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There will be a free screening of the film "Bikes vs Cars" (as part of the Green Film Festival) at 20:00 at La Vie-La, the new Maison de Quartier at Rue des Marchandises 1 in Nyon. Inscription necessary - phone Géa Bonetti on 079 675 31 68. More info - click here

Music is known to stimulate all areas of a child's development. The conservatory of Nyon has classes for even the smallest ones! The conservatory of Nyon offers music initiation to children starting from the very young age of 2 years old! Together with their parents, they go on a musical discovery by experimenting with all kinds of instruments. They also learn the magic of music through stories and games. These classes are held in Bussigny, Morges, Rolle, Gland and Nyon. Between the ages of 4 and 14 there are a variety of classes for children. They go from the traditional instrument lessons to music and movement - the so called "rythmique" classes. For these lessons, there is a choice between Nyon and Morges. Have a look at their website for more information (some parts of the site in English are under construction). Or get in touch with them for more information! Happy musical weekend!

What is the local housing market doing, and what impact has confinement had? What are the different types of property prices doing?  Thanks to Harriet Kibbe from Engel and Volkers Nyon , we have an update of the changes over the past few months and an idea of what to expect going forward. If you have any questions or want some more information you can always pass by their offices located by the lake in Nyon! "Since March 2020 many clients and partners have asked what we expect in terms of repercussions of the global pandemic on the local housing market. Our position has always been that we expect a slight change but nothing significant. The reason for this is the consistently high demand experienced in the Geneva area. Six months down the line we see that in fact, demand remains high and those waiting to see a drop in property prices have been sorely disappointed. According to the Swiss properly consulting firm Wüest Partners', mid 2020 transaction figures show a 14% nationwide increase in demand for single family homes. This is a direct effect of the confinement and has led to a 2% price increase in asking prices for single family homes as well as a 0.6% decrease in asking for apartments. Fear of a second confinement period, or a renewed appreciation of the quality of life at home, along with the normalisation of remote working, have all led to an increase in demand for secondary residences, with a 3.6% increase in asking prices. If you've been holding back on selling your house, we hope this news will reassure you. And if you have been thinking of buying a little getaway, you may want to do it quickly!"

The Vote From Abroad website ( https://www.votefromabroad.org/ ) is a non-partisan tool that assists United States (US) voters living abroad in registering to vote and requesting their ballots. Thanks to the VFA volunteers for this initiative and for this article. Vote From Abroad provides voting information for each of the 50 US states - a state by state/-specific voting guide that details each state’s primary and general election deadlines, provides its submission rules, and lists the local election officials. Importantly, the Vote From Abroad website helps US citizens vote from abroad by generating the necessary Federal form that must be submitted to request an overseas absentee ballot. Vote From Abroad volunteers will man a table in Place Saint-Martin, Nyon, on Saturday, 26 September 2020, 08h00-13h00 .  So, should you be a US citizen and have queries on the mechanics of voting from abroad, please stop by.  Alternatively,  for further information you may click the red chat logo at VoteFromAbroad.org, or write the Geneva-region coordinator for VFA Karin Holm,  Karinholm@bluewin.ch The Switzerland-based Vote From Abroad volunteers ask that all US citizens share this information on voting from abroad, and that non-US citizens encourage their U.S. friends to vote in the 3 November 2020 US Federal elections!

Creative locals are invited to participate in our 5th Know-it-all Marketplace 2020 in Geneva. Thanks to Lisa from the Know it all Passport , there is a great opportunity for our creative community! Lisa is currently seeking vendors for the 5th edition of Know-it-all Marketplace that will showcase local* creative people who have a passion and love to share this passion. Between 50-65 vendors can be hosted in a 250m2 space! Even with Covid-19 as our new norm, we know that between masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing, we will be able to maintain a fun and healthy environment. Planète Charmilles registered an increase of sales in July this year compared to 2019... people are still buying and wanting to have a normal life. This 5th edition pop-up shop (temporary shop) will be held in Planète Charmilles, a central Geneva location, for the weeks leading up to Christmas. If you dabble in any creative areas and you would like a chance to sell your products, contact Know it all and ask for an application form. Read the rest of the article here for more information.

