The Global Innovation Index records both the framework conditions and the actual innovation performance of a country. Although Switzerland does not achieve the best result in any individual criterion, it impresses with strong results across all categories. These include stable political and economic conditions, very good education, high expenditure on research and development, an efficient infrastructure, the high demands of the domestic market and, above all, the ability to translate these strengths into successful innovations. The initiators of the ranking, Booz&Company and Business School Insead, write this on Presseportal.ch. The report on the innovation capacity and innovation performance of 125 countries was presented today, Thursday.

In the ranking of the most innovative countries compiled on the basis of the Global Innovation Index, Switzerland, Sweden and Singapore are the top nations. The top ten also includes four other European countries: Finland (5), Denmark (6), the Netherlands (9) and the UK (10). They are joined by Hong Kong (4), the USA (7) and Canada (8). The initiator Booz&Company Booz & Company is active in strategy consulting, with more than 3,300 employees in 60 offices on all continents. Its clients include successful companies as well as governments and organizations.
 

They can be viewed on the association's website at Astag.ch. The aim is to provide politicians, members, partners and the public with direct and unfiltered information about road transport issues, the association said in a press release on Presseportal.ch.

From July 1, 2011, WebTV videos on political news, association events, trade fairs and other road transport topics will be broadcast on a regular basis. Unfiltered commentaries in all national languages on current transport policy issues are also planned on a regular basis. A team of 5 people is responsible for producing the video contributions.

The purpose of Astag-Web TV is to cultivate the company's image. The indispensable nature of road transport for supply and disposal should also be demonstrated in sound and vision, the press release continues. "The public and politicians should be given direct and unfiltered information about how important coaches, cabs and trucks are for the Swiss economy," emphasizes Astag Director Michael Gehrken. In addition, the WebTV also targets the younger generation in particular and is thus intended to promote young talent.
 

The best entries will be selected by a jury of experts in the fall and will then be shown on public displays in Austria and Switzerland. We are looking for films that fit the theme and are exactly 5, 10 or 20 seconds long. They can show a surprising side of something familiar, surprise viewers with their form or content, or focus on a "nasty" surprise. Both professional and amateur filmmakers are invited to take part in the competition.

A seven-member jury made up of representatives from the film, design and communications industries will evaluate all entries in terms of their impact, attention-grabbing effect, media-appropriate presentation and film-making skills. The twelve most successful works from each category will be shown on the large displays in the major railroad stations in Switzerland, on Canale Poste and on the Infoscreen channel in Austria. The three best 5-, 10- and 20-second ads will be honored at the public awards ceremony. This will take place on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 from 5 p.m. at Rössligasse 12 in Lucerne.

The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is organizing the competition together with Swiss Post, eadvertising, Infoscreen Austria and the Swissfilm Association. There are cash and non-cash prizes to be won.

Entries can be submitted at 5-10-20.ch. The closing date for entries is Sunday, September 25, 2011 and participation is free of charge.
 

Attorney-at-law Christoph Born led the ZJP Foundation for nine years He was recently bidden farewell by the Foundation Board in a festive ceremony and with thanks for his voluntary commitment. Andrea Masüger was elected as his successor as President of the Foundation Board.

Masüger, CEO of Südostschweiz Medien, thus moves from the ZJP jury to the president's chair. Manuela Nyffenegger (NZZ) has also withdrawn from the Board of Trustees, and former journalist and current communications consultant Kaspar Loeb has taken her place. Susanne Mühlemann, former journalist and current head of communications at Swiss International Airlines, is stepping down from the jury, which will continue to be chaired by Fredy Gsteiger (Radio DRS). Susan Boos (Editor-in-Chief of WOZ) and Alain Zucker (Tages-Anzeiger) are moving up to the jury. Both are to be elected at the Foundation Board meeting in September.

Thus, the ZJP foundation board and jury are complete again. In addition to those already named, Esther Girsberger (journalist) and David Strohm (NZZ am Sonntag) continue to be members of the Board of Trustees. Marco Meier (journalist and philosopher) and the journalist Margrit Sprecher also sit on the jury. Monika Menne continues to be in charge of the management.
 

