Switzerland maps out the route to its future digital society
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss government Friday 9 March published its revised strategy for a digital society, placing emphasis on the critical importance to the country of a strong and coherent policy.
Eight key areas were outlined:
Energy and resource efficiency (new): Energy and resource efficiency of ICT [information and communication technologies]; ICT as a tool to optimise energy and resource efficiency in other areas
Infrastructure (new): High-performance, open networks; smart controls for buildings, energy and transport; Swiss interests in relation to internet governance in an international context
Security and trust: Security skills; cyber crime; critical infrastructures
The economy: Ensuring a sustainable economy through the deployment and use of ICT (the e-Economy)e-Democracy and e-Government: Exercising civil liberties electronically; government data and information; ICT-based change within the administrationEducation, research, innovation:
ICT professionals; basic ICT skills; Switzerland as a competitive base for research and innovation
Culture: Digital cultural production and digitisation of the cultural heritage; protection of intellectual property in the digital sphere
Health and health care: Reform of the health system with the help of ICT; dealing with the health risks of ICT
The cabinet also approved three new projects:
- The federal administration will develop “appropriate instruments in order to preserve Switzerland’s public interest, as far as possible, in relation to the liberalization of the international internet domain name market.” The country supports the freedom to choose other internet suffixes besides .com and .ch “at will, as decided in 2011 by the global management body for internet addresses, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)”
- Improvments to “barrier-free, equal-opportunity access to online information as well as communication and transaction services of the government and the federal administration”
- The range of data relating to “the development of the information society” will be expanded to help people compare the attractiveness of Switzerland with other countries as a location for businesses, which requires a suitable statistical basis.
The view from Vaud
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Vaud cantonal government said 27 October that it projects annual budget deficits of between CHF70 million to CHF360 million over the four years from 2011-2014, the result of its periodic review of cantonal finances. In part, it says, the revision is a reflection of the economic crisis that affects everyone.
Switzerland’s GDP is expected to rise only 0.4 percent in 2010. In Vaud, tax receipts are projected to rise an average of 1.5 percent annually for the foreseeable future, less than expected earlier. Unemployment is sure to rise, further straining the canton’s finances. The deficit is expected to rise by CHF1.8 billion until 2014 with an attendant interest service cost of CHF95m.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland is second only to Germany overall as a desirable location for a company, 20 percent of managers from 700 countries around the world answered in a survey by Ernst & Young. The management consulting firm’s latest report on worldwide business locations gives a mixed picture: the country’s sound banking system is seen as a point in its favour, while its appeal for tax purposes pushes it down to 11th place.
