In Switzerland, a system of neutralization has long been at play, one that denies or downplays the country’s role in colonial violence and ongoing global exploitation. Against Neutrality! is a three-day collaborative artistic, ethnographic, and activist intervention that aims to deconstruct these processes and show Switzerland’s complicity in global economic and ecological violence.

A transdisciplinary group of artists, researchers, and students from the universities of Bern and Luzern will open up their research archives on commodity trade, energy imperialism, and conservation, engaging with audiences as well as national and international guests. Through talks, screenings, workshops, and social gatherings within a multimodal archive space, the event will activate knowledges, affects, and relations necessary to inhabit and build transnational worlds of resistance and solidarity.

All events will be in English.
Admission to all events is free.

Project website of the University of Bern

PROGRAM SATURDAY
ENERGY IMPERIALISM

3:00 PM Workshop “Energy Imperialism: The case of Palestine” by WeSmellGas at Grand Palais Bern
(Please register for the workshop in advance HERE)
6:30 PM Apéro & light buffet
8:00 PM Screening “Powerlands” (2022, 75’) and conversation

SATURDAY and SUNDAY from 11 AM until the end of the evening program: Additional opening of the Research Archives in Kunsthalle Bern and Grand Palais Bern.

To what extent does Gaza’s offshore gas field contribute to Israel’s militarization? How does wind power reinforce the illegal occupation of the Golan Heights?
What role do the EU and Switzerland play in this, and how can we resist this complicity? In the Workshop “Energy Imperialism: The case of Palestine” by WeSmellGas, participants explore these questions in a space for exchange and collective learning, followed by an open apéro welcoming everyone to continue the conversation.

Energy imperialism is further examined in a screening of the documentary „Powerlands“ (2022, 75’), which portrays the displacement of indigenous communities and environmental destruction caused by energy and raw material extraction. Navajo filmmaker Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso fosters a dialogue between frontline activists and highlights the resilience and resistance of affected communities. After the screening, activist collectives discuss Switzerland‘s role in global energy imperialism and strategies for transnational collaboration and resistance.