Club 44

Club 44 is a non-profit conference, debate and exhibition centre based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Founded in 1944 by the industrialist Georges Braunschweig, it was originally a private men's circle and has since evolved into an open association that welcomes everyone. The club organises nearly 40 events per year — lectures, debates, round tables and encounters — and also hosts exhibitions and produces the podcast Zone 44. Its talks are recorded and made freely available in an online media library. The club has occupied its current premises at Rue de la Serre 64 since 1957, in a building designed by the Milanese designers Angelo Mangiarotti and Bruno Morassutti. It became a non-profit association in 1984 and is supported by public and private partners. Over the decades, speakers have included Jean-Paul Sartre, François Mitterrand, Ella Maillart, Nicolas Bouvier, François Truffaut, Henri Guillemin, Jeanne Hersch and Mario Botta, as well as more recent figures such as Didier Fassin, Salomé Saqué, Bernard Stiegler, Fatima Ouassak and Axel Kahn. Club 44's sound archive is a notable heritage asset: since 1957 all conferences have been recorded, and the collection now holds 250 magnetic tapes and 1,690 audio cassettes, plus digital recordings since 2005 — more than 3,000 recordings in total. The club is apolitical and areligious in its mission, aiming to promote objective information about the contemporary world, culture and intellectual exchange. Since 6 May 2025 it has been led by women, with Ellen Hertz as president and Zahra Banisadr as vice-president.

Club 44 was founded in 1944 in La Chaux-de-Fonds by the industrialist Georges Braunschweig (1892–1975), between the Yalta Conference and the end of the Second World War. His aim was to create a space for reflection and debate on the changes and challenges of the contemporary world, and to give local residents access to objective information. The year 1944 was devoted to drafting the club's statutes and goals. A committee of fifteen founding members was assembled, and the constituent assembly counted 167 memberships thanks to recruitment efforts. The project began with lectures held on Thursday evenings, accessible only to members. For the first lecture, Georges Braunschweig, president of the committee, convinced William Rappard to give a talk on "La Suisse dans le monde de demain". The early lectures took place in a room of the Nouveau Cercle rented by Club 44 at Avenue Léopold-Robert 36 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Georges Braunschweig's relations with the committee of the Rencontres internationales de Genève, founded in 1945 on the same principle as Club 44, made it possible to invite leading figures, notably from the French intelligentsia. These speakers gave the club national and international reach. Membership grew rapidly and the Thursday lectures became increasingly well attended, so that by 1955 the question of the club's future arose: the premises were becoming too cramped (around 1,000 members) and funding was borne solely by the Fondation Portescap. In 1957 the club moved to Rue de la Serre 64, into premises designed by the Milanese designers Angelo Mangiarotti and Bruno Morassutti. That same year, Monday evening lectures were introduced, initially open to women, though women could not become members. By 1975, at the death of its founder, Club 44 had around 1,500 members. The Fondation Portescap continued to cover one third of the club's funding, member subscriptions another third, and the final third came from external public or private funding. Georges's son, Philippe Braunschweig, took over the presidency, but the difficulty of finding high-level speakers and organising events that attracted media attention forced the new president to find a new dynamic. A first three-day symposium on chronogeny, titled "L'aménagement du temps", took place in September 1978. Its success with the media, the public and the city encouraged the organisers to hold another similar event three years later: "XXe siècle, le public, la danse". In 1983, Philippe Braunschweig resigned as president. The Fondation Portescap ceased its support in 1984, when the company faced difficulties with the arrival of quartz technology. Club 44 then became a non-profit association, open to all and funded by public authorities, institutions such as the Loterie Romande or Pro Helvetia, sponsors, members and paid entry to activities. The club's relationship with women evolved significantly: heir to the tradition of male-only clubs, membership and thus the Thursday lectures were not opened to women until 1971. Women were first admitted to the Monday evening lectures, organised from 1957, but could not become members. Their admission was confirmed at the extraordinary general assembly of December 1970, effective 1 January 1971, "with the express condition that the quality not suffer". The question had sparked many debates and the decision passed by a single vote. Georges Braunschweig had not wanted the club to be elitist or reserved for the bourgeoisie of the time. At the 1971 general assembly he stated: "As long as it is only men, there are no problems: they all wear the same suit and nothing distinguishes them externally. But a lady who only cares for her toilette and her beauty will have a different appearance and will often seem much younger than a woman who works all day. So if men of different conditions meet with their wives, frictions will inevitably result. That is precisely what we wanted to avoid." Contradictorily, the decision seemed motivated by the desire to keep the conference centre open and accessible to all. But the changes society had undergone since the Second World War, notably the emancipation of women, made the original reasons for refusing women outdated. Georges Braunschweig said at the June 1971 general assembly that "the feminine condition has evolved in such a way that it would give a retrograde image of the club to continue to forbid them access". Moreover, the decline in attendance at Thursday lectures towards the end of the 1960s justified this move, which also aimed to attract a new and younger audience. This decision led Club 44 to resemble a cultural centre rather than a circle. Since 6 May 2025, Club 44 has been led by women. The president is Ellen Hertz, former professor of ethnology and director of the Institute of Ethnology at the University of Neuchâtel. The vice-president is Zahra Banisadr, a specialist in migration and intercultural relations and daughter of Abolhassan Bani Sadr, former president of Iran. They succeeded François Hainard, honorary professor of sociology at the University of Neuchâtel and previous president since 2017. This change in leadership shows that women have... [text truncated in source].

• 2025

  On 6 May, Ellen Hertz becomes president and Zahra Banisadr vice-president, succeeding François Hainard.

• 2017

  François Hainard becomes president.

• 2005

  Digital recordings added to the sound archive.

• 1984

  Fondation Portescap ceases support; Club 44 becomes a non-profit association open to all.

• 1983

  Philippe Braunschweig resigns as president.

• 1978

  First three-day symposium on chronogeny, 'L'aménagement du temps', held in September.

• 1975

  Founder Georges Braunschweig dies; membership around 1,500; his son Philippe Braunschweig becomes president.

• 1971

  Women admitted as full members effective 1 January, after a vote decided by a single voice.

• 1957

  Club moves to Rue de la Serre 64 in premises designed by Angelo Mangiarotti and Bruno Morassutti; Monday evening lectures introduced, open to women.

• 1955

  Membership reaches about 1,000; premises become too cramped.

• 1945

  Rencontres internationales de Genève founded on the same principle, facilitating invitations to leading speakers.

• 1944

  Club 44 founded by Georges Braunschweig in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

A unique, apolitical and areligious venue for curiosity and dialogue, offering objective information and cultural exchange in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

• Conferences

  Regular lectures on contemporary issues, recorded and archived.

• Debates and round tables

  Events fostering dialogue and exchange.

• Exhibitions

  Temporary exhibitions, e.g. 'Le tissage du vivant' (2026).

• Zone 44 podcast

  Podcast produced by Club 44.

• Audio media library

  Online access to over 3,000 recordings from 1957 onwards.

1. 1Club 44 | Passionnément curieuxclub-44.ch
2. 2À propos | Club 44club-44.ch
3. 3Statuts | Club 44club-44.ch
4. 4Politique de protection des données | Club 44club-44.ch
5. 5Club 44wikidata.org
6. 6Club 44fr.wikipedia.org