Keep an eye out for these lesser-known but important interview mishaps. Be sure to put your best foot forward and succeed! It's that time where summer is over and the job market starts to pick up again slowly but surely, despite the continuing COVID fears. With the job market seeing an ever-increasing number of people job-seeking and most companies keeping hiring at a minimum, making the most of the interview you have lined up is essential. Nevertheless, an interview in the French part of Switzerland can bring with it some surprises if you are a first-time job seeker in the area. First organise your thoughts with the interview preparation matrix   from B-inspired to know what is relevant and not. Then consider these points for the discussion itself. Over the course of my career, I’ve seen many, many good candidates with potential who, to their own great surprise, fail to get the job following an interview. Often there are some subtle, almost unnoticeable messages sent, meant to support an application, but that end up doing more harm than good. Watch out for these: You are too nice Your Behaviour: You are simply a nice person, and you want to get the job. You come across as friendly, agreeable, and pleasant. This is one of the biggest and most invisible pitfalls! Invisible because it is highly unlikely the diplomatic Swiss will point this out to you, it’s not a nice conversation to have and they in no way want to hurt or embarrass you. What the interviewer feels: Who are you really? In all likelihood your future employer cannot identify what exactly to expect from you, and therefore has trouble visualising you in the company. Furthermore, he/she is also wondering whether you are able to stand your ground when faced with a situation involving conflict. Solve the issue: Know yourself well, and don’t be too modest or insecure about showing who you are. Clarify what can be expected of you and what will you do when faced with difficult situations. Be specific and have examples to back up your claims. Your nature as a nice person will always be felt regardless, but now your substance will too. You talk too much Your Behaviour: Some of us are very focussed on “convincing” a future employer we are the perfect match for them. Except that we assume we know their criteria, which of course we rarely do. What the interviewer feels: Bored. They are listening to a monologue and they can’t get a question in to find out what they really want to know. They are uncomfortable interrupting you and stop trying after some time and put an end to the interview, leaving you feeling like you got your point across. Solve the issue: Train yourself (over and over until you get it right) to answer the question well , and then stop. Just stop! If the answer was not complete enough you will be asked to elaborate. Don’t worry about the silences, just let them sit. Sometimes the interviewer is digesting information or trying to formulate the next question. Sometimes you are being tested. Silence is golden! You have no faults Your Behaviour: You are asked for your weaknesses, and you come up blank. This is a traditional question and is often asked. What the interviewer feels: This person’s faults are so big he/she doesn’t dare mention them or this person thinks they are perfect. Neither is a winning scenario Solve the issue: Simply be honest. Think about it during your preparation. If you are having trouble here’s a hint: often our biggest strengths turn into our weaknesses – depending on the situation, they tend to get taken to the negative extreme. State your weakness, give examples as to why it is a true weakness, and not a hidden strength you are trying to sneak in, and leave it at that. Nobody is perfect, not you, and not the person sitting in front of you. When interviewing for a new position, it is normal to come across roles that simply are not suited to you. But if you are left feeling like you don’t understand why you were not chosen despite the fact that the role did seem to be a match, hopefully, this list can provide some hints. This article is an extract from the article "6 common interview pitfalls" that you can access here if you would like to read the full version. All the best of luck!

