Former minister Simonetta Sommaruga was awarded the honorary “Trailblazer Award” in Reykjavik, Iceland. It is awarded to women who have reached the highest levels of political leadership. In the Icelandic capital she took part in the “WEF for Women”.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
The former Swiss minister was invited as a politician to the 6th “Reykjavik Global Forum – Women Political Leaders” because she has long and persistently been committed to women’s political issues, her media spokeswoman announced in advance.
Sommaruga said he was honoured by the award on Monday. In her speech, she pointed out that, especially in times of war and terror, women are at risk of being pushed out of political leadership and from the public eye. This shouldn’t be allowed. “On the contrary, we need more women in political leadership.”
The population’s trust in politics depends on women and men working together to provide answers “to the pressing challenges of our time.” According to Sommaruga, human rights, peace and democracy only exist with women – and not against them. “We want everyone to understand this, and we women will not stop fighting for it,” Sommaruga continued.
The international “WPL Trailblazer Award” is given to current and former presidents and prime ministers who have reached the highest level of political leadership. Former Finnish President Tarja Halonen was honoured along with Sommaruga. Previous winners include Finland’s former Prime Minister Sanna Marin and the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson. Now the prize is going to Switzerland for the first time.
Especially in times of war and terror, women are increasingly being pushed out of political leadership bodies, Sommaruga was quoted as saying in the Reykjavik Global Forum’s press release: “We cannot allow this.”
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
In Switzerland more people are being referred to electrical therapies or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Are there similar approaches where you live?
This content was published on
A Geneva-registered tourist plane grazed some ski mountaineers on Saturday on a glacier on the Swiss side of the Monte Rosa massif.
Sharp rise in reports of suspicious sports betting in Switzerland
This content was published on
Last year the Intercantonal Gambling Supervisory Authority received 184 reports of suspicious activities in connection with 166 sports competitions.
Swiss fencers apologise for diplomatic scandal with Israel
This content was published on
Two days after causing a diplomatic scandal at the U23 European Championships in Tallinn, the Swiss fencers responsible have published a jointly signed apology on Instagram.
Air in climbing gyms more polluted than on streets
This content was published on
The concentration of potentially harmful chemicals in climbing gyms is sometimes higher than on busy roads, say researchers from Switzerland and Austria.
This content was published on
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) achieved slightly higher sales at the start of the year. However, profits fell sharply, partly due to the late Easter.
Switzerland’s first padel court on water built in Arosa
This content was published on
Switzerland's first padel tennis court on water will open on the Obersee in Arosa, canton Graubünden, for the 2025 summer season.
This content was published on
Wine consumption in Switzerland fell by almost 8% in 2024 compared to the previous year. Swiss wines are particularly affected by the decline.
Jackie Chan to be honoured for life’s work at Locarno Film Festival
This content was published on
Martial artist Jackie Chan will receive an Honorary Leopard, a lifetime achievement award, from the Locarno Film Festival in southern Switzerland in August.
Novartis raises forecast again after strong Q1 results
This content was published on
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has continued the strong pace of growth of recent quarters in the first three months of 2025.
Swiss canton holds first general meeting on winegrowing
This content was published on
More than 250 professionals attended the first general meeting of the Valais wine industry on Monday in Conthey, western Switzerland.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Mary Robinson, human rights champion
This content was published on
In this week’s instalment of Inside Geneva, our correspondent Imogen Foulkes talks to former UN human rights commissioner Mary Robinson.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.