Swiss Stories

copyright Guillaume Megevand

The Swiss athlete who runs like a Kenyan

Society
Julien Wanders from Geneva has been training in Kenya since his late teens. Now, at the age of 23, he is already on first-name terms with the world's top runners. This is his inspiring story.

by Bertrand Monnard

West of Juba, camp of Dulamaya. A distribution of seeds and tools kits is about to start. Displaced families are starting to gather close to an ICRC vehicule.

The Geneva Conventions: 70 years old and as relevant as ever

History
Switzerland has long been famous for its chocolate, watches and idyllic landscapes – and also for its humanitarian tradition. A signal example was its key role in the adoption of the Geneva Conventions, which are celebrating their 70th anniversary this year. Since their adoption in 1949, the Conventions have saved countless lives in armed conflicts, but ensuring compliance with them remains a complex and long-term undertaking. Two Swiss Humanitarian Aid specialists share their insights from the field.
Teaser

The national gene bank

Environment
Humanity's future depends on the diversity of the species living on our planet, as they provide present and future generations with a food source and a healthy environment. In Switzerland, many varieties of plants are stored in the national gene bank maintained by Agroscope, the Swiss centre of excellence for agricultural research.
Solarkiosk © Andreas Spiess, SOLARKIOSK AG / ZHdK

Can Swiss design save the planet?

Environment
Social design looks beyond the material nature of an object in order to tackle the major economic, environmental and societal challenges of today and tomorrow. The practice is taking off in Switzerland and changing the face of design.
Törbel

Sharing water the Swiss way

Environment
A small Swiss mountain village in the beautiful Upper-Valais region near the Matterhorn enjoys the unique distinction of having helped changed ecology - twice. It's all down to its good record-keeping and clever management of its scarce water resources.
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

James Bond aka 007 on his quest to hunt down Goldfinger in his Aston Martin DB5 in Switzerland.

The Spiez laboratory

Science & Education
4 March 2018 – A man and woman are found unconscious in Salisbury, England. After a while it becomes clear who they are: Sergei Viktorovich Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The world's press gets its hands on a story worthy of James Bond. And the Spiez lab gets a job... But what is this laboratory exactly?