Carine Bachmann is the new director of the Federal Office of Culture

Asked what goals she would pursue in her new role, the designated FOC director replied at the press conference that it was still too early to comment. Bachmann, who has been head of the City of Geneva's Department of Culture and Digitization since 2011, will take up her new post on Feb. 1, 2022. Until then, the deputy director, Yves Fischer, will lead the FOC on an interim basis.

A major topic, however, will certainly be the pandemic and its impact on culture. "I hope that we will not only master this crisis, but that it will lead us to long-term models of support for those working in culture," the designated FOC director continued. The last two years, she said, have shown that culture is a collaborative affair and that the FOC plays a big role in it.

Carine Bachmann studied social psychology, film studies and international law and holds a CAS in economics and regulatory law. She started her career as program manager of the international film and video festival Viper in Lucerne, worked as communications officer and project manager in various non-governmental organizations and managed Cimera, an organization for development cooperation and conflict prevention in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The 54-year-old is bilingual, married and has three children. She brings "thanks to her great experience and broad network" the prerequisites for her new position, it said in a statement of the Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHA. (SDA)