Foundation of the association: Swiss Metaverse Association

The list is long and the mix is colourful: from the exhibition organiser MCH and the watch retailer Bucherer to the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the telecom providers Sunrise and Swisscom, everyone is involved. The Swiss Metaverse Association has 47 members from all kinds of sectors and disciplines. The recently founded association wants to work for favourable framework conditions "so that Switzerland, as a future location for the Metaverse, is one of the best in the world".

The broad interest in membership in the Swiss Metaverse Association This is not least due to the fact that many expect that the so-called metaverse, this digital and interactive parallel universe that is still largely unused today, will soon be a hotbed of activity. The driving forces at the international level are tech giants like Meta, Microsoft and Sony. Of these corporations, Meta Switzerland is also a member of the new association.

"Nobody knows what the new virtual spaces will look like".

"We agree that the virtualisation of physical space will become a reality and that many new technologies will merge," Tina Balzli and Alexandra Hofer, who chair the new Metaverse lobby association, tell us. However, they continue, no one knows what these new virtual spaces will look like and what this will mean for people, companies, society and Switzerland.

The impetus for the foundation came from informal discussion groups, which grew larger and larger. At some point, the need arose to structure this exchange.

Board member Daniel Diemers, Head Expert Tribe, explains: "We want to learn together, develop ideas, find synergies, work out the challenges and opportunities of the metaverse and thus ensure that Switzerland becomes one of the most attractive and best metaverse locations in the world."

Landmark parliamentary decision

What the association wants to tackle first and where it sees the priority fields of action on the way to the ambitious goal of creating "an innovative and globally leading Swiss metaverse ecosystem" is still open. "We want to explore this together with our members," say the two co-presidents of the Swiss Metaverse Association. Tina Balzli and Alexandra Hofer believe that the conditions for this to succeed are ideal in Switzerland. They point to the unanimous decision of parliament to create better framework conditions for the technology of distributed electronic registers (distributed ledger technology, DLT). In autumn 2020, the National Council and Council of States adapted ten existing laws that made Switzerland one of the world's best blockchain locations. "We want to build on this," say the co-presidents of the new Metaverse association confidently.

Source: personal / Swiss Metaverse Association