Valeriana Magazine

Must-reads: Speaking and Being by Kübra Gümüşay

Today, we would like to talk about a book that we find absolutely indispensable when it comes to strengthening society’s sense of community. We’re talking about “Sprache und Sein” (Speaking and Being) by German-Turkish author Kübra Gümüşay. In her...

“Züri schenkt” and Valeriana helps

Ho ho ho, Christmas time has come around faster than we thought! And although Christmas is supposed to put us all in a peaceful, quiet and contemplative mood, we also know how stressful the time just before Christmas can be. Especially when it com...

In a conversation with Maria Magdalena

It's the end of April. For us at Valeriana this means only one thing: time for spring cleaning! Our digital inbox is full of requests for window cleaning and everything else that belongs to it. Among them Anna from Wipkingen. The details are quic...

Asking around: from “Mercedes” to “Kopfkino”

If you’ve ever studied in German, you may have heard the saying “Deutsche Sprache, schwere Sprache” (German language, difficult language). If you were to ask our employees, then they would probably tell you that in addition to being difficult, Ger...

How compassion helps against prejudice

Evolutionarily speaking, humans have always been compartmentalised thinkers. Back when we still lived in caves, this was actually rather practical, because our survival often depended on being able to decide within seconds whether the ragged-looki...

Going “green” for yourself and for others — on World Environment Day

Have you heard of Earth Overshoot Day? It marks the day in the calendar after which the world’s population requires more resources than the planet can regenerate in one year. Anything we use after this day will be put on tap, so to say.

Happy Mother’s Day!

This goes out to all the mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers out there. And to all mothers-to-be and those still wanting to become mothers. To all those who would like to become mothers but can’t. And to all those who have de...

Doing good — for yourself and for others.

We don’t know about you, but we love win-win situations! There’s a reason our slogan says “Doing good — for yourself and for others”. For us, this slogan isn’t hot hair — we really mean it. Here are a few of the reasons (some of which are even bac...

Together towards a shared sense of community

Talking about racism is never easy, but it is (unfortunately) still necessary. Since 1966, 21 March has officially and globally been dedicated to the “Elimination of Racial Discrimination”. To mark the occasion, we would like to talk about why we ...

How we promote empowerment

“That little bit of housekeeping takes care of itself, says my husband. That little bit of housekeeping can’t be that bad, says my husband. Why women complain so much is completely beyond me, says my husband.” (translation of a German classic — yo...

Learning a new language together

“Chuchichäschtli”? Well, you don’t have to start with the hardest parts of Swiss German... In order to really gain a foothold in a new country, however, it is absolutely essential that one — next to professional and social integration — also learn...