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Local News Summary of February, 18th

  • Basel in with a chance to win at the 89th Academy Awards
  • Education Council of Baselbiet fights its abolition
  • Green space at Hochstrasse will become larger and even greener

Basel in with a chance to win at the 89th Academy Awards

Switzerland is not usually present at the annual Academy Awards. However, everything will be different this time around. Two Swiss films – the Basel short film “La femme et le TGV” and the animation film “Ma vie de Courgette” – are nominated for Oscars.

The animation film is nominated under the English title “My Life as a Zucchini”. The directors of the two nominated films, Claude Barras from Valais and Timo von Gunten from Zurich, will attend the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles on 26 February along with the films' producers. If one or both of the films win, it would mark the first Oscar for Switzerland since Xavier Koller’s 1991 Oscar for “Reise der Hoffnung”.

Raul Peck’s documentary “I am Not Your Negro” is also nominated for an Academy Award. The French-American film was co-produced by the Geneva production company Close Up Films and the Radio Télévision Suisse (RTV), which played a minor role.

Education Council of Baselbiet fights its abolition

The head of Education in Baselland, Monica Gschwind, has called for the abolition of the canton's Education Council in a motion by her own Liberal FDP faction in the cantonal parliament. The Education Council is fighting its demotion to a mere advisory panel.

The call was a decisive move. The FDP faction of the cantonal parliament had launched a motion for the abolition of the Education Council – because it is above the Head of Education and therefore sets limitations and a general framework for her. This is a thorn in the side of the faction, as Monica Gschwind of the FDP is in that leading position.

Mrs Gschwind had recently called for the realisation of the motion, which would reduce the Education Council to an advisory board. This is legal and acceptable, she stated. The Education Council is however fighting back.

“Education is more than politics ­– it is a task for society," a council representative wrote in a statement regarding the change in educational law.

"The Education Council fulfils this function perfectly. The broadly supported committee guarantees a holistic view of education."

Limiting the influence of Mrs Gschwind

The council further pointed out that the ideas of a mere advisory board with no executive power for decisions could easily be ignored. They said the government could also easily change the educational programme according to its current political inclination that way. The education of the canton of Baselland needs secure planning, however.

The current power of the Education Council is standing in the way of the Head of Education, they said. Monica Gschwind aims to have a free hand for political decisions regarding education. The most recent conflict between the council and the Head of Education was the council’s plan to introduce the new school timetable in 2018. Mrs Gschwind prefers an extension of the current transitional arrangement.

Green space at Hochstrasse will become larger and even greener 

The existing green and open spaces at Hochstrasse (across from Uhlandstrasse) in Gundeldingen are to be extended with the addition of more public green space. The City Gardeners will start work on Monday, 27 February following the dismantling of the building at Hochstrasse 111/113. Preliminary construction information is already available on site. The planned park is set to be finished in October and will form another cornerstone of the green and open spaces concept Gundeldingen.

There is already a small green and open space at Hochstrasse along the train tracks near Uhlandstrasse. Toys and activities can be found in the remaining foundations of a former villa, and they are very popular with local children. A climbing frame, slides, a net swing, a mud area, and table tennis offer various playing opportunities in the otherwise densely-populated Gundeldingen quarter. In the summer months, young people meet at the barbecue areas.

This space will now be expanded with a new green space of 420 square metres towards Münchensteinerstrasse. The existing wall that separates the playground from the train lines will also be extended across the entire area. Small windows in the wall provide a view of the incoming and outgoing trains. A pergola as well as twelve trees will offer some quiet and shade, and a feeling of seclusion in the midst of a lively city quarter. The playground and activities for children will remain.

The City Gardeners are busy preparing for the work, with the first tools, a trailer, and barriers already on site before work begins in two weeks.

The green space is being created on an area where a two-storey building previously stood. No rezoning is necessary for the change as the planned park is already part of the existing green space zone. It is part of the green and open space concept for Gundeldingen.  

The overall costs for the transformation will be approximately 1,4 million Swiss francs and will be financed entirely through the canton’s sales tax fund.