Have you ever attended a National Exhibition? What impressions stayed with you? The first National Exhibition took place in 1883 in Zurich. Since then, there has been one every 25 years. Every generation has taken the opportunity to present a National Exhibition. The last one, in 2002, was held in the Three Lakes region (Neuchâtel, Biel, Morat) by five cantons and spread out over four locations. Over 10 million visitors came to partake in over 13,000 cultural presentations.
A mature democracy like Switzerland offers opportunities for dialogue, to regularly express our views on individual topics, and to participate in society. A National Exhibition gives us the opportunity to deliberate on a variety of topics, deeply, broadly and actively, over several months and to hone our opinions on them. What direction should Switzerland be taking? How do we want to live, work, get around, nourish ourselves? Will we successfully manage the energy transition? Humans remain the central focus, but what roles will be taken on by robots and artificial intelligence?
It’s time for us to tackle such questions, through playful, intellectual, artistic means. A National Exhibition brings together people from all parts of Switzerland, from different languages, cultures and generations. Such encounters should be enjoyable. Moving into the future should be a pleasure, an adventure.
