Campaign posters freshened up for young voters

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Fertig jung und dumm! Geh wählen. (Young and dumb no more! Go vote.) Fabienne Krummenacher, Markus Hirt sfgb

Einsenden statt ausblenden. (Send it in, don’t block it out.) Aline Blatter, Stefanie Zimmermann sfgb

Du bist die Stimme, die fehlt. (You are the vote/voice that is missing.) Aylin Bieri, Thania Ramseier sfgb

Wähle Wie Wild. (Vote like crazy.) Liliane Hebeisen, Melina Neuenschwander sfgb

Übe Kritik. Erfinde Politik. (Be critical. Become political.) Annina Siegwart, Jenny Matter sfgb

Alles rennt ins Parlament - ich hab diesen Trend verpennt. (Everybody‘s running for parliament – I’ve slept through this trend.) Tamara Lüthi, Cyrill Neuenschwander sfgb

Jugend Wahl Sinn. (Youth vote mania.) Anina Krauer, Petra Imboden sfgb

Verteile die Ärsche auf die Hocker. (Pick the bums for the seats.) Jasmin Krähenbühl, Stefanie Balmer sfgb

Stimmst du was, bewegst du was. (If you vote for something, you’ll change something.) Celine Stettler, Manuela Krebs, Jasmin Siegenthaler sfgb

Spiel mit! (Play along!) Sandro Knöri, Marc Deriaz sfgb

Nutze deine Stimme! (Use your vote!) Fabian Kaufmann, Nick Dubuis sfgb

Deine Tat, unser Rat. (Your decision, our parliament.) Carol Lauener, Nicolas Jossi sfgb

Mach Meinung Möglich. (Make opinions possible.) Rafael Käsermann, Sebastian Wyss sfgb

Sei kein Narr. Geh wählen! (Don’t be a fool. Go to the polls!) Patricia Gabriel, Tanja Rüegg sfgb

Wir stimmen ab! Und du? Bestimmen Gewinnen. (We’re voting! And you? Decide and win.) Michelle Ramseyer, Timo Brandt sfgb-b.ch

Deine Stimme stimmt immer. (Your vote is always the right vote.) Lea Bapst, Refael Blatt sfgb

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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.

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)