San Francisco and Zurich to form knowledge-sharing partnership
12 Nov 2003
In an effort to enhance economic and intellectual knowledge-sharing between two similar regions, San Francisco and Zurich are coming together to forge the San Francisco-Zurich Initiative (SFZH Initiative).
The program, aimed at facilitating and supporting activities that bring together leading companies and institutions from both regions, is being chaired in Zurich by Walter Anderau, Member of the Executive Board of Swiss Re, a leading global reinsurer, and in San Francisco by Dick Fredericks, former US Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
The SF-ZH Initiative will be kicked off with the signing of a partnership agreement by San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown , Jr., and Zurich Mayor Elmar Ledergerber, at 4 pm, Thursday, November 13 at the War Memorial Veterans Building, 410 Van Ness Ave., in San Francisco. The ceremony will be attended by various government and business leaders from both regions.
"What makes this partnership stand apart from others of this kind is that it is first and foremost based on the sharing of knowledge and expertise," said Anderau. "We will enable scientific, educational, cultural and corporate organizations to jointly create valuable and meaningful results - and transferring into businesses successes - while at the same time establishing a strong link from the heart of Europe to the US West Coast."
On Friday, Nov. 14, swissnex, the cooperative exchange platform in San Francisco, which fosters partnerships between Switzerland and Western USA and Canada in the areas of science, technology, education, entrepreneurship, art and innovation, will officially open its doors at 730 Montgomery Street in San Francisco.
During the two days, there will be various workshops and presentations highlighting different facets of the SFZH Initiative, swissnex and the Swiss platform in general in San Francisco.
"The SFZH Initiative and swissnex will create synergies that will enable our partners and members to profit from an outstanding network of knowledge sharing, impacting not only the Greater Zurich and Bay Areas, but a much wider audience," said Anderau.
About the San Francisco-Zurich Initiative:
The SFZH Initiative is a non-profit organization with a unified Board of Directors consisting of two committees, one based in San Francisco and the other in Zurich.
About Swiss Re:
Swiss Re is a leading reinsurer and the world's largest life and health reinsurer. The company is global, operating from 70 offices in 30 countries. Since its foundation in 1863, Swiss Re has been in the reinsurance business. Swiss Re has three business groups: Property & Casualty, Life & Health and Financial Services. Swiss Re offers a wide range of traditional reinsurance products and related services, which are complemented by insurance-based corporate finance solutions and supplementary services. Swiss Re is rated "AA" by Standard & Poor's, "Aa1" by Moody's and "A+" by A.M. Best.
Contacts:
Angela Marti, 011 41 79 207 2777
Michael McNamara, +1 212 317 5663
