Cisco

Cisco is a multinational corporation with more than 66,000 employees and annual revenue of US$39 billion as of 2008. Headquartered in San Jose, California, it designs and sells networking and communications technology and service. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the Internet solutions that make networks possible-providing easy access to information anywhere, at any time.
Partnering with SWITCH (see below) Cisco will set up the video-connection of the World Resources Forum to Nagoya.

For further information: http://www.cisco.com

ETH Board

With some 600 professors, 16,000 staff and 20,000 undergraduate and post-graduate students, the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne and the four application-oriented research institutes – the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), the Materials Science and Technology Research Institution (Empa) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) – constitute the ETH Domain.
All reseach is done under the strategic leadership of the ETH Board as the supervisory body.
Appointed by the Swiss Federal Council, the ETH Board allocates funds to the six institutions within the guidelines set by the government, and administers their real-estate holdings on a fiduciary basis.

For further information: http://www.ethrat.ch/content/eth-rat.php?language=en

Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU/FOEN)

The FOEN is the federal government’s centre of environmental expertise and is part of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication. 
The FOEN is the federal government's centre of competence for environmental matters. It contributes to the long term preservation and use of natural resources (air, water, soil, forests, landscape, biodiversity) for society and the economy.

For further information: http://www.bafu.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (DEZA/SDC)

The SDC is Switzerland’s international cooperation agency within the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). In operating with other federal offices concerned, SDC is responsible for the overall coordination of development activities and cooperation with Eastern Europe, as well as for the humanitarian aid delivered by the Swiss Confederation.
The SDC carries out its activities with an annual budget of CHF 1.4 billion (2008) and a staff of some 600 people in Switzerland and abroad, as well as 1000 local employees.

For further information: http://www.deza.admin.ch/en/Home

Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems

The Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems (SQS) was founded in 1983. It was established as one of the first organisations worldwide to provide assessment and certification services.
Today, SQS is the market leader in its sector in Switzerland. With 147 permanent employees of which 5 are apprentices in Switzerland, France and Italy and a further 262 associate employees worldwide, SQS relies on a well-established network which operates on an international level. Due to its legal status as an association, SQS is a not-for profit organisation which functions neutrally and independently.

For further information: http://www.sqs.ch/en/index.htm

SWITCH

Since 1987, SWITCH has been serving the Swiss science network which it is constantly expanding. SWITCH represents the interests of Switzerland as a research centre in numerous bodies and its key role therefore makes an important contribution to the development and operation of the Internet in Switzerland. SWITCH was established with the objective "to create, promote and offer the necessary basis for the effective use of modern methods of telecomputing in teaching and research in Switzerland, to be involved in and to support such methods".

For further information: http://www.switch.ch/