Culture
Switzerland is known for its cultural diversity. Swiss cultural policy promotes culture as an essential element of an open and democratic society.
Cultural participation, creation and innovation, social cohesion
The Federal Office of Culture (FOC) is the federal government’s specialist body for cultural policy. It promotes a diverse and high-quality cultural landscape to drive creativity and innovation in Switzerland. It supports broad public participation in cultural life and contributes to the preservation and societal significance of cultural heritage. It is committed to sustainable and high-quality architectural culture. The FOC supports amateur culture, cultural traditions and traditional craftsmanship. It promotes multilingualism and dialogue between language and cultural regions and thereby contributes to social cohesion in Switzerland. The FOC also promotes collaboration and coordination among stakeholders. In its work, it takes into account the cultural policies of the cantons, towns and communes. At the international level, the FOC is committed to protecting cultural heritage and cultural diversity.
Federal cultural institutions
The FOC is responsible for the fields of film, architectural culture, cultural production, culture and society, as well as for museums and collections. It oversees the following cultural institutions: the Swiss National Library (Bern), including the Swiss National Sound Archives (Lugano), the Swiss Literary Archives (Bern), the Prints and Drawing Department (Bern) and the Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel. The FOC also owns and operates four museums: the Oskar Reinhart Collection ‘Am Römerholz’ (Winterthur), Museo Vincenzo Vela (Ligornetto), the Museum of Music Automatons (Seewen) and the St. George’s Abbey Museum (Stein am Rhein), as well as the federal art collections.