Swiss Digital Days in preparation

In recent months, digitization has greatly changed the everyday lives of the population. The state of digital development, including the associated opportunities and hurdles, has been revealed, as Digitalswitzerland writes. This turning point also had a significant influence on the conception of the national Digitaltag: The organizers are turning Digitaltag into the Swiss Digitaltage at the beginning of November, which is intended to accompany the population on its way into the digital future in the long term with analog and digital program offerings. Diana Engetschwiler, overall project manager of the Swiss Digital Days: "The spirit of optimism does not stop at our event. By further developing and adding to the online experience, we can not only respond more specifically to today's needs, but also create an even more diverse offering. Interactions are changing and the future belongs to hybrid models".

Learning in virtual spaces

The Learning Lab is a new format dedicated to the population, he said. Within 45 minutes, in free online and offline courses, specific "The past editions of the Digitaltag focused on creating awareness among the population about technological challenges and opportunities of digitization. People are faced with the task of adapting to the changing digital world. For this transition to succeed, a change in thinking and thus a change in behavior is necessary. With the Learning Labs, the Swiss Digitaltage lay the foundation for such a sustainable change," says Marc Walder, initiator of Digitalswitzerland.

This initiative is aimed at all age groups with a nationwide offering launched jointly by Digitalswitzerland and the Swiss Association for Continuing Education (SVEB).

New locations join in

Across Switzerland, 23 host locations are already participating in this year's Digitaltage: Aarau, Basel, Bern, Biel, Brig, Grenchen, Lachen, Lausanne, Lugano, Martigny, Neuchâtel, Olten, Schwyz, Sierre, Sion, Solothurn, St. Gallen, St. Moritz, Vaduz, Winterthur, Yverdon, Zermatt and Zurich. More are to follow. Wherever possible, the sites would present visitors with a physical offering, but purely virtual and interactive formats or even mixed forms would also make inroads, Digitalswitzerland said. "Last year, Digitaltag visitors were able to experience digitization in a tangible way at more than 12 locations throughout Switzerland. We are very pleased that, even under more difficult conditions, we have already been able to win over 23 venues to participate in Swiss Digitaltag 2020," says Ivo Furrer, President of Digitalswitzerland.

Varied online formats

On a new platform, various shows about digitization will run in parallel for three days. The program offers fun, know-how and opportunities to exchange opinions in a novel, experimental and entertaining way, according to the statement. There is something for all participants, whether directly on site or online: top-class studio discussions, impressive live demos, startup battles, varied show interludes and much more. The already proven and popular dialogue format called "tell" will also be supplemented by virtual editions this year, he added. "Accompanying the population in the digital transformation process requires not only informing them, but also giving them the opportunity for exchange and discussion. This is exactly what happens with the successful 'tells', adds Engetschwiler."

In late summer, the organizers want to test the online module with three to four test runs. With "tell," an open dialog on the diverse topics of digitization will be stimulated and promoted together with the general public. A lively discourse is also important for the behavioral change already mentioned.

Source: Digitalswitzerland