In a conversation with Bern's mayor Alec von Graffenried, we discover the significance of the national exhibition for the city of Bern, why sustainability planning should be taken for granted and what every generation can contribute to NEXPO.

Every national exhibition is completely different from the previous one and all the others before it. Every national exhibition is a product of its time. The current exhibition is special because even though the previous exhibition did not take place in just one city, in one place, but four places. What’s happening right now is just taking this idea to its logical conclusion, spreading the exhibition all over Switzerland. Thanks to virtual networking available today, we can organise a national exhibition in different places and bring people together at the same time, making the most of what’s possible today.

Urbanisation is a global phenomenon. It’s a phenomenon in Switzerland as well , with more and more people are living in cities or urban areas. Our cities are growing again, and offer an excellent quality of life and are highly attractive. The cities are faring well again, and that’s why we want to project this positive feeling and this open-mindedness to the world and the rest of the country. And NEXPO is perfect for that.

And I also think that the way we live together will not be all that different in the future. We still need to create new social networks to reach out to one another within the cities. We should give voice to the overreaching national exhibition topics: a sense of home, a feeling of belonging and solidarity. With this we have a very successful strategy and, of course, we want to show and share it.

It goes without saying that sustainability is the most important and dominating issue of the 21st century. And of course, the NEXPO will have to show that we can promote sustainability. The concept of decentralisation itself already speaks to the fact that we can live together as a community, or that you don’t have to travel across all of Switzerland to get to one location. You can experience the NEXPO in the city that is closest to you personally. All these aspects show very well how we incorporate sustainability.

We will ensure that any infrastructure buildings that are necessary, can also be used sustainably in the future. Building infrastructure only to subsequently demolish it is an approach we have to get away from. We also have to see what infrastructure we want to use in the future.

Top of the list for me is our open and integrated society – that everybody can get along with everybody else. And the national exhibition is a great meeting point for people from all walks of life to get together.

What every generation has in common is the desire for a future and prospects. To open up new prospects – that’s where the younger and older generations meet. Maybe you don’t have the same perspective on things or the same understanding, but that exactly is the opportunity that a national exhibition presents us with: to show the status of development possibilities. This is something that will always be on our minds: What will the future look like, in 20 years maybe, what will be possible in 40 years, what will my children’s lives be like, the lives of their children? The future is of great interest to us up to the end and that is also something that connects generations.

Bern possesses something that holds Switzerland together, keeps us connected, because it is the capital and the focus of attention in politics. And so Bern is supposed to create connections, and we are very good at this. It is something we have in our blood, creating connections. If we are able to demonstrate that and implement it for the NEXPO, then we will have played the part that Bern was meant to very well.