What can Switzerland do to optimally realize its economic interests with respect to China?
The Swiss government has despite its promise made years ago not decided on, much less released, a foreign policy strategy tailored to China. Prompted by this lacuna and increasingly loud voices lamenting it, foraus’ Asia program released a policy brief in early January outlining 12 crucial policy domains pertaining to China in which important Swiss stakeholders should and can take action. Several of the 12 domains deal with economic questions, on which this Policy Kitchen challenge will zoom in.
With our policy brief serving as inspiration, we urge you to put forward your own ideas regarding what economic stakeholders can do to further their interests with respect to China, as well as challenge, further develop and think beyond the economic recommendations in the policy brief. Through brainstorming, collaboration and refinement during our Policy Cooking workshops and on this unique crowdsourcing platform, the challenge will aim to answer the above question related to the economic rise of China and its implications for Swiss economic stakeholders.
Policy Kitchen Asia is an experimental, crowdsourcing-based and grass-roots approach that is part of a broader effort by foraus’ Asia program to bring together expertise and interest in Chinese politics, be it domestic, international or as it pertains to Switzerland’s foreign policy. Alongside Policy Kitchen, foraus Asia will launch publications, a German newsletter and an event series to connect China competences in Switzerland.
The Policy Kitchen Journey
Over the course of three months, we will guide you in formulating proposals to answer the above challenge and you will have the opportunity to pitch them to the relevant stakeholders at our final pitch event in June.
First you will meet like-minded participants at one of our Policy Cooking events in Zurich (March 19) or Geneva (March 27) and with our help form working groups around your proposals. Guest speakers will provide brief thematic inputs at the beginning of every Policy Cooking event and experts will be present during the event and afterwards to provide you with valuable feedback on your proposals.
In the following weeks you will work on your proposals in the groups formed at the Policy Cooking event. By mid-April, a team of moderators will screen your proposals and decide which groups will have the opportunity to pitch them at the final event in June.
We want your proposals to land in the right hands and to have the maximum impact possible, which is why the pitch event with the stakeholders relevant to your proposals in June is an integral part of the journey.
After the final pitch, foraus offers various avenues for further developing your proposals beyond the pitch event. There is a possibility to publish them as blog posts or policy papers under the foraus umbrella supported by the Asia program and the Policy Kitchen team.
Please see the summary timeline of the challenge on the sidebar.
Team
Project team: Anna Boffo, Noah Sutter, Shuting Ling
Moderators (online): Agnieszka Wisniewska, Moritz Rudolf
Moderators (Policy Cooking): Charlotte Lenz
Coaches: Su Yun Woo
Heads of Program foraus Asia: Markus Herrmann, Michael Settelen
Project coordinator foraus: Jonas Nakonz