YES Lab Switzerland 2016 – Swiss Inspiration for a Sustainable and Globally Successful Economy and Society

The YES Lab is coming back to Switzerland. From Sunday 7 February until Saturday 20 February, around 25 students and successful job-starters from fifteen countries will be learning, discussing and networking in Seewis/GR and Zurich. After these two weeks, they will be able to benefit from the big, globally active YES alumni network.

“Making sustainability work”: this is the heading under which participants in the <link actis.myclimate.org/yes-switzerland-2016-early-bird-application/ - external-link "Opens external link in current window">YES Switzerland Lab</link> will focus on the big, international developments and political framework conditions at the same time as trying to develop local solutions. The framework for this is set by international sustainability and climate protection experts as well as local firms and networks.

International and Swiss speakers

Some outstanding speakers have been brought on board for the YES Lab. These include Dr Stefan Gara, founder and CEO of leading consultancy company <link www.eta.at/en/index_e.htm - external-link "Opens external link in current window">ETA Environmental Management</link> and guest lecturer at the Universities of Lausanne and St. Gallen; Dr Matthew Gardner, Director of <link www.sustainserv.com/en/ - external-link "Opens external link in current window">Sustainserv</link> and lecturer at the University of Harvard; Michelle Grant, Director of <link www.worldfoodsystem.ethz.ch - external-link "Opens external link in current window">ETH World Food Systems Center</link>, and Professor <link www.tobiasluthe.de - external-link "Opens external link in current window">Tobias Luthe</link>, Head of the Research Institute for Tourism and Leisure at HTW Chur. Some of the lecturers have previously been YES participants themselves.

Swissness as a particular bonus

The choice of Switzerland as a location for this was a deliberate one. “Switzerland is a pioneer in many fields relating to sustainable development and environmentally friendly technologies. With specific examples locally, as with the <link www.htwchur.ch/en.html - external-link "Opens external link in current window">HTW Chur</link> or in the area of the <link www.weissearena.ch/en/ - external-link "Opens external link in current window">Flims-Laax-Falera White Arena Group</link>, we aim to provide inspiration for society to head in the direction of sustainability on a global level”, explains <link actis.myclimate.org/the-team/ - external-link "Opens external link in current window">Dominik Mösching</link>, Programme Manager for YES at the myclimate Foundation. Alongside the abovementioned destinations, further excursions in Graubünden and Zurich are also on the programme.

The YES Labs 2016 in Switzerland is made possible by the support of committed partners. In addition to the United Nations Environment Programme (<link unep.org - external-link "Opens external link in current window">UNEP</link>) and the HTW Chur, the <link www.stiftung-mercator.ch - external-link "Opens external link in current window">Mercator Foundation</link> is heavily involved in implementing and supporting the YES Labs. YES stands for “Youth Encounter on Sustainability” and refers to an international network that promotes the exchange of knowledge on issues of sustainable development worldwide. The YES Labs were developed in 2000 with the help of the <link global-sustainability.org - external-link "Opens external link in current window">AGS (Alliance for Global Sustainability)</link> partner universities under the leadership of <link actis.myclimate.org/the-team/ - external-link "Opens external link in current window">Dr Roger Baud</link>, the long-time Director of Sustainability at the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). Since January 2014, myclimate has been responsible for its organisation and execution.

Stay informed!