Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Campaign posters freshened up for young voters

What does it take to get young citizens to vote? Trainees from one art school are re-thinking how political posters can attract the youth vote ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Political abstention among young people is a familiar phenomenon in the western world. It’s often said that the issues at stake are too complex, politics lack public appeal or that political parties are out of touch with the younger generation and their way of communicating.

That’s no different in Switzerland. Although there are few reliable figures about young voter turnout in the country, it is estimated that participation in nationwide ballots and elections is about 30%, well below the average turnout of about 45% among the rest of population.

So, supported by the public platform easyvoteExternal link, students at the Art School Bern and BielExternal link created a series of posters trying to get the attention of their generation.

More
William Tell

More

The history of Swiss political posters

This content was published on Posters – in railway stations, on street corners or in newspapers – are one major way to drum up Swiss voter support. Here’s their story.

Read more: The history of Swiss political posters

The graphic art work was presented in Bern before 16 posters were chosen to be publicly displayed on Swiss streets in October.

Many of the new-age posters use an unconventional visual approach combined with catchy or even rhyming German-language slogans – often difficult to convey adequately in English. Here are some examples.

(swissinfo.ch; pictures: Art School Bern and Biel) 

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR