GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – ‘Tis the season for cool exhibits and Geneva has an intriguing new one based on population movements as measured by cell phones.
You can’t miss it if you’re near the train station: a large-screen display above the entrance to the Metro Shopping area is the linchpin for the display called “Genève, ville vivante“, which includes 8 large explanatory panels along the rue du Mont-Blanc.
The large screen shows 15 million “movements” that are measurable from 2 million cell phone calls made on the Swisscom system during one day in the city. Geneva’s point in showcasing this is that the measurable urban movements provide a wealth of information that can be exploited to help residents or to help the city plan and to give companies useful information.
But the city points out that there is a flip side to this and the exhibition, which is linked to the 22-24 February Lift conference (theme: “What can the future do for you?”), is also designed to provoke reflection and discussion on privacy issues. “This data prompts the question of its impact in terms of data protection and privacy. It’s clear that the population is legitimately worried, with people feeling they are being watched, even if, in this case, for example, the data used is totally anonymous.”
Laurent Haug, the founder of Lift, commented on the show on Facebook, “Geneva is the first Swiss city to research how people are really using its public space, one of the first in the world. Check the data and the vizualizations, it is seriously amazing.”
The project was carried out with the city, Swisscom, Interactive Things and the Lift conference joining forces.
Solar Impulse on its maiden flight in July 2010
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Solar Impulse captured the public imagination 7 July with the success of its first night-time flight using only solar energy gathered during the day and stored. Now the plane is reaching out to a larger public as it prepares for a low-altitude flight to Geneva and from there to Zurich via Fribourg and Bern at the end of September. The flights are scheduled for sometime around 28 September, the centenary of a flight by Ernest Failloubaz, the first holder of a pilot’s licence in Switzerland, who flew from Avenches to Payerne in a Bleriot airplane.
The schedule and route for Solar Impulse will be announced closer to the date, depending on weather conditions.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The 27,000 runners who participated in the Escalade race in Geneva Saturday 4 December can now download films of their finish, available Tuesday 8 December, a project by supermarket Migros and the Escalade race organizers. GenevaLunch was there, with runners, their families and friends sporting our distinctive colours!
Links to other sites: download finish films, Escalade race
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Geneva elections, Socialists lose seat
Update 15:40 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Cantonal elections in Geneva for the executive council, the Conseil d’état, confirmed a rightward shift in the political mood, Sunday 15 November. The centre-right alliance won four of the seven seats, while the centre-left won three. Two women are on the council, and extremists on either side of the spectrum were eliminated.
On the centre-right: the Radical party’s François Longchamp, Christian Democrat Pierre-François Unger and the Liberal party’s Mark Muller were re-elected. They were joined by newly elected Liberal Isabel Rochat.
photo: Tour de Romandie 2009
photo: Tour de Romandie 2009
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Tour de Romandie five-day cycling race ended in Geneva on Sunday with a victory for 23- year-old Czech rider Roman Kreuziger. He placed sixth in 2007 and second in 2008.
The final stretch from Aubonne to Geneva’s Mont Blanc bridge was raced under good conditions, with sunny skies and pleasant temperatures.
Geneva, Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) - “Zizi sexuel, l’expo,” an exhibition at Geneva’s Palexpo 2 April-28 June, uses a popular French cartoon character called Titeuf to portray the natural curiosity and confusion that children feel when confronted with questions about love and sex. More than 20,000 students from the Lake Geneva region have been invited to the exhibit.
