“We planned various jubilee events to celebrate this milestone, but due to the pandemic we had to postpone some of them,” Swisscham director Júlia Lipovecz tells the Budapest Business Journal.

“Thankfully, one of the main events will take place: the jubilee tree planting. We have decided to symbolically plant 25 trees in Népliget park, not only to represent the 25 years we were blessed to spend with our great members, but also to emphasize that sustainability and health are now more important than ever,” Lipovecz explains.

“To depict the common past and future, the 25 trees will be symbolically planted by enthusiastic Swisscham member companies. Every tree will get a ribbon that’s printed with the adopter company’s name and logo. Pedestrians will see the memorial plaque we are going to place on that day.”

Physical Distancing

The celebration of the anniversary will see a limited number of participants due to ongoing COVID concerns, with attendees asked to adopt epidemiological measures such as keeping physical distancing distance and not shaking hands. (If it is raining on November 3, the planting will be postponed to November 10.)

The event will start with welcome remarks from István Béres, the president of the chamber, followed by the speeches from István Kocsis, Chargé d’Affaires of the Swiss Embassy in Hungary, and Gergely Karácsony, Mayor of Budapest.

That will be followed by the representatives of the participating companies shoveling the last few grains of soil to finish the planting of each tree. The main sponsors of the event are Philip Morris Magyarország Kft., Roche Magyarország Kft. and CMS Hungary.

“Today, the chamber has a quarter of a century history to look back on: a history filled with successful corporate gatherings, professional and friendly collaborations, informal and official events,” Lipovecz says. “We thank our members for these wonderful 25 years together, and are looking forward to many more.”