Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘education’

South African synergies: Swiss aim to strengthen ties

Posted in Current affairs, tagged , , , , , , , on September 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann leaves an exhibit at Constitution Hill, site of a former prison in Johannesburg. (© Susan Vogel-Misicka, swissinfo.ch)

Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann leaving an exhibit at Constitution Hill, site of a former prison in Johannesburg. (© Susan Vogel-Misicka, swissinfo.ch)

South Africa is Switzerland’s most important African trade partner – a point underscored in an official visit by Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann.

It was the first time a Swiss delegation included key members of the business as well as science communities … and yours truly, reporting for swissinfo.ch.

As Schneider-Ammann told me: “We wanted to open doors for our private sector representatives and contact the scientific community, and I wanted to get to know my South African colleagues and reactivate our personal ties. We achieved all of that.”

The economics minister, who had visited South Africa as an entrepreneur prior to his political career, said the country had changed “tremendously” in the meantime.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

 

Read Full Post »

Let’s write about sex

Posted in Health, tagged , , , , on June 20, 2013| 1 Comment »

Recognize it? This imaginative model of female genitalia was made by a Swiss sex educator. She prefers this style to the clinical-looking plastic ones. © swissinfo.ch

Recognize it? This imaginative model of female genitalia was made by a Swiss sex educator. She prefers this style to the clinical-looking plastic ones. © swissinfo.ch

When I suggested doing a special on sex education in Switzerland, I never imagined the creativity it could involve. And I never thought that such a whimsical rendition of female genitalia (in my favorite colors, even!) would be the lead image on swissinfo.ch for 24 hours.

For the article, part of my research included observing a secondary school lesson in Basel on AIDS prevention. The kids, aged 13-15, were friendly as well as funny. Their regular teacher had invited an external man-woman team to lead a 90-minute session. Too short! The kids clearly had a lot more questions about sex in general; what’s unclear is how they’ll find the answers. You can read my article here: In terms of sex ed, schools do their own thing

Meanwhile, my coworker made a video about the teacher in Bern who sews the plush models: Teacher makes her own sex educational models

Read Full Post »

Care drain threatens needy countries

Posted in Health, tagged , , , , , , on January 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Experts say incentives are needed to keep health care workers at home (© Medicus Mundi)

Switzerland is facing a dearth of health workers, but nothing like the shortages in developing countries where doctors and nurses have left for better opportunities.

To combat this problem, a coalition of Swiss health and humanitarian organisations has written a manifesto that addresses the worldwide need for properly trained healthcare professionals.

Click here to read the whole story on swissinfo.ch.

Read Full Post »

Doctors say weak students get too much therapy

Posted in Current affairs, tagged , , , , , , on November 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Attentive in an Alabama classroom in 1936 (Marion Post Wolcott)

More than half of Swiss schoolchildren are undergoing some sort of therapy in an effort to solve learning problems. That is far too many, according to the authors of a recently-published book on children with learning difficulties. They say that parents, teachers and doctors have unrealistic expectations of children.

Solothurn pediatrician Thomas Baumann and Zug pediatrician and youth psychiatrist Romedius Alber have written a 285-page book aimed at health professionals. Their goal is to reduce the numbers of children in therapy that might well be unnecessary.

Read the whole story here on swissinfo.ch.

 

Read Full Post »

Aunt Annie brings English to life

Posted in People, tagged , , , , , on February 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Learning English can be a lot of fun.

An English-speaking stranger pops into a Swiss classroom, and she seems a little confused. But soon, Aunt Annie has the children contributing eagerly to the conversation.

Follow the link below to listen in on my classroom visit with Aunt Annie:

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multimedia/audios_podcast/Aunt_Annie_goes_to_school.html?cid=29192398&view=podcastDetail&autoPlay=y

To learn more about the Aunt Annie programme, click here: http://www.auntannie.ch/



Read Full Post »

Older Posts »