Award Night 2022

On 10 September 2022, Swiss personalities and projects were honoured with the Swiss Diversity Award for their commitment to diversity and inclusion for the fourth time. In addition to the award ceremony, the event in the Kursaal Bern also offered an extraordinary supporting programme: Carmen Lopes Sway danced with a Bernese school class, for example. Model Manuela Frey auctioned off a picture of herself for a good cause and the results of the diversity study were presented.

In 2022, the Swiss Diversity Award was once again presented in the seven categories "LGBTQ+", "Gender", "Age", "Disability", "Education and Social Origin", "Nationality and Ethnic Origin" and "Religion and Belief". Unlike in previous years, however, there was not just one winner per category, but several. In doing so, the jury wanted to set an example and emphasise the importance of every commitment to a diverse and inclusive Switzerland.

The winners of the Swiss Diversity Awards 2022

This year's winners were presented with the Swiss Diversity Award 2022 during the award ceremony. In the "Gender" category, which is presented by MAC COSMETICS, Patent Ochsner backliner Katha Langstrumpf and lawyer Michel Montini were the winners. Patrizia Laeri left the stage with an award as Honorary Mention. Design Management student Tim Meier from Lucerne, the Queer Exhibition at the Natural History Museum in Bern and Honourary Mention Henry Hohmann received the award in the "LGBTQI" category, while Pro Senectute's Zeitlupe magazine, Pro Juventute's "Initiative against Bullying" and Swiss Badminton's "Super Girls play Badmington" integration project received the award in the "Age" category. Co-President of Operation Libero Sanija Ameti, artist Carmen Lopes Sway and Surprise magazine received the Swiss Diversity Award 2022 in the "Education and Social Origin" category, as did the Surprise association as an Honourable Mention. Comedian Charles Nguela and the Afro-dance association Café au Lait also received the award for their special commitment in the "Nationality and Ethnic Origin" category presented by JTI. In this category, Güzin Kar were honoured as Honorary Mention. The Living Museum in Wil, the Werkheim Uster and the Honorary Mention Gelati Gasparini won in the "Impairment" category and Asmaa Dehbi and Dina Wyler received the award in the "Religion and Belief" category for their commitment to combating anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim racism. In addition, the Allianz Lifetime Award was presented for the life's work of an outstanding personality. The award went to the Swiss racing wheelchair athlete Heinz Frei, who is considered one of the most successful Swiss athletes of all time. With the Swisscom Entrepreneurship Award, Swisscom also honoured a person who has demonstrated economic inventiveness in the face of social adversity: Jonas Staub, founder and CEO of Blindspot.

Workshops & forum encourage constructive dialogue

The forum took place during the day and was supplemented with new workshops on inclusive communication. These focussed on the so-called DEI topics - diversity, equity and inclusion. The topics of ethnic origin, physical impairment and social background as well as specific diversity measures were also discussed. "The direct exchange between large corporations, SMEs and family businesses could not have been more exciting. The exchange on the DEI topics revealed common potential and solutions. When so many different companies work side by side, then we are on the right track," says Stephan Lendi, initiator of the Swiss Diversity Association and moderator of the award.

Exceptional programme delights the audience

The award ceremony was accompanied by a 3-course gala dinner and various show acts, which drew standing ovations. For example, Aunt Carmen, alias Carmen Lopes Sway - sister of singer Marc Sway - performed a musical children's theatre with a school class from Bern, which she had recently rehearsed with the children, thus bringing the topics of diversity and inclusion closer to the little ones in a playful way. Carmen Lopes Sway then sang a duet with Renée Rousseau and moved from the background into the spotlight. The musicians were accompanied by the Swiss Diversity Band under the direction of Reyn Turner. And that's not all: the body painting by and with model Manuel Frey was unveiled and the online auction was launched. Tobias Reichmuth, known from "Die Höhle der Löwen", had previously placed an initial bid of 5,000 Swiss francs - now you can bid diligently at swissdiversity-shop.myshopify.com. The proceeds will go to a good

Diversity study reveals astonishing facts

The diversity study, which was conducted in collaboration with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), was presented for the first time at the Swiss Diversity Award Night 2022. The study reveals astonishing results: strategic management of diversity and inclusion increases the competitive advantage of companies by boosting their creativity, innovation and brand attractiveness and reducing the shortage of skilled labour. The results should inspire Swiss companies to stand up for a diverse and inclusive corporate culture.

Renée Rousseau has spent her life on stage as a backing singer with stars such as Céline Dion and Phil Collins, but also behind numerous Swiss stars including Marc Sway and Natacha. At the Swiss Diversity Awards 2022, she told her musical story with the support of Big Reggie, Natascha, Reyn Turner and the Swiss Diversity Band.

As Aunt Carmen, Carmen Lopes Sway brings a lot of joy and lightness to children's everyday lives with her musical children's theatre. She takes the children on a bus journey with Jimmy Brumm. Aunt Carmen's stories focus on the diversity of people, among other things. The children are taken on a colourful journey while singing, dancing and playing. The songs and the "Bus Trip with Aunt Carmen" programme are based on an educational background. It conveys diversity and inclusion among the children in a playful way.

Born showman Reyn hails from the sunny shores of South Africa and lights up the stage as a singer and actor, combining his passion for music with his love of entertainment. In 2012, he followed his heart to Switzerland and quickly established himself in the arts and culture industry. Before coming to Switzerland, Reyn performed in several professional musical theatre productions and was an official artist at international events. During his career in Switzerland, he has appeared in several television commercials and local musicals, and was recently a contestant on The Voice of Switzerland.

The presenter hosts a wide range of events, programmes and panels in German, English and French in both business and NGO environments and is one of the main presenters at the Zurich Film Festival. He lends his voice to programmes such as Höhle der Löwen, Master Chef Switzerland and Ninja Warrior. As a media and communication specialist, he is also involved in media, interview and camera training programmes to improve the communication skills of his clients from the worlds of politics and business. At Swiss Diversity, he is responsible for the Swiss Diversity Forum and hosts the Blue Zoom Diversity Talks.

Jasmina Chouchan, business economist FH, customer advisor in the healthcare sector and trilingual moderator (D/F/E) lives and represents diversity and inclusion from the inside out. For me, inclusion means the ability to break down prejudices and accept everyone as a person, even if they don't fit into the - conscious or unconscious - mental patterns that have previously been regarded as the norm. Diversity, on the other hand, means for me the number of people with different ethnicities and orientations who are included in an organisation, a group or a team. It is therefore quantifiable. A representation of diversity without inclusion is like a well without water. I am delighted that inclusion and diversity are finally being recognised and celebrated. It's more than a buzzword, it's a movement!

At first glance, this green-eyed blonde could easily be mistaken for a "white girl". Until she says her name: Ana Maria Montero, and the way she rolls her "r" immediately identifies her as Latina. Fortunately, it's a label she adopts "de corazón". Born to a Cuban mother and a Spanish father in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia (in the deep south of the USA), she experienced a tricultural and trilingual reality rich in diversity. Montero grew up professionally in the CNN family - literally from intern to anchor desk - working for CNN international, CNN Español, CNN andHLN in English and Spanish across the Americas. Montero returned to the studio and to CNN in 2017 when she joined the CNNMoney Switzerland team as anchor of its flagship business and finance programme, The Swiss Pulse.