F*ck the virus, let’s make kindness contagious!

When starting my own business three years ago, following one of the now-customary Christmas redundancy rounds in Basel, I received a welcome call from a friend who asked if there was something she could do to help. I thanked her for her kindness and she reminded me of the day I’d sat on the banks of the Rhine with her several years before and helped polish her CV for a job application.

It was the same friend who called me in May this year to ask if there was anything she could do to support me, having seen the impact the pandemic was making on the livelihoods of many freelancers.

I’m of course talking about my friend, Amy Stapleton, who has been responsible for developing the Basel Communicators’ Network from the small lunch gatherings organised by Ciba’s Valerie Chase many years ago, into the thriving community it has now become.

As we entrust the next phase of our network’s evolution into the capable hands of Anissa Heyes, it’s an appropriate point to reflect on where we’ve come from and consider where we go from here.

In my 20 years as a communicator in Basel, it’s been fascinating to witness the ebb and flow of commerce in our curious corner of Europe. Just as the majestic Rhine rises and falls with the seasons, Basel’s corporate landscape remoulds itself regularly.

We can mourn as the names of once-great corporations are reduced to existing only as the name of a tram stop. We can grumble as foreign enterprises gobble up, reconfigure and merge with our beloved Basel firms. But we’ll never stop the relentless corporate churn that is now an intrinsic part of our lives.   

Communications departments continue to shrink and expand, periodically spitting out and hiring employees. The balance between centralised and decentralised communications functions shifts constantly, in the familiar power struggles between communications heads and business heads. 

All of this creates a dynamic, interdependent and intimate ecosystem of communications professionals here in Basel. For a relatively small city, we swirl in a rich mix of highly skilled consultants, freelancers, in-house communicators and jobseekers.

This is why an organisation like the Basel Communicators’ Network is crucial, bringing together like-minded people who can support each other through every ebb and flow. Moving into our next phase, we have a tremendous opportunity to build on what we already have. How will we become more of a learning organisation? Increase the focus on career development? How can we create links with other communicators in Switzerland?

Expertly capable though she may be, Anissa won’t be able to tackle these questions alone. It’s down to each of us to contribute our ideas, time and enthusiasm to make the next phase as successful as the last.

My wish for the Basel Communicators’ Network in 2021 would be new opportunities for professional growth, and the generosity of spirit to cheer each other on in success and bolster each other when times get tough again. After all, this unashamedly dreadful year has shown us that kindness and generosity are the best approaches to get us through any amount of turmoil, not to mention the unprecedented use of the word “unprecedented”.

Good riddance to 2020. I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Peter Sandbach is a seasoned communicator with a passion for helping people to get their message across clearly. In 2017 he founded Basel-based Free Range Communications, which focuses on communication training, including presentation skills, storytelling and talking with the media. He is author of the book “How to Get Your TED Talk Banned”, an intriguing account of real events in Basel.