Alain Berset - Federal Councillor

Alain Berset - Federal Councillor

Alain Berset - Federal Councillor

Alain Berset - Federal Councillor

Alain Berset - Federal Councillor

Alain Berset - Federal Councillor

Alain Berset - Federal Councillor

Alain Berset - Federal Councillor

Alain Berset - Federal Councillor

Alain Berset - Federal Councillor

publie 12.05.17

Alain Berset - Federal Councillor

We never get bored in Switzerland. Our vast cultural diversity constantly offers something new to discover. Our diversity is our wealth.

To maintain and nurture our diversity, we need a forum where different cultural and linguistic groups from Switzerland can meet and exchange experiences, to better understand where they come from and their place in the world today.

The Swiss Theater Encounter provides just such a forum, providing both a stage for remarkable theater productions and a meeting place for the different language regions and theater cultures of Switzerland. The new Lugano Arte e Cultura centre for art and culture provides the ideal venue for the festival and the award of theater prizes, which will take place for the first time in the Ticino.

This annual festival invites participants to cross language borders, and also provides theater the opportunity to redefine itself. Theater, unlike almost any other art form, depends on a direct exchange with the audience, and must constantly change as its audience does. The success of a theatrical production lies in the common ground and connection achieved between the people on stage and those in the audience. This requires both sides to surrender and to take risks.

I would like to thank all those who are involved in theater production and hope you enjoy the festival.