for participants interested in business opportunities to network and interact with the sector’s experts.

Welcome Speech

• Dr. Albert Rösti, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC), Switzerland

Opening Impulse

• Dr. Fatih Birol,  Executive Director, International Energy Agency

Podium speakers

• Patrick Huber, Chairman H2 Energy
• Dr. Anna Gawlikowska, CEO Swiss AI
• Fabrice Billard, CEO Burckhardt Compression
• Dr. Prof. Gabriela Hug, Professor ETH Zurich and Co-Director NCCR Automation

Closing Remarks

• Benoît Revaz, Director Swiss Federal Office of Energy (Closing Remarks)

Moderation

• Dr. Chris Luebkeman,  Head of Strategic Foresight Hub, Office of the President, ETH Zurich

Please note that the event is fully booked.

Media requests
stab@bfe.admin.ch

Contact person EDA/WEF:
Lukas Dick
Federal Council and Parliamentary Affairs Specialist
lukas.dick@bfe.admin.ch
+41 79 320 57 95

The Large Infrastructure Window event will showcase projects insured by SERV and supported by the content of Team Switzerland, providing insides on innovative projects within Switzerland via impulse reports, followed by a moderated exchange. The session will start with an impulse pitch of a governmental exponent to raise sustainability importance and end with a networking Apero.

Welcome Speech

• Matthias Zoller, Secretary General SWISS ASD (Aeronautics, Security and Defence) Swissmem / Helene Budliger Artieda, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)

Moderation

• Matthias Zoller, Secretary General SWISS ASD (Aeronautics, Security and Defence) Swissmem

Contact person
Stefan Barny, Director Global Network + Institutional Relations
sbarny@s-ge.com 
+41 44 365 54 82 
Victoria Feuillerat, Project Coordinator Industrial Programs
vfeuillerat@s-ge.com
+41 44 365 53 29
Noëmi Rhyner, International Trainee
nrhyner@s-ge.com
+41 79 377 02 04

In high-profile panel discussions, leading experts from the public and private sector will discuss pioneering Swiss blockchain projects with international reach. The panel will explore the digitization of equity and bonds as well as currencies, CBDCs and stablecoins.

Welcome Speech

• Alexander E. Brunner, President Home of Blockchain  

Podium speakers

Panel 1

• Dr. Thomas Moser, alternate member of the governing board of the Swiss National Bank
• Dr. Oliver Sigrist, Oliver Sigrist, Advisor Bank of International Settlement Innovation Hub
• Dr. Massimo Morini, Chief Economist Algorand Foundation
• Lucas Bruggeman, CEO BX Swiss
• David Newns, CEO SDX

Panel 2 

• Dr. Jacques Iffland, Chairman Capital Markets Technology Association 
• Pascal Egloff, Lecturer in Banking & Finance at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences 
• Adrian Schatzmann, CEO Asset Management Association Switzerland 
• Thomas Eichenberger, Member of the Group Executive Board, Sygnum Bank

Moderation 

• Alexander E. Brunner, President Home of Blockchain  

Contact person 
Paola Valencia, Director
paola@homeofblockchain.swiss
+41 76 477 11 39