Federalism is an important part of Swiss democracy and identity. We come into constant contact with federalism in our everyday lives, even without realizing it: for example, when we register in our new municipality of residence, are stopped at a police checkpoint or pay with francs at the supermarket checkout.

In federal Switzerland, state power and responsibilities are divided between the communes, cantons and federal government. While some emphasize that federalism enables diversity within unity, others criticize it for being too complicated, inefficient and outdated.

But how does federalism actually work? How and why is political power divided between different areas? What role does federalism play for minorities? How does federalism relate to our sense of home and our identity? Where does Swiss federalism stand today and how is it developing? What are the current issues in other federal countries?

These and other questions will be discussed in the exhibition, a year-round series of events and various educational activities.

The exhibition was developed in close cooperation with the ch Foundation, the Institute for Federalism at the University of Fribourg and the Institute of Political Science at the University of Bern. The project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.


Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.