The round table – furniture that opens the doors of democracy
What to do when tensions burst or a crisis threatens? Or when adversaries won't give an inch? Often the key to finding a solution is exemplified in a piece of furniture – the round table. Here is one big advantage: Everyone gathered around can talk to each other at eye level.
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Studied history and politics at University of Bern. Worked at Reuters, the newspapers Der Bund and Berner Zeitung, and the Förderband radio station. I am concerned with the Swiss practice of modern direct democracy in all its aspects and at all levels, my constant focus being the citizen.
They might be kindergarten children, revellers at a cocktail party, or perhaps ministers and presidents at an international summit. For all of them, gathering in a circle is the most suitable way of enabling communication between people.
A round table has the advantage of levelling the playing field for all participants. Differences in power, influence, legitimacy, nationality, ethnicity, background, gender … all these considerations can be temporarily set aside. The round table: could this be humanity’s most democratic piece of furniture?
Translated by John Heilprin
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You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.