Happy New Year and a request

What moves the world and you in the world also moves Swissinfo and Switzerland.

These are the big issues that are often reflected in the small moments of our everyday lives. The credibility of Western values, questions about human rights and international sanctions, the movement of de-globalization and new power paradigms in the world order, associated with globally important elections that also shaped the geopolitical landscape. Changes in trade dynamics, especially in the context of US-China relations, concerns about environmental risks, and there were also severe storms and floods in Switzerland. And in 2024, the use of artificial intelligence will arrive in our everyday lives.

And right in the middle of this is Switzerland, one of the most globalized countries in the world.

Misunderstandings and tensions are increasingly causing rifts in this world. It takes people and media to build bridges. And it is precisely this responsibility that we take on. For 90 years we have relied on sound Swiss journalism and promoted intercultural dialogue and global understanding of different positions.

The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

We are pleased that we were able to reach around 40 million people worldwide with our offering in 2024, which is an incentive for us for next year. As the entire Swissinfo team, we would like to thank you very much for your loyalty – we are a team of around 100 media professionals and many freelancers. And we are all “The Swiss voice in the world since 1935”. We will continue to stand for this promise in the coming year 2025 with well-founded, clear and surprising journalism.

The focus of Swissinfo continues to be on geopolitics and topics relating to international Geneva, global developments in democracy and Swiss science in the world. We show the global networking of multinational companies in the pharmaceutical and food industries and remain connected to them Questions about Swiss identity, culture and society.

2025 – why Swissinfo is still needed

Swissinfo and the entire foreign mandate of Switzerland and the SRG will face very important political decisions in 2025 that will question the future of Switzerland’s only international media house. Since the Federal Council proposed cutting half of the funding for the foreign mandate from 2027 with the announced austerity package in September, which includes Swissinfo and tvsvizzera.it as well as 3SAT and TV5 Monde – we have been directly affected by this question about our future. A strong voice for Switzerland abroad strengthens its economic position, conveys its neutrality policy and improves the perception of Swiss science and culture abroad. How does the Federal Council come to the conclusion that these services no longer deserve support?

A dismantling would have drastic consequences for Switzerland and its open information space. If you’re looking for something about Switzerland abroad in English, Spanish or Russian, you’ll be the first to find content from Swissinfo today. Without this presence, people in the USA, China and Russia can no longer find current results in their languages ​​and there is no certainty that credible information about Switzerland will appear in the search results.

And here is a request for you

Write to us why Swissinfo will still be needed in the future – or what we can improve so that we continue to be useful to you. Or write to us if you are not convinced. We are open and look forward to the discussion.

On behalf of the entire Swissinfo team, we wish you a happy and healthy new year with less political tension and many opportunities.

Kind regards
Larissa Bieler, Director Swissinfo