The SwissGames initiative by Pro Helvetia has been selected in UNESCO’s quadrennial period report on the «Convention of the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions» as a best practice to support the digital transformation of cultural and creative industries.

UNESCO’s report highlights, for the defined period (2016-2019), which tools have been successfully implemented in respect of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions that Switzerland has ratified in 2008.
The Convention constitutes an important reference point supporting the Confederation’s cultural policy, which is based on the principles of cultural and linguistic diversity, participation of the greatest possible number of people in cultural life and social cohesion, and also serves as a reference for Switzerland’s development cooperation policy.

For Switzerland, the coordination of this report was entrusted to the Federal Office of Culture (OFC) and the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA). Their mandate was to consult all stakeholders and to collect proposals. The report therefore presents a wide variety of measures – developed by both authorities and civil society actors in the fields of cultural policy, international cooperation and the integration of culture in sustainable development policies – that contribute to the objectives of the Convention in Switzerland and abroad.

The SwissGames initiative has been selected among the policies, measures or mechanisms put in place to support the digital transformation of cultural and creative industries. This is another positive signal towards the foundation’s commitment to promote video games as high potential cultural goods. Since January 2021 Pro Helvetia offers ongoing support for interactive media in its new Design and Interactive Media division, after more than ten years of support through various programmes. The SwissGames initiative, launched in 2017, is designed to promote Swiss video games on an international level. Its main mission is to help Swiss developers gain visibility, establish contacts with the international game industry and access global markets. Under the label SwissGames, Pro Helvetia has been organizing or supporting Swiss participation at major industry event, thus contributing to the development of the Swiss game scene.