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During today’s press conference launching the upcoming event, Daniel Rossellat, Mayor of Nyon said that the boom in economic development in recent years was an important opportunity for the region.

Rossellat added, “The authorities should not be content to simply admire this economic dynamism. Their role is question how such economic development should evolve and to anticipate problems so as to ensure that the measures taken are sustainable and counter the negative effects of strong growth.”

Philip Jennings, General Secretary, UNI Global Union said this was the moment for local people to seize the opportunity to have their voices heard.



Jennings told reports, “This is a time of key choices because we face a stark test – by 2030 there will be a population of 1.3 million squeezed between the Jura and Lac Leman and this growth will take imagination and planning to accommodate. During Et Maintenant? we will challenge everyone to bring fresh ideas to the table. We will gather leaders from the region who able to clearly identify the challenges ahead and leaders from abroad who are going through a similar process of dealing with fast growth. Equally the public will be encouraged to make their views known. ”



The forum is an opportunity for local people to raise their concerns with politicians and others responsible for developing the Léman region as well as contribute to the debate themselves. Growth in the region has outperformed both the rest of Switzerland and Europe. This growth rate is changing the demographics of the region with a net increase of 100,000 people expected to be living in the area by the end of the decade, raising issues around infrastructure, education, housing, health and the environment.



These topics will be debated from several different view points both from within the Léman region and beyond. From within the region, Devendra Rana from WWF International will give a NGO perspective from a local level, Frédérique Reeb-Landry, Director General Proctor & Gamble in Geneva will bring ideas from the corporate sector and François Longchamp, a State Counsellor of the Republic and the Canton of Geneva will draw on his experiences of developing Geneva. From outside of the region, Lisa Thorsen from the Municipality of Copenhagen will discuss the city’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025 and Reinherdt Hoek from the Municipality of Utrecht will relate how the city is balancing a growth rate of 30 percent per 15 years with environmental demands.



The Et Maintenant? forum is co-organised by the town of Nyon, the publication Bilan and UNI Global Union and will be held 08.30-13.00, 30 September at UNI Global Union headquarters, 8-10 Av. Reverdil 1260 Nyon.



Media Contact Richard Elliott, Deputy Director of Communications, UNI Global Union: richard.elliott@uniglobalunion.org