Speaking at the federal celebration on Wednesday evening in Möriken-Wildegg, Aargau, Amherd, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, underscored the need for collective effort and inclusion.
“We may speak different languages, but we don’t talk past each other,” Amherd said, according to her prepared speech. “We may have intense and tough debates, but we include everyone.” She praised Switzerland’s introduction of the referendum 150 years ago, a constitutional reform that laid the foundation for direct democracy by ensuring each individual’s voice holds significant weight.
Amherd stressed that democracy requires active participation and responsibility from its citizens, encouraging everyone to use their voice to foster a shared understanding and achieve common goals. She expressed her admiration for the solidarity and assistance shown by people and volunteers in areas recently affected by storm damage, highlighting the strength of community action.
The celebration, held on the eve of Switzerland’s National Day, took place at Yul Brynner Square in Möriken-Wildegg. The square, named after the Oscar-winning actor known for his role in “The Magnificent Seven,” was established ten years ago in honour of Brynner, who was a citizen of the Aargau municipality and had renounced his American citizenship.
Translated from German by DeepL/amva
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Swiss youngsters illegally obtain alcohol in a quarter of test purchases
This content was published on
In a quarter of all alcohol test purchases last year, young people in Switzerland were able to obtain beer, wine or spirits illegally.
Swiss storm damage more frequent and more expensive
This content was published on
Storm damage has increased by 126% in the last ten years. Costs have risen by 133% in the same period, according to Helvetia Insurance.
Switzerland plans to tighten S-status permits for Ukrainians
This content was published on
Swiss S-status refugee permits should only be granted to Ukrainian regions where life and limb are concretely threatened.
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.