CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today the Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, and Basel-Stadt State Councillor, Baschi Dürr, will meet to discuss the long-standing partnership between the two states.
The delegation from Basel is in town to take part in the celebration event for swissnex Boston's 15th anniversary; the Canton of Basel-Stadt is the main partner. Basel will be be presenting itself at the "Stämpfli Tour" as a dynamic location for research and innovation. It will also be raffling a trip to Switzerland to visit Basel.
swissnex Boston works to connect North America and Switzerland in science, art, education, and innovation. Learn more here.
During a meeting between the Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, and Basel-Stadt State Councillor, Baschi Dürr, the long-standing partnership between the state of Massachusetts and the Swiss Canton of Basel-Stadt will be strengthened today, Friday. The reason for the delegation visit from Basel is the 15-year anniversary of swissnex Boston, in which the Canton of Basel-Stadt is the main partner. With visual presence and an accompanying competition, Basel presents itself at today's anniversary event and during the forthcoming "Stämpfli Tour" as a dynamic location for research and innovation.
Today, Friday, the Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker and Basel State Councillor, Baschi Dürr, are meeting in Boston to talk about the Sister State Agreement. The aim of this meeting is to intensify the successful cooperation in the areas of education and research, as well as economy and science (focusing on life sciences). "The Swiss Canton of Basel-Stadt has built up a successful partnership with Massachusetts that is based on many common features and that supports transfer of knowledge between the two locations", explains State Councillor Baschi Dürr. Examples of joint projects are the annual school exchange between high schools in Boston and grammar schools in Basel, the newly established Alumni Network 'Friends of Basel Networks in New England' or the 'Basel-Boston Night', which is organised by the University of Basel as part of the 'European Career Fair' at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The partnership between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Swiss Canton of Basel-Stadt was signed in 2002 and renewed by a proclamation in 2007. Today's meeting will establish the basis for continuing the fruitful relationship and successful exchange of ideas.
Basel Presents Itself with Globally Significant Events and Innovations
In connection with the Sister State Agreement between Basel and Massachusetts, the Canton of Basel-Stadt has been fostering close contact for many years with swissnex Boston, the oldest Swiss branch of the alliance for science, education, art and innovation. The Canton of Basel-Stadt is the main partner in the occasion of the 15-year anniversary of swissnex Boston. In a small exhibition, Basel presents globally significant events and innovations that originated in Basel and changed or continue to change the world in one way or another. The exhibition centres on the inventions of six selected personalities:
- Nobel Prize winner Tadeus Reichstein who was the first person to completely describe a vitamin, thus facilitating the industrial production of Vitamin C.
- Chemist Albert Hofmann who discovered LSD while trying to discover a cardiovascular agent.
- Paracelsus who became Basel's head doctor after he successfully saved a printer's leg from an impending amputation and marked the beginning of a revolution in the history of medicine.
- Gustav von Bunge who was a pioneering analyst of micro components in food and whose misinterpreted list of iron content led to the famous comic figure Popeye
- Paul Müller who discovered the effects of DDT as an insecticide, making it a worldwide sales hit.
- Christian Friedrich Schönbein who discovered ozone and later also determined a method to detect it.
The content of Basel's appearance is based on the publication "How Basel Changed the World" by Christoph Merian Verlag, which is also available in the USA as an eBook from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
At the centre of today's festivities at swissnex Boston is the public presentation of the "Stämpfli-Express" rowing boat. The boat is then going on a US tour lasting several weeks, during which it will stop at various regattas. With 24 seats and 144 feet in length, the Swiss-built rowing boat belonging to the company Stämpfli is the largest in the world. As part of the "Stämpfli Tour" by swissnex Boston, Basel is creating a visual presence, in collaboration with Basel Tourismus, including a competition where the main prize up for grabs is a weekend in Basel sponsored by Hotel Les Trois Rois.
Win a Weekend in Basel
As part of the "Stämpfli Tour" by swissnex Boston, the Canton of Basel-Stadt is giving away a main prize of a weekend in Basel sponsored by Grandhotel Les Trois Rois, as well as other attractive prizes:
- 1st prize A long weekend for two including flights, three overnight stays and a cultural programme in Basel.
- 2nd prize $200 Swissbäkers voucher, handmade fresh products made by a Swiss baker.
- 3rd prize Swatch Watch, special edition 'Basel' (black), Swiss-made.
- 4th to 10th prize A can of 'Basler Läckerli', a biscuit specialty from Basel.
More Information
Sabine Horvath Head of External Affairs and Marketing, Canton of Basel-Stadt
Telephone: +41 (0)79 623 30 14
Email: sabine.horvath@bs.ch
Websites: www.marketing.bs.ch/massachusetts www.swissnexboston.org