Swiss creativity for Switzerland at Expo Milano 2015

The next major world expo will take place in Milan from 1 May to 31 October 2015. It is dedicated to the theme: „Nutrire il Pianeta, Energia per la Vita“(“Feeding the planet, energy for life”). The Federal Council attaches high political, economic, scientific and cultural importance to Switzerland’s appearance at this exhibition.

“Forum Svizzero” is the name of the Swiss project to build a pavilion on 4,433 m2 of land which will include an exhibition on the expo theme, exhibition modules for partners, a restaurant, VIP lounge and a shop. The pavilion will also be available for the benefit of interested Swiss cities and cantons, as well as Swiss private sector organisations.

To attract proposals for the thematic orientation of “Forum Svizzero”, Presence Switzerland is conducting an anonymous competition in two-stages.

Roberto Balzaretti, Secretary-General of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and co-ordinator of the Expo Milano 2015 file, is very enthusiastic about Swiss creativity. In his words, “In Milan, Switzerland will come up with surprising ideas for an attractive pavilion with strong content. Through its research and development capacities and its world-leading companies in this field, Switzerland is able to make a major contribution to the subject of nutrition. The Swiss project is primarily oriented to the Italian public, however the many Swiss visitors also expected at the expo should be able to identify with the image presented by their country.”

The documentation on the competition for the project is now available on-line at www.simap.ch. Applications may be submitted until 30 August 2011. The focus of the first stage of the competition will be on defining the content and the dramaturgy of the exhibition. In the second stage, the specific use of space will be finalised with the participation of an architect. 

For further information, please contact:
Nicolas Bideau, head of Presence Switzerland Tel. +41 31 323 45 91   

Presence Switzerland (PRS) is an agency of the General Secretariat of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA). It is responsible for managing Switzerland’s appearances at international events and, as part of this, implementing the Confederation’s strategy on Switzerland’s communication abroad. The objective of Switzerland’s communication abroad is to promote Switzerland’s image and raise its visibility abroad, to communicate a clear message about the diversity of Swiss political life and society in a way that enhances its identity, and to strengthen sustainably Switzerland’s position in the global competition for investments, visitors and exports. The ways in which Presence Switzerland carries out this mandate include the comprehensive Swiss appearances it stages at major international events such as world expos. World expos are important business and representational platforms for Switzerland, and make an essential contribution to strengthening Switzerland position in the world as a business location. Expo Milano 2015 offers both Italy and Switzerland further opportunities to intensify their co-operation in infrastructure projects and in tourism. Switzerland was the first country to accept Italy’s invitation to participate at Expo Milano 2015. www.eda.admin.ch www.image-schweiz.ch

Further information:

simap.ch

Address for enquiries:

Information FDFA
Bundeshaus West
CH-3003 Bern
Tel.: (+41) 031 322 31 53
Fax: (+41) 031 324 90 47
E-Mail: info@eda.admin.ch

Publisher:

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs