Many highlights at the new "old" Alpine Symposium 2020
The Alpine Symposium in Interlaken had many highlights to offer on Tuesday and Wednesday, one of which was the visit of the former Speaker of the British House of Commons, John Bercow, patriot and self-confessed Roger Federer fan. After a one-year break, the Alpensymposium once again lived up to its reputation as a high-level networking and knowledge platform.
The Alpine Symposium always has a lot to offer: Entrepreneurial knowledge from well-known and lesser-known experts, economic policy assessments, but also plenty of entertainment and networking opportunities. After a one-year creative break, host Oliver Stoldt did not reinvent the wheel, but continued to rely on the tried and tested. Florian Inhauser made his debut as moderator and led through the two-day event at the Grandhotel Jungfrau Victoria in Interlaken in a whimsical and eloquent manner.
Patriot, EU and Roger Federer supporter
The Alpine Symposium 2020 had many highlights to offer. One of them was the appearance on Wednesday of the former speaker of the British House of Commons, John Bercow, who as a patriot remains convinced that Brexit is a mistake. However, he accepts Britain's democratic decision to leave the EU at the end of January, Bercow told a media roundtable at the Alpine Symposium. Bercow, who became a media star with his impressive "Order, Order" shouts during the Brexit debates, was quite moderate in Interlaken and did not comment on whether it would be better for Switzerland to be in or out of the EU. He said he understood too little about Swiss politics. Bercow did, however, see parallels between Switzerland and Great Britain after Brexit. With regard to Switzerland, Bercow, a licensed tennis instructor, declared himself to be an "all-time" fan of Roger Federer and scored points with his astonishing detailed knowledge of the world star, whom he once had the privilege of interviewing as a guest presenter for a British radio station.
I want to have fun
Popular with the audience were, among others, the keynotes of the "king of pickpockets" Christian Lindemann, the lawyer and hut warden Kai Leonie Tschan, the astronaut trainer Laura Winterling and especially the German Olympic champion and world champion in track cycling Kristina Vogel, who is paraplegic after an accident. Kristina Vogel, who still received the golden key of the city of Interlaken in the evening, showed herself fully motivated to enjoy life even in her wheelchair. "What is important is what we make of it," she explained set up. "Life is beautiful, I want to have fun".
But smart city specialist Ayesha Khanna, UBS innovator Martin Meyer, the founder of the think tank civicLab, Anja Wyden Guelpa, pilot and team coach Philip Keil, and Swiss brain researcher and Starmind and Mindfire founder Pascal Kaufmann, who argued for human-like artificial intelligence through a network of highly intelligent people, also knew how to inspire the audience. On Wednesday morning, Google Chief Innovation Evangelist Frederik G. Pferdt tried to convince the audience to turn away from the habit of always critically questioning ideas first and, as optimists, to recognize the opportunities and let them grow. Like Pferdt, marketing professor Marcus Schögel, in his humorous way, advocated allowing experiments and, above all, understanding customer processes and not thinking primarily in terms of the product.
A hacker attack can be expected at any time
Cyber security specialist Peter Hacker appealed to the visitors of the Alpine Symposium to expect a hacker attack at any time in view of the growing threats in cyberspace and to have a response plan ready. SRF Middle East correspondent Pascal Weber explained the background to the armed conflicts in the Middle East and why the USA and Iran consider themselves mortal enemies. TV journalist and China & Middle East expert Martina Fuchs informed the audience about the progress and intentions behind the new Silk Road pushed by the "powerhouse" China.
iPad magician and brainstore
In an exciting and unique performance, iPad magician and digitalization specialist Simon Pierro made digitalization visible at the Alpine Symposium 2020. "Get. It. Done." demanded the innovative entrepreneur Nadja Schnetzler, who has since realized more than 1,000 projects for her international clientele with 80 employees and 3,000 freelancers from her global ideas store called BrainStore, which she opened in 1997.
At the well-attended dinner on Tuesday evening, Alpensymposium founder Oliver Stoldt informed his audience that he intends to continue until at least the 20th edition. The next edition of the event, which defines itself as one of the leading knowledge transfer and networking events, will take place again on January 12 and 13, 2021, at the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel and Spa in Interlaken. This year's edition attracted entrepreneurs, C-level, innovative entrepreneurs and representatives of SMEs.
