On Wednesday 22nd of August 2018, we presented the organisation and programme of the second national Digital Day, which will take place on October 25th, at a press conference in Zurich main station.

Many of you, dear readers, may know this feeling when the time has come to reveal one of your pet projects. Whether in personal life or at work, there is always this time of mixed feelings between doubt and excitement. How are people going to react? Have I done enough? That is human and even when we talk about digitalisation, in the end, people are behind every project. After months of preparation, the Digital Day team still has a lot to achieve. However, we can count on the support and the active participation of some 70 committed partners. On D Day, we will be ready and we invite you to participate under the slogan:

What to expect in 2018 Edition

Birgit Pestalozzi, Digital Day Head Project Manager, is delighted by the momentum: ‘New companies and organisations are constantly joining us as partners, and more and more cities and regions are expressing their interest in participating. The Digital Day is clearly in tune with the times – digitalisation is a topic that captures people’s attention. This only makes us more committed to the Digital Day motto, “experiencing digital together”. The Digital Day aims to be a day of action for the Swiss population, bringing digitalisation out of the online world and into reality.’ Throughout the whole day, Zurich main station will feature a curated programme covering seven different topic areas, broadcast live on YouTube.

To be in closer proximity to the Swiss population, in addition to the three main stations, decentralised hubs and partner’s activities will showcase different technologies all over Switzerland. Throughout the whole day, Zurich main station will feature a curated programme covering seven different topic areas, broadcast live on YouTube. You will also find online SRF live programme, the Startup Pitching stage and TEDtalks.

To open the dialogue, The Digital Day proposed some activities before October 25th. Part of the pre-campaign, a “Tour de Suisse” aims to meet Swiss employees to collect their thoughts about digitalisation. The videos will be shared across our social media. Pupils are also part of the event through a video contest. The theme this year is centred on what a digitalised playground (“playground 4.0”) looks like. Children and teenagers in primary, secondary I and secondary II can enter the competition alone or with their class.

Have you ever wanted to ask questions about digitalisation? Digital Day Brain is an AI technology that connects Swiss citizens with our partner’s experts ready to help you to better understand the current digital transformation. We have already started, do not be shy and join us.

New Edition, New website

To gather all information about the Digital Day, and to celebrate the second edition, we have launched a brand new website. The programme content is provided by our partners and may be subject to change. Our partners are incredibly creative, as is our team, and so the ideas are still coming thick and strong. What has been decided is that the Digital Day programme is divided into 7 “thematic worlds”. These themes have been defined from last year’s feedback and during the several workshops we organised with our partners. Thus the navigation of our website allows the visitor to consult the programme according to these “thematic worlds”. You can also filter by location, which narrows your search to the activities near to you. Don’t hesitate to regularly visit: www.digitaltag.swiss.

On the October 25th, the website will be the heart of the event: we will broadcast the live stream to connect people from all over the world to our Swiss Digital Day. And don’t forget, all social media from Digital Day and our Partners will share the day’s excitement with you all. #SwissDigitalDay

Main localisations, decentralised hubs and Partner’s activities

The Digital Day has grown significantly since its first edition last year. As already mentioned, some 70 companies and institutions have already joined as partners alongside the key partners Google, Ringier, SBB, SRG and Swisscom – an increase of 60% compared to last year. In 2018, the Digital Day can offer activities in over 12 cities, where different technologies will be showcased – more than double the geographic coverage of last year. The day of action, which is unique in Europe, is, therefore, able to address the population even more directly than before. The seven “thematic worlds” will be covered at the three main stations Zurich, Geneva and Lugano.

Digital Day hubs will cover specifics topics:

  • Baselland: Education 4.0, Health & Work 4.0
  • Chur: Work 4.0 – New business models & transformation for tourism
  • Sion : eHealth – Digital patient journey
  • St-Gallen : Lifestyle – eSports & Smart City
  • Vaduz – Work 4.0 – Digital innovation
  • Yverdon-les-Bains: My Data – Cybersecurity

Some partners will organise activities in their companies in Bern, Fribourg, Lausanne, Lucern and Schaffhausen.

We don’t want to give away too much information about the scenography. However, after having visited the project manager of the hubs, we can already say that the decentralised hubs and partner’s event are going to be a real journey. Switzerland has awesome innovation forces and our partners are eager to present them to you.

Please jot down in your calendar #SwissDigitalDay on October 25th 2018 and stay tuned. So you do not miss any information, don’t forget to subscribe to our Newsletter.