Interview with Daniel Rossellat, Mayor of Nyon and President of Paléo Festival

Photo above - Daniel Rossellat at Paléo 2102 Living in Nyon has begun a new series of interviews entitled "Afternoon Tea with..."  in which we interview local personalities from the Nyon and la Côte region. We find out a little bit more about the professional and personal lives of each individual over afternoon tea.

Photo above and below, courtesy - La Boîte à Thé This first interview was held in La Boite à Thé in Rolle. This lovely gem of a place has been previously featured on this site see here.  The tea room has two quiet rooms to sit and sip teas from around the world.

It also has a good selection of gifts idea for those last minute Christmas presents!

For this first interview, we caught up with Mr Rossellat the day before he was due to take a flight to Côte d'Ivoire. Read on to find out why he was making the trip to West Africa, and how he divides his time between his two roles; mayor of Nyon and President of Paléo festival. We also find out which musician he hopes to hear play in Paléo one day, his vision for the future of Nyon and what he will be cooking for Christmas dinner in 2012!

Photo above - courtesy Daniel Rossellat

Mr

Rossellat, you are en route to Abidjan, what are you expecting to find or hear there?

I’m going to Côte d’Ivoire for the meeting of the Association of Francophone Mayors. I haven’t had the chance to attend for the past couple of years, and this year the meeting is being held in Abidjan. The Mayor of Quebec asked me to be a member of this association, but I wasn't sure about it. I thought that perhaps Nyon was too small a town and that joining the Assocation didn't seem to be  a logical step to take. However, after I spoke to the president, the Mayor of Paris, he repeated that he wanted Nyon to be a member. He pointed out that Nyon was well known in the French-speaking world and has a good reputation due to its festivals. I think it’s an interesting platform for exchange and dialogue, especially for the Canadian/European francophone mayors to meet and listen to the African francophone communities.

H

ow many times a year do you travel to hear new music i

n  your role as President of Paléo? 

In the last twelve months, I’ve been to Nashville to the Bonnaroo Festival, to the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Quebec Summer Festival, as well as visiting Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Palestine to hear music for the Village du Monde area of Paléo for 2012. This autumn I have been to Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa, and soon I'll be going to Zanzibar, to do some research for next year’s festival.

Have your tastes in music changed over the years?

When I was 15 or 16 I was already listening to an eclectic mix of music, but I didn’t have such an extensive knowledge of music as I do now. Over the years I have discovered a lot more about classical music too, and I continue to listen to  classic rock, folk, pop and world music. I’ve also got to know a lot of styles from Asia, Africa and Latin America, where there are  some music  fusions that are still not that known over here. The first time I went to  China, I thought that the same song was playing over and over again all day, but I've learned  since that  is obviously not the case, it's just that our ears have to get accustomed to new sounds.

Have you come across any real surprises when visiting countries?

I’m always very moved by countries that are full of history. For example, when I went to Israel, Lebanon and Jordan, no matter how much you read up or look at pictures before you go, you can’t imagine what it feels like to be in a place with such ancient and recent history. It’s the same in the Far East, where there is such an incredible heritage of different civilizations. There is also plenty to discover in places with more modern history.

What is the idea behind the Village du Monde?

The goal is to look for a wealth of different music and culture. We want to show cultural wealth of places that not everyone knows. This year it was the Middle East, next year it will be the Indian Ocean, and the year after that it will be the Andes Cordillera. We then look for artists that correspond to the different styles of music, find the cuisine and artisanal goods, and then think about décor and the staging. We want people that have already been to the region to recognise their surroundings, and people that haven’t, to be transported somewhere new.

Photo above - A volunteer painting the scene for the Village du Monde area.

The rumour is that you have a vision board of artists you want at Paleo, including Sting. Who else is on the list?

When we first started the festival there was a certain list of artists that we dreamed of hosting: Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Sting. So far we are still missing Eric Clapton, Leonard Cohen and Paul McCartney. We ask Clapton ever year and hope that one year he will make it.

What do you personally think the secret to Paléo's success? 

I think the secret to Paleo’s success is the values that we have stood by since the beginning of the festival: the respect for the public, the volunteers, the artists and the environment. Being open-minded and tolerant towards other cultures is important to us. I don’t think that it has been difficult to uphold these values, but there is certainly always a risk of arrogance that comes with success. I believe that we should never forget those fundamental elements.

How do you divide your time during the week between Paleo and Nyon?

On Monday morning, I have a finance meeting at Paléo and then a meeting with the director of Opus One (an events company) until 09:00.  I then have a meeting with the sustainability team of Nyon, followed by a meeting with the different heads of department of the town. At 11:00 sharp I play tennis, and then it's on to a municipality meeting. On Tuesdays I spent the entire day at Paléo, and Wednesday and Thursday in Nyon. On Friday mornings I’m at Paleo, and the afternoon is flexible. On Saturdays I go through my messages and emails from the week, and on Sundays I prepare for the week ahead.

As Mayor of Nyon, d

o you have a personal vision for how you would like to see Nyon in 10-20 years time? 

The ideal would be to have kept the soul and the character of the town along with creating new infrastructure that has met the  needs of a growing population. Combining these two needs is a constant challenge.

Photo above - view from the roof of Nyon high school We are trying right now to ensure the town isn't simply a museum where time stands still, but somewhere that is vibrant and interesting to live and visit. We are keen for it not to turn into simply a dormitory town for commuters who work elsewhere. With all the new construction in Nyon we also are trying to ensure that each new area  has a soul and a centre to it with a social life. We also don't want to end up with areas that end up with different classes of areas ie: one is  business class and the other "economy class".

What programmes or support is there to facilitate integration between the incomers and the local populace?  

There is no specific programme such but we are working on this. To be honest I think  the amount of expatriates that have recently arrived here took us a bit by surprise. We weren't quite ready but we are addressing the issue now and trying to make the town and information on living here more accessible.

Some expatriates are only here for a few years. How can these newcomers get the  most out of their time in Nyon? 

Whether you are single, married, with or without children, I would say try to join a local club such as a sports club or some other kind: it's a good way of meeting locals. If you can't do that, then I would say keep things "local" as much as you can, go to a  music concert or arts event in your area, and eat in local restaurants: it's a good way of discovering what's out there. I try to do the same when I am travelling, if I have a meeting say in a town in Brazil I don't then eat in a restaurant say in a Hilton hotel, I go out and eat in a local Brazilian place. If you know you have a fixed time here then I would suggest that you explore your local area. When the time comes to leave you will do so having got to know a little bit about this part of Switzerland.

Finally as you are such a busy person with your two roles, how will you spend Christmas day? Are you able to totally “clock off”? And what will be on the menu for the day?

Christmas day is a rare day when I truly do switch off. I don't look at emails at all and I look forward to being with my  family and having some down time. As I like to cook, then that's the day I will be in the kitchen. I am not sure what I will be serving yet, it could be volaille, it could be something else.  With out any doubt  though the meal will be served with a good bottle of wine. I am very interested in wine, I like a good Swiss wine of course but I'm also fond of wines from the new world such as Argentina or Chile. ------------------- Keep checking out this site for more "Afternoon  Tea with..." interviews coming up in 2013.  If you want to find out more about the Paléo festival or local politics  in the Nyon area, just type in "Paléo" or "Politics" in the search button at the top of this site to read previous articles.