Discovering SWITZERLAND!
Student Text Page No. 3: "Through Its Heritage"

Q.   Every society honors its own heritage. But how can you tell what that is?
A.   Pay attention to the traditions that the society holds on to. Look at the origins of its government. And notice how it relates, as a society, to the rest of the world. Take Switzerland, for example….

ASKING QUESTIONS
Setting: A classroom in California
Characters: Mr. Raj, a teacher; students Lee and Kim Dow; other students, including Jesse, P.J., and Sonia

THE DOWS' REPORT
Mr. Raj: Good afternoon, club members! It's time for this meeting of our World Cultures Club to begin. Last week, Amy's report helped us to explore Nigeria. This week, Lee and Kim will talk about their visit to Switzerland. Well, Kim?
Kim: Thanks, Mr. Raj. First, we'd like to hand out a fact sheet on Switzerland.
Lee: You'll see a map sketch, and some quotes from the journals we kept on our trip. Take a few minutes to read it….
Kim: Is everybody ready? Okay. If you look at the map, you'll notice lines that mark off Switzerland's four language regions. In each region, most kids grow up learning a different language — German, French, Italian, or Romansch. Their textbooks, newspapers, and TV news use that regional language, too….
Sonia: What's Romansch?
Lee: It's very old. Less than one percent of the Swiss people speak it. But the other three languages are official in Switzerland. Meaning: The government publishes all its laws in French, Italian, and German….
Kim: There are other differences between the regions, too. In one region, the people's customs might resemble German customs. In another place, the local customs might seem French, or Italian. Local foods and festivals — and even architecture — are clues to each region's special culture. Even tourists from other countries can spot these clues.

MANY CULTURES?
P.J.: Why is it important to know that?
Lee: Because, when you're talking about world cultures, you have to ask yourself: Do the people of Switzerland form one culture? Or three?
Mr. Raj: Well, they are one nation.
Kim: Yes. We researched that. Swiss territory was once covered by small independent states. Then, over the centuries, those states (they're now called cantons) joined an alliance to defend their freedom. Later, that alliance became the Swiss Confederation, a democracy.
Lee: The cantons, towns, and people still hold a lot of power, though…. In fact, cantons are the basis for Swiss citizenship. For example: If you're a citizen of Canton Zug, that makes you a Swiss citizen.
Kim: But the Confederation's government has power, too. It issues the national currency, the Swiss franc. It makes trade treaties. And it represents the interests of the Swiss people to other nations and groups. Switzerland belongs to the UN, for example. But it won't join any international organization whose rules might contradict Swiss laws.
Jesse: But how does any of that prove that all the Swiss people share a common culture?

ONE PEOPLE
Lee: Here's our argument: All Swiss people support their country's federal system. And, by doing that, they all help to form a national culture.
Mr. Raj: Do you mean a "political culture"?
Kim: Well, yes. But they share other things, besides politics. In Zurich, we visited the Swiss National Museum, where there were exhibits on all the Swiss regions. And we saw sculptures by Alberto Giacometti. He was from the country's Italian-speaking region, but he's popular everywhere.
Lee: The Swiss have national heroes, too. We visited relatives in Lucerne, and they said the whole country admires Bertrand Piccard.
Kim: He was the Swiss co-pilot on the first non-stop balloon flight around the globe in 1999.
Lee: They also told us about Henry Dunant, who helped to found the Red Cross. Dunant won the first Nobel Peace Prize, in 1901.
Kim: And that brings up another point. Our cousins said that Swiss people work hard, as a nation, to solve global problems — poverty, conflict, disease….
Lee: They cooperate — big time! — with any group or nation trying to find solutions to global problems. For example, the World Health Organization is based in Switzerland.
Kim: So: The Swiss preserve their regional cultures. But they live as a nation, too. Here's a quote from the Swiss constitution that sums it all up: "We, the Swiss people and cantons … in solidarity and openness to the world … are determined to live our diversity in unity, respecting one another."
Mr. Raj: That's wonderful…. Thank you, Kim, and Lee! Well! I'm convinced there's a true "Swiss culture." What do the rest of you think?

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