There are a million questions that come up during an international move, and one of the most pressing for families is: Where do I send my kids to school? This is no simple question. Finding and vetting schools and arranging enrollment can be a challenge, and the choice of a school can shape a family’s social life and cultural adjustment.
Bailout for St. Jakob's Arena; Banner year for Basel HerbstMesse; Fitness Expo Comes to Basel; New Entrepreneur's Program For Basel Students
News For 10 November 2015
The financial woes of the St. Jakob's Arena have been temporarily solved. The problems began last year when the EHC Basel hockey team, also called the Sharks, declared bankruptcy, and despite a history dating back to 1932 and 5 championship seasons, the team suspended its activities. The arena, without it's main tenant, struggled financially until this week, when according to its management Board, an agreement was made with the IWB (Basel's local utility company) and the Basler Cantonal Bank, with whose sponsorship the arena can continue to operate. In addition to direct sponsorship, the two companies will also provide power and cooling and loans to cover the costs to operate the facility. The home to many of Basel's largest sporting tournaments and music concerts, the city hopes to find a long term buyer for the arena that can make the necessary investments in infrastructure and promotion to keep it a going cultural concern. ********************************* The 545th annual Basel HerbstMesse is proving to be the best one in modern memory for its operators and promoters. Benefitting from the ideal weather conditions, visitors that normally come with fixed budgets are finding a reason to return and stay longer as the T-shirt weather continues into mid November. More than a million visitors have been to the Herbstmesse - Switzerland's oldest fair, since its start just over a week ago. Adding to the attraction of the fair this year was a new 80 meter tall Free Fall Tower at the MessePlatz, which has proven to be tremendously popular according to the operator of the ride. Toni Bürdel, operator of the food stall Seppe-Toni-Grill in Messeplatz, said, "This [crowd and weather] is something I have not experienced in 35 years". ****************************If fitness is your thing - or if you've been thinking of getting fit, then Basel was the place to be this past weekend. The St. Jakobshalle was the site of the first Swiss Fitness Expo whose promoters picked Basel deliberately because no other Swiss city has the same level of interest in fitness. Expo organizer Alexander Huser said,"On average, 10% of Swiss people participate in some sort of fitness as measured by their purchases of subscriptions at one of Switzerland's 1147 fitness centers. And, while that is very good compared to international averages, in Basel, more than 20% of people participate in some sort of organized and recurring fitness activity". Spanning Saturday and Sunday, the expo had 60 exhibitors featuring the latest trends in exercise and sport fashion. The most popular booths expected this year were those focused on Crossfit, and group fitness programs that offer a boot-camp like experience. In addition, there is tremendous interest in the use of so-called eGym services, which allow individuals to tailor their personal exercise and fitness regimens using smartphones and downloadable Apps. Over 10,000 visitors were expected for expo premiere.
************************ A new program called "Entrepreneurship Campus" sponsored by the Basel Stadt trade association will start this January. The goal of the program is to address the shortage of skilled workers and inspire young adults and will start with a class of 20 people. Commercial Trade Association director Gabriel Barell announced the program at a media briefing yesterday and highlighted its unique status in Switzerland. While specialized vocational apprenticeships and sports programs are many, there are none that focus on entrepreneurship. The program will expose participants to specialized sessions, workshops and individual coaching from mentors in the business community. Mr Barell, emphasized that the program is still searching for financial commitments from scholarships and foundations for its current 5 year plan.