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Discussion series 'Monthly topics'

«Zurich, little Big-Tech City»
WAV und Republik

Talk

A series of talks organized by Gessnerallee in cooperation with various editorial teams: once a month, an editorial team selects a key journalistic topic and discusses it live with the audience. This time, the topic is big tech in Zurich.

  • Wed 11/02 19:30 – 21:00

    Stall6

    Few remaining tickets at the box office

Gessnerallee presents a series of journalistic focus topics in collaboration with different editorial teams. Copyright: Bodara GmbH

‘Higher big tech density than in Silicon Valley.’ That's what the Greater Zurich Area location promotion organisation writes on its website. Big names are settling in Zurich: Google, Microsoft, Palantir, Anthropic. What they all have in common is that they are increasingly active in the military sector. And they are gradually becoming the operating system of public infrastructure. In this system, laws and democratic decision-making processes no longer apply – instead, it is the attitudes of corporate executives and the interests of shareholders that prevail.

Is Zurich transforming from a banking city to a tech armament hub? What does this mean in a legal, political and social context? Should public-law location organisations court companies like Palantir? And what responsibility do we bear as an urban society when we profit from these global businesses?

WAV and Republik journalists will discuss these and other questions with invited experts – and with the audience.

Speakers

  • Research team: Adrienne Fichter, Marguerite Meyer, Lorenz Nägeli, Balz Oertli & Jennifer Steiner

  • Guests: Google Zurich insider and Balthasar Glättli, National Councillor for the Green Party & Advisory Board Member of the Digital Society Initiative UZH

  • Moderator: Marguerite Meyer, journalist

Information about the host

WAV is a twelve-member research collective from Zurich. They have been research partners for journalists and editorial offices, civil society and the non-profit sector since 2021. Their research critically scrutinises and opens the doors of boardrooms and boardrooms where decisions that affect everyone are quietly made. They create transparency - so that those responsible are not judged by their words, but by their actions.

The Republik is a digital magazine covering politics, economics, society and culture, which has been published since January 2018. It is financed by its readers and publishes one to three articles every day.

Information on accessibility and language

  • 90-minute event without intermission

  • In spoken German

  • Step-free access

  • Once a month, an editorial team selects a journalistic focus topic and shares it live with visitors on site. Gessnerallee's new series of talks takes place in cooperation with various editorial teams. The ‘monthly topics’ were inspired by the highly acclaimed ‘Kosmopolitics’ series, which took place at the former Kosmos.

  • The Republik is a digital magazine covering politics, economics, society and culture, which has been published since January 2018. It is financed by its readers and publishes one to three articles every day.

    WAV is a twelve-member research collective from Zurich. They have been research partners for journalists and editorial offices, civil society and the non-profit sector since 2021. Their research critically scrutinises and opens the doors of boardrooms and boardrooms where decisions that affect everyone are quietly made. They create transparency - so that those responsible are not judged by their words, but by their actions.

    CORRECTIV.Switzerland is a non-profit research centre. Together with the population, they conduct research to strengthen democracy. They use innovative approaches and methods, such as the CrowdNewsroom they developed. They also network local journalists and uncover social injustices, either alone or together with partners.

    Tsüri.ch was founded in 2015 by Simon Jacoby together with a group of young journalists with the aim of producing independent local journalism. A city magazine that is always critical, on the pulse of the city and transparent. Every year, they organise focus months on topics such as housing, addiction and mobility. The content of these focus months includes panel discussions, city walks and workshops.

    REFLEKT, Switzerland's first independent and non-profit research team, was founded in 2019. Since then, a small, powerful team has been carrying out major research with a big impact. In order to uncover abuses and promote transparency, they focus on investigative research projects lasting several months, which traditional editorial teams are increasingly unable to handle. By presenting their work in an attractive way and publishing it via various channels, they make their work accessible to the widest possible audience. In this way, they promote quality in journalism, increase public awareness and contribute to media diversity and a functioning democracy.

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