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2021: the year in Swiss cartoons

For the second year in a row, the Covid-19 pandemic has dominated world affairs and private lives. As in 2020, Swiss cartoonists drew inspiration for their work from the public health crisis. Here is a look back at some of the best drawings of the year.

Swiss cartoonist Stefan Lütolf of Zurich is among the artists who used his pencil to encapsulate some of the main themes surrounding the pandemic – masks, the vaccine and, yes, death.

Surmounting subsequent waves of the virus wasn’t the only thing on people’s minds – or agendas – this year. Key nationwide votes on issues such as same-sex marriage and banning face coverings (thanks to the so-called “burka ban” initiative) attracted attention beyond the country’s borders.

From the storming of the United States Capitol building on January 6 to the United Nations COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, this autumn, cartoonists also cast their critical eye on events that shook the world. Some also took aim at stories that have stopped dominating news headlines – Tony Marchand’s drawing of two boys at home, for example, challenged readers to remember the conflict in Syria, which began ten years ago.

Adapted from German by Geraldine Wong Sak Hoi/Billi Bierling

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