Yves Demuth from the Observer wins the Prix Transparence 2022
He persistently demanded facts about young women in detention—and was able to prove that Swiss children in residential care were exploited in factories more often than previously known. For this, *Der Beobachter* journalist Yves Demuth is being awarded the 2022 Prix Transparence.
From ten of Publicity law.ch nominated entries, a jury of experts selected the Observer-contribution to the best transparency story of the past year. Based on the federal law on public access to information, the Observer-journalist Yves Demuth requested access to a database of the Federal Archives. The institutions to which teenagers from Yenish families were interned by welfare authorities until the mid-1970s are recorded in this database. It was only after pressure from those affected and researchers that the Observer-Journalist to information recorded in it.
In order to obtain such information from the archive's internal work aid, Demuth also fought back with the federal public information officer in an arbitration procedure. "I didn't understand the administration's data protection arguments," he says. The information he fought for was the basis for extensive research into what Demuth calls "a repressive system of welfare authorities designed to mold 16- to 20-year-old young women into demure and well-adjusted wives."
Second place was awarded to freelance journalist Catherine Duttweiler for her research on the energy transition. She won - also for the Observer - with an arbitration procedure a list of hydropower projects. These are to be activated if projects favored by a round table cannot be implemented.
The journalist Florent Quiquerez will be honored with his in Le Matin Dimanche for his article on lobbying by soft drink manufacturers. He was able to prove with administrative documents that a bill on mandatory dental insurance was fought with money from sweet drink manufacturers.
Regional Award for Centralplus
For the first time this year, the best regional entry was also chosen (Werbewoche.ch reported). The Prix Transparence Regio is won by the Central Switzerland news platform Centralplus. Journalist Kilian Küttel meticulously researched the unexpected resignation of Zug Security Director Beat Villiger. Based on Zug's public access law, he requested government council minutes that addressed Villiger's state of health, his time out and his resignation.
According to these, even before the official resignation, the security directorate's business and procedures were examined - with the utmost discretion - "to ensure that they were in order". In second place for the Regio Prize was Philipp Zimmermann of the Aargauer newspaper. He made public an intervention of the director of justice of the canton of Aargau for illegal driving ban surveillance by the police. The French-speaking Swiss journalist Chloé Din of 24 Heures is awarded third place. The newspaper fought in court for access to an audit report on the 235 million franc Centre Sportif de Malley and was able to show how risky decisions were made.
Overall has Publicity law.ch 81 contributions from the press, radio and TV were evaluated, which were realized in 2022 with the help of a publicity law. Ten of them were nominated for the Prix Transparence 2022.
