Government plans to invest CHF1 billion in Swiss culture

A general view of the Piazza Grande at the 75th Locarno International Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland, August 9, 2022. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / URS FLUEELER

The Swiss government wants to invest CHF988 million in cultural activities for the 2025-2028 period – less than it had initially planned. The aim is to make the culture sector more sustainable long-term.

The Federal Council on Friday announced that it had adopted its culture message and strategy on March 1, 2024, and sent it to parliament to be finalised.

It includes the federal government’s overall strategy for Switzerland’s culture sector for 2025-2029, objectives, key measures and budgets for its support of the Federal Office of Culture, the Swiss Cultural Foundation Pro Helvetia and the Swiss National Museum.

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“The pandemic has highlighted the precariousness of many cultural professionals and the predominance of atypical situations,” Swiss Culture Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider told reporters in Bern on Friday. The situation of many people working in the culture sector is precarious, particularly in terms of social security, she added.

The federal authorities intends to take steps to ensure fair and equal pay and to boost welfare measures. It wants to guarantee fair framework conditions that take into account the recommendations of professional associations.

Baume-Schneider pointed out that culture is an important economic sector in Switzerland. It accounts for around 10.4% of all Swiss companies, or 268,000 jobs.

Due to the financial situation of the federal authorities, the budget has been cut by CHF14 million compared to an earlier figure cited in June 2023. For the previous period, the culture budget was fixed at CHF942.8 million.

On Friday, Suisseculture, the umbrella organisation of cultural organisations, expressed its dismay at the lower-than-planned funding, which it said amounted to a “blow for the Swiss cultural sector”.

For the 2025-2028 period, the government has budgeted around CHF210 million for film and cinema. Pro Helvetia will get CHF187 million and the Swiss National Museum will receive CHF139 million. Other large sums will go towards the conservation of monuments (CHF126 million), languages ​​(CHF80 million), the transfer of cultural property (CHF3 million) and the encouragement of culture (CHF159 million).

Translated from French by DeepL/sb,dos

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