Christoph Schneider will start his job at Schweizer Fernsehen as early as October 1 to prepare for his assignment. Schneider is currently working as a news reporter for the regional television station Tele Bärn. After taking up his post, he will be responsible for the latest news from the Bern and Fribourg region. It is not yet known who will take his place at Tele Bärn.
 

France's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Defense Minister Gérard Longuet and Foreign Minister Alain Juppé were also present at the welcome at the airbase in Villacoublay near Paris. The journalists, who were released on Wednesday together with their Afghan translator, appeared to be in good health. They were abducted along with two other Afghans in December 2009 while reporting for French television on the repair of a road east of Kabul.

The two experienced reporters initially accompanied a unit of the French armed forces in Afghanistan, but decided to continue reporting on their own. Their fate led to a campaign in France for their release.

The Taliban stated that the insurgents had made a number of demands before the hostages were released. The French government stated that no ransom had been paid. (sda)
 

The Federal Film Board of Bern is mainly responsible for the production. Swiss Films is the promotion agency for these films. Swiss Films is currently supported by the Federal Office of Culture (BAK) and Pro Helvetia with 2.8 million Swiss francs until 2012. Of this amount, Pro Helvetia's 1.4 million is up for debate. Will the BAK have to increase its contribution here? Ivo Kummer will probably soon get a visit from the people at Swiss Films. Because they can show many great merits with their work, as the media conference has just shown.

The promotion agency Swiss Films draws a successful balance of the year 2010: A proud 64 Swiss films could be launched at important festivals all over the world. 18 theatrical releases abroad were supported. 15 feature films and 14 documentaries were sold to foreign territories. With nine tributes and seven work shows, Swiss Films sustainably placed Swiss filmmaking in a worldwide context. The main countries for such specially organized "festivals" were China, Argentina and Chile. In addition, Swiss Films has systematically documented all independently produced Swiss films and co-productions that have had a public screening since 1998. The website, redesigned a year ago, now features 3,300 films - with all the info on their festival careers and awards. "The combined film promotion of Swiss Films, in close interaction with the film industry, is increasingly succeeding in opening the door to international awareness and distribution for films," says Josefa Haas, President of the Foundation Board. But at the media conference in the Swiss Films offices on Zurich's Neugasse, she also had to ask with concern: "Is Swiss film retreating from the international stage into the national réduit?"

New film funding concepts 2012 - 2015
The new film promotion concepts 2012 - 2015 of the Federal Office of Culture, which are currently being elaborated and also affect Swiss Films, set the course for future promotion work. Concrete decisions affecting the international visibility of Swiss films have already been made in 2011: The Export Promotion Fund, which has supported the international distribution of Swiss films since 2007, will no longer be funded by the BAK in 2011 and will expire in July. An impact analysis prepared by Swiss Films over the first four years of the program clearly shows that this funding instrument has made a significant contribution to boosting the distribution of Swiss films abroad.

To this end, the FOC has cancelled Swiss participation in the European film industry portal cineuropa.org at short notice. The Federal Office of Culture and Swiss Films are the Swiss partners of the Internet portal, which publishes news, background reports and databases on the European film industry in four languages. In 2010, Cineuropa published a total of 60 announcements from Switzerland on its news page.

With these two cost-cutting measures, important building blocks for efficient and effective film promotion that links Swiss films in an international context - and especially in the European area - are already missing in the current year. Such cost-cutting measures reduce the international appeal built up over the years and the necessary networking of Swiss filmmaking.

Around 1,000 feature films are produced in Europe every year. Thanks to digitalization, production has become more democratic. Today, films can be made more cheaply. However, only 600 of these 1000 films make it into theaters. "So there is overproduction," said Swiss director Denis Rabaglia at the media conference. One could also read from the figures that it would probably be wrong to save on promotion in the future. However, a new concept must also find the right approach for the much-discussed leap from film culture to the film market.

Sales promotion
20 long feature films, 40 medium-length or long documentaries and 50 short films - these are the Swiss films with which the promotion agency Swiss Films is currently working. Swiss Films regularly promotes new films at more than 1,000 festivals, for around 60 of which Swiss Films grants contributions upon participation. The directors of Berlin, Hof or Locarno are all regular visitors to the screening room on Neugasse, where they receive advice. This help is also gladly accepted by some 20 world distributors and 60 foreign distributors, as director Micha Schiwow sums up the distribution support of 2010. The combination of distribution support, film programs, high-profile domestic events - the Quartz Swiss Film Prize, the Short Film Night Tour, the Appellations Suisse film series in Locarno - and credible communication increases the effectiveness of Swiss Films' individual activities and services.

