Newsletter

„Heidi on the Move”, part of the “Swiss Games” collection, produced by Presence Switzerland and supported by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and the City and Canton of Zürich. The Swiss Games are exclusively launched at the House of Switzerland UK 2012.

Presence Switzerland at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, FDFA, is proud to present the "Swiss Games" collection of games for mobile devices: three different games that amuse their users and at the same time give them various items of information about Switzerland in an entertaining manner. The "Swiss Games" are being launched in the framework of the House of Switzerland UK 2012 at the Olympic Games in London and are going to be used again after that for Switzerland’s communication abroad in other projects in foreign countries.

The "Swiss Games" are being produced with the support of the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, as well as the City and Canton of Zürich.

To read more about the Swiss Games please visit our website. Our Swiss Games trailer gives you a first impression.

During the Olympic Games in London, aficionados can discover for themselves the most creative Swiss computer games. The best and most interesting Swiss games have been handpicked for visitors to the Swiss Game Lounge to try out themselves.

The Swiss Game Lounge is the result of collaboration between Presence Switzerland, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, the City and Canton of Zürich and Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD), which has curated the exhibition. The selection combines pieces by established studios and designers with works by Swiss students from art and design universities, in particular games designed by the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and created for the MA in Media Design at HEAD – Geneva.

The Swiss Game Lounge will be located inside Glaziers Hall and is open to the public. Read more about the Swiss Game Lounge on our website.

On 23 July, the "Zürich Creative Day", the House of Switzerland will mutate into a meeting point for game developers, giving specialists from the game industry and from universities ample opportunity to network.

The crème de la crème of Zürich game design companies will present their latest products, while the Disney Research Lab, the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and HEAD will be giving an insight into research and development trends in the fields of computer animation and game design. The event is jointly organised by the city of Zürich and Pro Helvetia with the aim of initiating new projects and international forms of cooperation.

Have a look at the programme of the Zürich Creative Day. Register here for the Zürich Creative Day.

Read more about the presence of Gold Partner City and Canton of Zürich in the House of Switzerland.

One of the Swiss Games doesn’t have a name yet and this is where we need your help! The House of Switzerland is giving away a pair of Olympic tickets to the best name suggested by our Facebook fans and Twitter followers! Runners up will receive a Huntsman Swiss Army Knife or a 8GB memory stick, courtesy of our Bronze Partner Victorinox.

All you have to do to win is come up with a catchy title and post it on our Facebook or Twitter page. The competition will close at midnight on 3 June. We will then pick 10 of the best answers and invite our fans and followers to vote for their favourite. The power really is in your hands!

Read more about the competition and do not miss this opportunity to win tickets to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

With its GameCulture programme, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, together with its partner institutions, aims to provide an artistic angle to the booming computer game scene and stimulate broadly based discussions on the new art discipline of interactive game worlds.

Video games have become part and parcel of our everyday culture. The market is booming; the game industry now has the highest turnover in the cultural business world. Almost twice as much money is spent on gaming as on cinema tickets. In Switzerland, an innovative game development scene has emerged that creates increasingly complex digital worlds.

That is the context in which Pro Helvetia launched its GameCulture programme in September 2010 to spotlight and deal with the social, economic and aesthetic issues connected with this new form of art and to highlight the artistic qualities of video games.

Read more about Pro Helvetia's support to the House of Switzerland.

On Wednesday 23 May, Presence Switzerland together with the Embassy of Switzerland in the United Kingdom invited local Swiss correspondents and British journalists to a media orientation in Glaziers Hall in London. The concept of the House of Switzerland United Kingdom 2012 with its diverse cultural, touristic and gastronomic offer and cooperation with partners from the public and private sectors were presented. For this purpose visualizations as well as a virtual tour were created by means of which viewers can visit the exterior and the interior of Glaziers Hall.

From 12.30 to 2.30 pm, the House of Switzerland also offered local residents and visitors the chance to get a glimpse of the future Swiss hospitality centre. For everyone who missed this occasion, the virtual tour of the House of Switzerland is now online.

You will find images of the event on our Flickr website.

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