Democracy is a bit like a puzzle, with many different people holding a piece. People trying to solve the puzzle have to discuss ideas and vote. If citizens don't fulfil certain criteria, the puzzle doesn't fit together very well.
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A documentary and animation filmmaker from Bern, Michele studied film at Zurich University of the Arts. He's been a swissinfo.ch video journalist since 2004 and has a special interest in developing new video formats for mobile viewing, mixing animation and documentary styles.
Civic education plays a crucial part in democracy: it prepares people to take part in a democracy and helps them find their place on the political spectrum. What happens when politically active people move to Switzerland from abroad? How do they find a new role for themselves in a different country?
In the second episode of our series ‘Inside the Democracy Labs’, researchers Claudia Schneider und Vera Sperisen take a look at how older migrants find their political fit and motivation.
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.
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What is civic education?
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Swiss citizens can either propose legislation of their own, or work to defeat legislation already approved by parliament. However, democracy only works if people understand the rules and play along. Many democracies suffer from poor participation in the voting process, due to poor civic education. There’s room for improvement in Switzerland too. (Michele Andina, swissinfo.ch)
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A coalition of rightwing populist parties in the European Parliament is very clear about what they believe in – they call themselves the Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe. The German far-right party Alternative for Germany is even more unambiguous. “We want to introduce direct democratic rights, in accordance with the Swiss model”, they state…
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Voting on November 28 should be of particular interest to immigrants – one of the issues the Swiss will decide on is whether to accept an initiative launched by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party that calls for the deportation of foreigners who are convicted of crime. The voting is part of a project called Baloti…
Both Switzerland and Oregon practice direct democracy
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Switzerland has 26 cantons, which are jurisdictionally similar to counties in Oregon. Initially, democracy in Switzerland was primarily canton-based, and the Swiss conducted elections in a way that resembles current Oregonian politics at the county level. Since 1848, Switzerland has developed a highly participatory direct democracy, which inspired Oregon to adopt a similar political approach.…
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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.