Last year, tributes were paid to Daniel Schmid in Berlin, Peter Liechti in Rome, Buenos Aires and La Rochelle, Alain Tanner in Paris, New York and Skopje, Georges Schwizgebel in Zagreb and Peter Mettler in Florence. Work shows honored Frédéric Mermoud in Annonay, Vadim Jendreyko and Christian Frei in Beijing, Lionel Baier in Santiago de Chile, Peter Volkart, Anka Schmid and Hannes Schüpbach in Nanjing. "We aim to recognize a work in its temporal and artistic dimension," explains Sabina Brocal, Head of Events & Film Programs. The foundation thus lays a foundation stone for the international recognition of filmmakers. (Editing Andreas Panzeri)
 

The Zurich City Transport Authority has submitted an application to the city council for commercial tramway painting over a test period of three years. The application has now been approved, according to a VBZ release. During the trial period, the offer will be tested in the market and among passengers. After that, a decision will be made on the definitive inclusion in the product portfolio of VBZ Traffic Media.

Full design will be possible on Cobra type streetcars and will be limited to a maximum of five vehicles at a time. The definitive offer, fares and design guidelines will be published in the
will be prepared by VBZ in the coming weeks and published after the summer vacations at the beginning of September 2011. From then on, VBZ will also accept bookings. The first fully painted vehicle should therefore be driving through Zurich at the beginning of 2012.

VBZ Traffic Media markets over 14,000 advertising spaces on 574 VBZ vehicles. The advertising in and on streetcars and buses reaches over 810,000 boarders in the city of Zurich every day.
 

The Swiss world-class player has risen to NBA stardom. The program on 2 July in Lausanne's Flon district is open to everyone and offers something for everyone: 3×3 games, show acts with Thabo, photo and autograph sessions and DJ animations.

Offline, advertisements, posters for baseball clubs, flyers, PR, publicity reports and radio spots are used. Online, mailings, banners, a Facebook page and teaser videos are on the ball. Meeting point on July 2 at the Flon at the big Slam Dunk with Rivella in Lausanne.

Responsible at Rivella: Susanne C. Hohler (Product Manager Soft Drinks). Responsible at Trio: Corine Maissen (advisory group leader), Sonia Duperret (advisor), Chloé Petit (text), Christophe Muller and Jakob Wendt (multimedia).
 

The cashless payment method via smartphone is increasingly meeting with good acceptance, which is why the decision was made to continue the product. This means that mobile payment will continue to be possible after June 30 with existing partners such as Spar, Mobilezone and Steg Computer, the agency said. Other partners would follow.

The new Power Pay app is now available in the App Store. Registration for mobile payment can be done directly via the app.
 

Armin Meier will take over the management of InfrontRingier's headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, on July 1, 2011. Two new mandates can already be announced at the start of the operational activities:

Infront Ringier will be responsible for the sale of sponsorship packages in Switzerland as Team Leopard Trek's distribution partner. The second mandate is from Swiss Olympic. This includes the evaluation and examination of a potential Swiss bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The project team's first objective is to analyze whether and with which region Switzerland should bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The contracts from Team Leopard Trek and Swiss Olympic are the first new projects acquired by Infront Ringier and complement existing business areas that have been integrated under the umbrella of the joint venture. These include Pool Position Switzerland, which looks after Swiss personalities from entertainment, film, TV, fashion, music, sport and show business - including Lara Gut, Jonas Hiller and Stefan Gubser. Furthermore, the marketing of the Rose d'Or has been integrated into Infront Ringier. Every year, media professionals, production companies and television stations from more than 40 countries come to Lucerne for the international television festival.
 

Among other things, the agency has given the Baloise Group's IT microsite the necessary polish. The Bernese advertising agency Visu'l, in turn, has entrusted the text and project agency with developing claims for one of its clients and the text for an image brochure for the second. And: Blue Planet Life is committed to sustainable vocational training in emerging countries and in the Third World. For the relaunch of its new website, the company asked Etextera to write "crisp" copy, according to the agency.