Swiss Stories

Patrizia Danzi

A woman who observes, listens and forges ahead

Society
Portrait of Patricia Danzi, head of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. When Swiss women won the right to vote at federal level in February 1971, Danzi was just two years old. "I was too young to realise what was going on, but my grandmother gained something tangible that day. It was like being liberated – finally, her voice counted. "
KT Gorique

KT Gorique: the Swiss artist taking the world of hip-hop by storm

Society
Swiss artist KT Gorique is fast securing her place in the temple of hip-hop as a force to be reckoned with. From street dance to the power of words, she has found her creative identity and is not about to let go. Her music reaches from Switzerland to West Africa, resonating in Italy, Germany and France as well as the US and Canada.
Bern

Wild swimming: a speciality of Swiss cities

Society
A group of people jump into the river and emerge several hundred metres downstream. River bathing is commonplace in Swiss cities and understandably fascinates visitors – where else in the world can you swim wild in the city?
Christine Schraner Burgener visits the Thet Kel Pyin Muslim Internally Displaced Persons camp in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Western Myanmar (2018)

Women in Peace Processes

Society
A little over twenty years ago, on 31 October 2000, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1325. With this pioneer resolution, the Security Council recognized for the first time that women’s active and meaningful involvement in political and security decision-making processes is linked with building sustainable peace and security. Two decades later, the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda is slow to progress. As women are at the forefront in responding to crises in their communities and building dialogue and trust in times of conflict, they tend to be excluded from shaping the future of the societies they live in. Switzerland has a long history of engaging in the resolution of conflicts and is a trusted partner in peacebuilding. How are women included in these efforts? Four women working in this field in various roles share with us their views on women’s participation in peace processes.
Il romancio, quarta lingua nazionale svizzera, è parlato da circa 60 000 persone e ha un suo canale di servizio pubblico, la Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha. © Keystone I Gaetan Bally

Romansh speakers and stories

Society
Bun di, bund de, bien di, bùn gi, allegra! There are five different ways to say hello in Romansh, Switzerland's fourth national language. For some people, Romansh triggers a memory, while for others it's completely new. It's also an integral part of Swiss identity. Despite being a minority language, it rings loud and clear onstage, alongside rap beats heard round the world, on news stations, and in classrooms and parliament. Echoes of Romansh can even be heard from Madagascar to Beijing.
Michelle Gisin St. Anton

Michelle Gisin: jewel in the family crown

Society
The 27-year-old Engelberg native has emerged this winter as the new star of Swiss skiing. She and her older sister Dominique have each won an Olympic gold, while their brother Marc also made his name a few seasons back on Kitzbühel's legendary Streif. Presenting the Gisins: a family of gifted skiers.

by Bertrand Monnard

Élise Chabbey

Swiss pro cyclist and doctor, the double life of Élise Chabbey

Society
At 27 years old, Élise Chabbey from Geneva is already an accomplished multidisciplinary athlete. In 2012, she competed in canoeing and kayaking at the London Olympics. In 2017, she finished best Swiss female runner in the legendary Sierre-Zinal mountain race. In 2020, she worked as a doctor at the Geneva University Hospitals at the height of the coronavirus crisis, but this did not prevent her from becoming Swiss road cycling champion a few weeks later. Quite a double life.

by Bertrand Monnard