Mankind is „capable of being improved by free and equal discussion” – John Stuart Mill
The Zurich Salon advocates freedom of expression and rational discussion in the Enlightenment tradition. It promotes open-ended debate in an atmosphere of mutual respect. The Zurich Salon’s objective is to push the boundaries of public discussion and widen our horizons. It creates a public space to critically and constructively explore contemporary issues. It serves the purpose of building a public arena where dialogue is welcomed to promote intergenerational perspectives.
While the Zurich Salon embraces debate on contentious issues, it trusts the audience to come to its own well-founded and, most likely, conflicted conclusions. The Salon’s ethos is that it is only through open debate that we come to know and develop our own opinions and formulate informed judgments about the views of others. We intend to share ideas and have fun in the company of a diverse crowd from all walks of life. So drink, food, films, live music, and other art forms form a big part of the picture.
History
The Zurich Salon was established as a Swiss Verein in January 2014 to promote public discourse through debates and other events. That year the Salon held five events. Four of these were panel debates and the other was a comedy show about neuroscience previously performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and other venues throughout the UK. The panel debates covered neuroscience, free speech, technology and ethics, and corporate social responsibility. The Salon also worked with two other organisations during the year: the Denkfest, which organised a four-day science-based series of lectures and debates in Zurich, and the Institute of Ideas, which runs an annual programme of discussions known as the Battle of Ideas for which we staged an international satellite debate.
In 2015 the Zurich Salon continued with our panel debate format, covering three major topics. In addition, we launched a new, less formal event marketed as Friends of the Salon. This allows people to discuss an issue in detail in an informal atmosphere. The Zurich Salon worked with two other organisations during the year. The first was the Institute of Ideas for which we managed our second international satellite debate in October. The other was our collaboration with the Zentrum Karl der Grosse in Zurich, which provided us with rooms and other facilities, and promoted our events as part of its overall programme. Topics included discussing the European Union, Gender Quotas and the Arts.
Since 2016, the Zurich Salon continued to offer a series of events in three different formats: ‘An Evening With,’ ‘Friends of the Salon,’ and the ‘Panel Discussion.’ Themes discussed included Science and Ethics, the phenomenon and motivation of Westerners joining terrorist groups and the importance of Human Rights and Democracy. In 2017 the same framework was offered once again touching on issues relating to the Philosophy of Time, as well a renewed partnership with the Denkfest. In 2018 we also collaborated once again with the Battle of Ideas by hosting several international satellite debates in partnership with the University of Zurich and Volkshochschule Zurich. This one-day event attracted a large audience and featured speakers from Switzerland, Europe and the United Kingdom.