Lucerne welcomes the young Swiss politicians of the future
Should children get involved in politics? This is not the kind of question you’re likely hear in Lucerne, home to a “children’s parliament” for 8-14-year-olds for the past 30 years. SWI swissinfo.ch visited their most recent session.
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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.
Céline joined swissinfo.ch in 2018 as video journalist for the 'Nouvo in English' project, just after graduating from the Academie du journalisme et des medias (AJM) at the University of Neuchâtel. Originally from Ticino, she's been filming, writing and interviewing people all over Switzerland since she got her first reporter badge at 11 during a school camp.
SWI talked to Lorena, Mattis and Enno, three of 90 youngsters taking part in the annual children’s parliament in Lucerne in central Switzerland. In this short video the children describe their extraordinary activities.
Lorena and Mattis, aged 11 and 13 respectively, are members of the co-presidency of the parliament and chair the sessions, which take place three times a year on Wednesday afternoons. Ten-year old Enno meanwhile already has a clear plan for his political future.
The children certainly seem to have “democracy skills” – they know exactly what instruments they have and how they can use them to get involved in city politics. And they can. Their most powerful political instrument available to them is the postulate – the ability to pose a question to politicians, giving the young children the same power as members of the traditional city parliament for adults.
Read more about the Lucerne’s children’s parliament here:
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How young parliamentarians are making a Swiss city more child-friendly
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In Lucerne, kids are getting involved politically – and they do it as well as grown-ups. SWI swissinfo.ch visits the children’s parliament.
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.
Read more
More
How young parliamentarians are making a Swiss city more child-friendly
This content was published on
In Lucerne, kids are getting involved politically - and they do it as well as grown-ups. SWI swissinfo.ch visits the children's parliament.
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.