Universities research new forms of democracy with the Population Council
Published: Tuesday, Apr 16th 2024, 08:11
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Starting in November, the Universities of Zurich and Geneva want to research new forms of democracy with the "Population Council 2025" project. The aim is to investigate what such a council can contribute to the debate and the solution of social challenges.
Switzerland is facing urgent and sometimes deadlocked political challenges, the University of Zurich (UZH), the University of Geneva (Unige) and the Center for Democracy in Aarau (ZDA) announced on Tuesday. According to the press release, such a national population council is a "promising format" for conducting a respectful debate on a controversial or politically deadlocked topic.
According to the organizers, a pre-selection of topics was therefore made in cooperation with the political parties. The Population Council, made up of 100 randomly drawn residents from all over Switzerland, will discuss the topic preferred by the majority in Aarau.
Participants can debate the security of energy supply, the financing of old-age pensions, Switzerland's neutrality policy, rising healthcare costs or the relationship between Switzerland and Europe.
Council to represent the Swiss population
"We are not pursuing a substantive or political agenda, but are interested in scientifically investigating the format of a population council in Switzerland," Professor Dr. Daniel Kübler, co-initiator of the project at UZH, is quoted as saying in the press release. "We are interested in how an informed cross-section of the population positions itself on concrete political solutions," Kübler continues.
The National Population Council is to take place from November 2024 to March 2025. It should reflect the diversity of the Swiss population as well as possible and ensure that people with very different opinions are included.
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