ProgrammE

Swiss companies shape innovation, markets, and society far beyond national borders. Where does their impact come from, and how do they contribute to Europe’s competitiveness amid geopolitical uncertainty and technological transformation? Join us for a discussion on Swissness, entrepreneurship, responsibility, and the future of Switzerland as a business location.

How do organisations move from AI ambition to measurable impact? Drawing on real cases, this session examines the gap between what boards approve and what operations deliver – and why the people building AI are a generation younger than those deciding on it. Bring your own case: we work through them live and leave with a diagnosis of your own organisation.

Pandemic, war, energy, trade: six years of shocks. For some European leaders, holding the line was never the goal. They used the disruption to make a decision they had been postponing, and came out with a position that differentiated them in their own field. No slides, no pitch: one conversation, one exercise for the room.

Europe's competitiveness has been diagnosed many times. As the next EU budget is negotiated around competitiveness, this session turns the question around: where has Europe already proven it can compete, and what can the rest of the continent learn from it? Business leaders from Central Europe, including an innovative fintech that has grown into an international player, share what made their success possible. Participants then test these lessons against their own organisations in table discussions. The result is a set of practical lessons on what works in Europe.

Europe faces major upheavals across policy areas, demanding far-reaching decisions today to secure tomorrow's security, competitiveness and prosperity. Addressing these challenges requires both experienced leaders and the next generation who will be affected. In this session, Lucerne Dialogue Fellows pitch sharp theses on Europe's toughest questions, then lead spontaneous small-group discussions bridging generations for a stronger Europe.