In pursuit of the unattainable ideal of democracy

For Sabine Jenni, director of the Demokrative association, contact with different people is part of democracy. Vera Leysinger/SWI swissinfo.ch

Is there adequate civic education in Switzerland? And why is the school classroom the right place to do it? Sabine Jenni, head of Demokrative, a group that promotes civic education, spoke to SWI swissinfo.ch for the International Day of Democracy.

SWI swissinfo.ch: Your group works to promote civic education. Is there some improvement as regards this area still needed in Switzerland, the model democracy?

Sabine Jenni: Of course there are unique features to Swiss democracy, notably the opportunities for having one’s say. That is clearly an important aspect of democracy, but not the only one. From an academically objective point of view I would not go so far as to say that Switzerland is a model democracy. Democracy is an ideal we never quite reach. There are always things that could do with improvement, just because the times keep changing. Democracy needs to be nurtured, and so there is a need for this International Day of Democracy on September 15.

SWI: Your organisation Demokrative works with networks elsewhere in Europe. How good is Switzerland’s civic education in international comparison?

S.J.: The attitude that we are a model democracy is widespread here. But given this view of ourselves and this high standard, we have strikingly little awareness among the population at large just how important civic education is. That is one big difference between us and Germany, where there is a great deal on offer. It’s also striking that people from Eastern Europe and from newer democracies are more intensely aware of their achievement and what it takes to preserve it. There civic education is more part of collective self-awareness. In Switzerland we tend to feel complacent because of our stability. Yet the mere fact of being born in Switzerland doesn’t make us politically more aware.

SWI: Why is there so little impetus in Switzerland when it comes to civic education?

S.J.: Democracy is very much a part of our nation’s identity. That is why we are currently celebrating 175 years of the federal constitution, and can assume that everybody means the same thing by this. The explanation may be that the Swiss constitution got a thorough revision in 1999 but that didn’t mean a big break, as other countries have had following a dictatorship. We have the feeling that our democracy is stable, because it has been stable for so long. This can lead to insufficient appreciation of how much uncertainty there is in the world – something which many young people are now intensely aware of.

SWI: Basic civic education has found its place in the new curriculum here in Switzerland – at secondary school level, pupils will be able to explain democracy and compare it with other systems. Will this be enough?

S.J.: This point doesn’t cover the whole of civic education, it only contains [passive] knowledge. To my way of thinking much more is needed. It is also a matter of ability to debate or ability to read, skills which do not belong exclusively to civic education but are still crucial. It is worthwhile to take these under the lens of democracy. And it’s not just a matter of how I can best present my argument, but also how to do it respectfully and how to understand other points of view.

Sabine Jenni is co-founder and managing director of the association Demokrative, which promotes political education through national and international projects. Vera Leysinger/SWI swissinfo.ch

SWI: Let’s stay with schooling for the moment. What needs to be considered with regard to the civic education of youngsters?

S.J.: I have to say first that I am not myself a teacher. The topic is a complex one, and it is the job of a teacher to make this complexity manageable. I notice that civic education is often reduced just to institutions and very detailed rules – rules on voting in parliament, for example. That is far removed from the preoccupations of a young person. In secondary school, most of the pupils do not yet have the vote. And even in schools that go on to a higher level we are often dealing with youngsters who do not have Swiss citizenship. If we only talk about political matters that are far removed from their everyday reality, we are presenting politics as something that has nothing to do with them. Yet there are many instances where youngsters do experience something of politics and democracy in their everyday lives.

SWI: What would be an example?

S.J.: Whenever participation or decision-making is needed at school. Or when there is a discussion of how and why a speed limit of 30 km per hour is being introduced in a particular neighbourhood. Civic education should also be used in the school setting to provide an approach to thorny issues. I am thinking of the climate change crisis, the pandemic, or the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This may be a challenge for the teacher, but it is also an opportunity. When young people feel affected by an issue, they are ready to get involved politically.

SWI: Many courses in civic education, including the workshops held by your association, are aimed at youth and young adults. But has a person ever had enough civic education?

S.J.: Not at all. I’m glad you brought that up. Our association’s statutes say that we aim to encourage civic education for the widest range of people possible. There is a practical reason, to be sure, in concentrating on youth. Young people are in school not only for the period of years required by law, but also further on in vocational or academic streams, and it’s just easier to reach them through these institutions. We do want to organise beyond schools bit by bit, though. Civic education should be considered a part of adult education too, I believe.

SWI: How can people be reached if they are no longer in school and have no contact with the major political debates of the day?

S.J.: That is the big question, and it is a difficult one for us, when we are trying to reach young people through existing organisations like neighbourhood centres. These tend to be very low-key and undemanding – the youngsters can come and go as they please. So that wouldn’t fit with our workshop format of two hours for a group of ten people.

SWI: Access needs to be through institutions, then.

S.J.: Most likely. There are some things available, like the Polit-Forum here in Bern, which organises discussion events, though they’re mainly aimed at adults. But who has time to spare in the evenings?

SWI: Do media have a role to play in civic education? I was thinking of print and broadcast media, but there are also social media like TikTok.

S.J.: Here in Switzerland, with Easyvote and the Go Vote campaign, say, there are interesting ideas already out there that use apps and social media to encourage participation. We have a different focus, because we are asking people to begin a deeper questioning – of themselves too. A social media video that is only ten seconds long is not going to get into any topic very deeply. In our workshops we discuss items for half an hour at a stretch, and we train them to last the pace and expect that there will be a wide range of views.

SWI: We met to talk here, in a café in the railway station in Bern. Thinking of the International Day of Democracy on September 15, what does a setting like this tell you?

S.J.: In civic education the federal parliament house is obviously a very important place, but the station is closer to our focus here. There are many different people here all gathered into a narrow space, and they will sit close together on their trains too. That has a great deal to do with democracy, to my way of thinking.

Edited by Mark Livingston. Translated from German by Terence MacNamee/ds