The Uri Institute for Alpine Cultures was launched in Altdorf in autumn 2019. Following a successful pilot phase, it was transferred to a permanent governing body (the Uri Science Foundation) at the end of 2023, thereby securing its long-term future. Since then, the Canton of Uri has been covering the Institute’s operating costs through a fixed annual grant. In order to be able to carry out a wide range of research and advisory activities, the institute remains dependent on third-party funding. «However, the institute’s long-term success depends not only on sufficient financial resources; moral support and strong roots within the local community and the political sphere are just as important,» says Beat Jörg. For this reason, he has now launched the non-profit support association «AlpKultUR».
Appreciation and identification as the aim
The founding meeting took place on 25 June 2026. Specifically, the association aims to:
establish and promote the presence of the Uri Institute for Alpine Cultures amongst all sections of the population in the canton of Uri, in Central Switzerland and beyond,
foster appreciation of and identification with academic work amongst the people of Uri and other interested parties,
facilitate access to the experiential knowledge of the people of Uri and other Alpine residents,
to provide financial support to the Institute, for example for an awards ceremony.
Membership of the association is open to natural and legal persons, as well as public-law bodies, which support the association’s objectives.
Executive Board enjoys broad political support
The Executive Board comprises: Beat Jörg (President), Noel Baumann, Claudia Brunner, Petra Muheim Quick, Christine Widmer Baumann and Sebastian Züst. Ruth Wipfli Steinegger, President of the Wissenschaft Uri Foundation, and Boris Previšić, Director of the Uri Institute for Alpine Cultures, are ex officio members of the Executive Board.
«It gives me great pleasure that socially committed individuals from all the major political camps in our canton have put themselves forward to serve on the Board,» says President Beat Jörg. «This broad support shows that the Institute for Alpine Cultures is already held in high regard. We want to build on that.»
Published on 29. June 2026
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