This lovely small village is my home and I couldn't be happier with the charming surroundings, the wonderful neighbours and the surrounding vineyards. Thank you to Sabine Hooij from Discover La Côte for this article on Vich and for the beautiful pictures. You can follow her on Instagram and Facebook for more wonderful images of our region or reach out to her for relocation information. DiscoverLaCôte has started with a series of photo reports of the picturesque villages around Nyon and to start off, VICH is in the spotlight! The village has 1,038 inhabitants and is ideal for young families and couples with modern, old and historic residential areas. It is located at the foot of the Jura at 456m elevation, surrounded by vineyards and it's a 10-minute drive from Nyon. There is direct motorway access, regular bus connections, and the village is conveniently located close to the train station of Gland. Vich's local épicerie Tapassion offers some of the best croissants and pain au chocolate around! They do need to be ordered in advance or you may be disappointed in the morning. The recently renovated Croix Verte restaurant that always has a nice plat du jour on weekdays and friendly staff. Aside from the local shops, there is an Aldi and a big Coop for shopping. Health facilities are around the corner with the Clinique La Lignière that also offers great gym and pool facilities open to the public, as well as the Clinique de Genolier both a few minutes away. Hiking, biking and strolling opportunities aplenty with the direct access to the Jura for bikers and to the “ Sentier de Toblerones ” and the “ Bois de Chêne ” for hikers. To learn more about the boutique relocation service of Discover LaCôte by Sabine please go to the website: www.discoverlacote.ch

La Lignière is the well-known clinic located along the Route Suisse. But did you know they offer a large variety of English speaking medical specialists and hi-tech sports facilities open to the public? Although we've all driven past the beautiful grounds on the "Route Suisse", not many people know of all it has to offer and that it is open to the public. La Lignière was founded in 1904 by Dr. De Foret who worked together with Dr. Kellogg. Yes, that Kellogg ! The link between the nutrition and health industries is still very present in their establishment today. The building, originally an annex of the Château de Prangins , today is made up of 2 sections. The first is the traditional building that houses the clinic with 95 beds. Approximately half of the beds are attributed to the clinic and the other half to the public sector. That's right, instead of the CHUV, you can also be hospitalised here! They treat predominantly cardiovascular, neurological, and orthopedic rehabilitation. It remains a not-for-profit foundation whose responsibility is to protect the heritage and the property as well as the clinic. The second building is the newly built outpatient center that was opened in 2017. It's a light and airy space that houses over 40 specialists, almost all of whom speak English. They have a well-developed diabetes branch offering some of the best and up to date treatment options in the area. Furthermore, they offer neurology, psychology as well as nutrition, and a large variety of other specialisations. You can consult the full list of specialists here . Their hi-tech fitness facilities are also worth knowing about. This gym is open to the public and has some of the latest technology available in terms of fitness in the area. the e-gym machines allow you to log in with your personal badge and they monitor your progress, adapt the exercises to keep track of your goals, and have your own data easily accessible to you. Aside from the fitness, there is also a lovely pool area that offers aquagym courses on a very regular basis. The schedule for both the fitness and the aquagym can be found here . You can easily find a slot that suits you and try them out. Now the summer months and outdoor sports are slowly wrapping up, make sure you keep in shape anyway! :-) La Lignière has a lovely mix of traditional values and modern culture. I had the pleasure of visiting recently and meeting the welcoming, professional, and high-spirited management team. When asked to describe the culture in the establishment in 3 words there was not much doubt: It's centered around people, has the best at heart for all, and there is a spirit of closeness. These values rang true throughout the visit. The team has been working together for a long time and know each other well. There is a clear attachment to the patients and their colleagues. We stopped several times during the visit to have a quick chat, introductions were made spontaneously and questions flowed freely all around. Next time you are looking for a good specialist or great health and fitness facilities, be sure you have a look at what La Lignière hs to offer!

