ANU students celebrate Swiss culture

Nine of the University’s students studying the official languages of Switzerland have been recognised at the annual Swiss Prize ceremony.

The prize, which is jointly offered by the Swiss Embassy and the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, recognises students who excel at Italian, German and French.

The theme of the prize this year was ‘Migration’. Students entered essays, written in one of the Swiss languages, and there were nine prizes awarded. Students received $1,800 in prize money.

‘Migration’ provided a splendid opportunity for students to delve into an issue of great relevance to both Switzerland and Australia. The topic allowed students to engage in trans-cultural reflection on competing desires: immigrants seeking to create a new life and locals seeking to maintain familiar ways of behaving. It inspired essays ranging from Islamic communities in Switzerland, to an imagined story about an Italian immigrant in Switzerland. 

The winners of the Swiss Prize this year are:

Italian Prize

  1. Isabel Appleton
  2. Julian Olsen
  3. Emily Barlow

French Prize

  1. Andrew Findell-Aghnatios
  2. Jessica Van Lieven
  3. Kayvon Babai

German prize

  1. Daniel Steemson
  2. Rouhan Zhao
  3. Mauranne Fulbert

Find out more about studying European languages as part of a normal degree, or the specialist Bachelor of Languages or the new Diploma of Languages.