Quiz app decodes daily life in Switzerland

Together is a portal for learning about life in Switzerland through quiz games, receiving local news in seven languages and asking questions that will be included in the app (swissinfo.ch) — "Together" is a portal for learning about life in Switzerland through quiz games, receiving local news in seven languages and asking questions that will be included in the app swissinfo.ch

Why are rubbish bags in Switzerland different colours? Where can you play sports, and what do you need to know when looking for a job or going to school? These are some of the questions newcomers to Switzerland are confronted with. A new app from swissinfo.ch and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation provides the answers through an interactive quiz game and online resources.

swissinfo.ch/vdv

“Together”, as the app is called, is available for free on the AppleExternal link and Google PlayExternal link stores in seven languages: English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic. It allows users to test their knowledge, learn new information and challenge other players in 10 quiz categories ranging from jobs to Swiss landmarks.

Users can also access more information about any of the questions and categories with the ability to share or save what they’ve learned for future reference.

The app contains more than 300 questions with more questions and categories to be released in the coming weeks and months. Users who have more questions of their own about daily life in Switzerland can submit those to the team behind the appExternal link to have them researched, answered and included in the quiz.

More than 20 categories on topics ranging from housing to education and media provide questions, answers and more information, with the ability to share and save the content (swissinfo.ch) — More than 20 categories on topics ranging from housing to education and media provide questions, answers and more information, with the ability to share and save the content swissinfo.ch

Directly through the app, users can also access a continually updated feed with the latest news from Switzerland in their language.

Swissinfo.ch and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation decided to produce the “together” app to address newcomers’ desire to integrate into Swiss society and learn more about daily life in the country. Its content is largely based on swissinfo.ch’s “Switzerland How To” offering, which provides information about daily life in Switzerland in 10 languages.

A quarter of Switzerland’s population is comprised of people without a Swiss passport, one of the highest such ratios in the world. The government’s policy towards foreigners is one of integration – seeking to involve newcomers in the country’s daily life instead of creating so-called “parallel societies” within Switzerland.

According to the landing page for the appExternal link, “it is part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation’s mission to contribute to integration in Switzerland”.