The small country we live in has a population of 8.57 million people and 4 national languages. It's in the middle of Europe and yet has managed to stay famously neutral. But how did that all come about? This informative series of short articles: "Inside Switzerland" is brought to Living in Nyon thanks to Jon Wyler. It gives us some insight into our wonderfully complex and highly efficient country . You’re living on the " bassin lémanique " but haven’t quite figured out Swiss culture or how to interact with the locals? A good starting point is understanding the origins of Switzerland itself: History Central to trade in Europe, the alpine passes were sought after by many powers. Today’s Switzerland originated in 1291 when the communities of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden* formed an alliance to ensure their freedoms under the House of Habsburg . This was not yet an uprising - although that would soon change. Today the "Helvetic Confederation" is composed of 26 cantons since the Jura seceded from Bern in 1979 and the half-cantons* were officialised in 1999. Government Switzerland has a unique political system . It is managed by 7 members of the Federal Council, who take turns being president every year. The term managing a country opposes that of governing. Specifically, it means the role of elected officials is to manage the country’s public operations & policies as per the people’s wishes. The president has no additional power, and is tasked with representing the country. The Federal Council is elected by parliament, whose members are in turn elected by the people. The Federal Council is composed of two representatives from the Liberal Party (PLR), two representatives from the Swiss Social Democratic Party (PS), two representatives from the Swiss People’s Party (UDC), and one representative from the Swiss Christian Democratic Party (PDC). Switzerland is a direct democracy, meaning the people can vote on almost everything. Have a closer look at the most recent vote results in English from the 27th of September with an interactive and informative map. Next up in this series are the regions and the cantons. What's decided on national or regional level and what's up with the röstigraben? *Today the cantons of Nidwalden and Obwalden *Basel Stadt & Basel Land, Appenzell Innerrhoden & Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Obwalden & Nidwalden ----------------------------------- Jon Wyler is a Swiss/Luxembourg bi-national. He grew up between Geneva, Hawaii and Beijing. Hospitality-trained, he has for most of his life followed his passion working in live music production, which took him around the world. Jon recently settled on the shores of lake Neuchâtel with his German wife who’s trying to figure out the in’s & out’s of her adopted country.

Ideally located on the heights of the Jura, on a spot well known for its outdoor activities, the new Mountain Biking club of St-Cergue came to life in February 2020 as a new addition to the region’s offering thanks to a group of real enthusiasts. This article is provided thanks to Sebastien Fonteyn. He is one of the motivated volunteers of the association that participated in the set up of VTT St cergue. St Cergue is located approximately 15-20 minutes away from Nyon. Most of the links lead to French sites but If you prefer to have a contact in English let us know via Living in Nyon and we will put you in touch with Sebastien! By welcoming young riders ranging from10 to 20 years old. No pre-existing level or experience is required, the primary objective of the club is to promote and develop Mountain Biking in St Cergue region. Participants have the possibility to improve their technical and physical abilities within a fun, safe and structured environment. According to demand, the club would be happy to consider creating activities more specifically dedicated to adults wishing to discover or improve their skills in the sport. Do let us know if you would be interested in this! Trainings are usually twice a week (Wednesdays and Saturdays) and are given by certified instructors. The committee's, objective to build a group of roughly 30 young riders was achieved very quickly in spite of the pandemic situation. The reach of our participants today goes from Founex to Gimel, passing by Genolier, Trelex and everything in between. If anything, this showed that there was a real need in the region to provide a dedicated structure to the sport. Thanks to the very engaged collaboration of the commune of St-Cergue as well as other local supporters, the club has already started developing an outdoor structure with obstacle courses and technical riding courses for riders to come and train on. Completion of the course is anticipated for early 2021, though the parc is already ridable today. This and the above will really highlight the benefits of St Cergue and all it has to offer for riders in the region. The club is of course open to any potential partners at this stage and is proud to soon join the ACCV (Association Cycliste Cantonale Vaudoise) as well as Swiss Cycling in the near future. Interested to know more? Check out our website on www.vtt-st-cergue.ch (in French only for the time being).

"Moi Aussi" is an association founded by Laura Mulcahy speading the message of inclusion amongst children. Their lovely song with the same title: "Moi Aussi" is being used as a resource for public schools.  This inspiring article is written for Living in Nyon by Eoghan O'Sullivan. When this Vich-based Irishman isn't busy being an independent communications consultant , he dabbles in songwriting. He writes here about his most recent musical project, which aims to encourage more inclusion and integration.All of the heart-warming photos have been taken by Hayley Hay. Just over three years ago, I was asked whether I could write a song to celebrate the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition raising awareness of people with Down syndrome. I had been commissioned to write songs before, but this one came with a specific challenge: it would ideally be in French. As someone whose French is largely self-taught, I wasn't confident that I could do it. However, taking the captions accompanying some of the photos as a starting point, the song somehow came together. Ruth Foley, who commissioned it, and Laura Mulcahy, who founded the association Moi Aussi that organised the exhibition, were both very pleased. Laura was convinced that we could and should do more with this song, but we couldn't decide what that "more" would be. Until now... RESOURCE FOR SCHOOLS As of this month, a professional recording of the song Moi Aussi has been made freely available to schools as a resource for teaching children about inclusion. The recording, which we somehow managed to complete during this year of restrictions and confinement, features kids from a 4P class in Lausanne's Floréal school. It is accompanied by a heart-warming video, and sheet music, lyrics and guitar chords have also been made available for download. The recording and video were funded by the Moi Aussi Association . Laura hopes that the song can contribute to the association's aim of encouraging society to be more inclusive, not just of people with Down syndrome, but for any kind of 'difference' or disability. Her own daughter Emer, who has Down syndrome, features in the video alongside her classmates – she is included fully in the life of her school, epitomising the spirit of the song's lyrics. I'm personally proud to have written the song at the heart of this project. I learned a lot of my French by listening to songs – if you're trying to learn the language and you like music, you should seek out some of the great francophone songwriters. But this project is also an example of the rich contribution that expats/immigrants are making to life in this region. Alongside myself, Ruth and Laura, also involved in this project were the photographer Hayley Hay and the videographer Elma Okic. I think for all of us, this has offered a chance to give something back to this wonderful country that has welcomed us. HELP US SPREAD THE WORD We would really appreciate it if you could help spread the word, particularly among school communities and with music teachers. You can find the song Moi Aussi on all of the main digital music platforms; the video, plus the various free downloads, can be found at www.moiaussi.org/chanson And if you'd like to read a bit more about the story of this song, you can find a longer post on my website .

The local art scene has so much to offer! Thanks to Uli Van Neyghem for providing us with this vivid article and images on Jean Dubuffet at the The Musée d'ethnographie in Geneva on until the 28th of February! Uli Van Neyghem is a professional artist and free-lance art journalist living in Céligny. Uli’s art can be recognized by its serene atmospheres and often takes inspiration from living in Switzerland. Have a look at her website or follow her on Instagram: @ulivanneyghem Why use the term ‘barbarian’ in connection with one of Europe’s leading artists in the second half of the twentieth history? In fact, Jean Dubuffet himself would likely have been very pleased with the radical sounding title given to the temporary exhibition at the Museum of Ethnography in Geneva. Dubuffet shook off aesthetic norms and conventions surrounding art like very few artists did, and thereby reinvented it. By doing so, he has become an inspiration for many other iconic creatives like Keith Haring or Jean Michel Basquiat. But who and what inspired Dubuffet? The present exhibition at the MEG provides wonderful insights into this question. In fact, crucial impulses for Dubuffet’s revolutionary approach came from visiting the museum himself in the summer of 1945, together with the just as visionary architect and designer Le Corbusier . Rather than disqualifying the artifacts from around the world exhibited there as ‘primitive’, he was fascinated by these pieces so radically removed from the Western academic field and its conventional art culture that he found suffocating. During the same trip to postwar Switzerland, Dubuffet visited a number of psychiatric clinics in Geneva and Bern and was deeply impressed by the profoundly expressive works produced by some of their patients. More inspiration came from extensive travels and the folk art he studied and collected during those. The MEG’s exhibition strings all of these together into a fascinating mix of Dubuffet’s artworks, juxtaposed with objects from the collections of the ethnographic museum and ‘Art Brut’ ( a term that Dubuffet coined himself ), artworks created by patients in mental asylums or prisons. They all have in common that they are pure expressions of individuality: spontaneous and undiluted, full of sincerity and directness. Jean Dubuffet was an artist who refused to be put in a box. He cultivated playfulness, perpetually experimenting with using materials and techniques in unconventional ways. Very much in line with his unorthodox thinking, the exhibition at the MEG starts the tour with one of his last paintings, rather than his early works and any chronological order. Fittingly, ’ Jean Dubuffet - a Barbarian in Europe ’ pays tribute to this extremely unusual artist, by ‘reshuffling’ notions of conventional art or ethnography museum exhibitions.