Swiss Review 4/2021

14 Focus Swiss Review / August 2021 / No.4 Olivia Aeschlimann Born in 2005 and living in Berne, where she is a pupil at Kirchenfeld upper-sec- ondary school. Olivia enjoys listening to the radio station SRF 3, because she likes its mixture of music and information. I lead a full life. It is hard to make a short list of all the things I do. I dance hip-hop and jazz three evenings a week. I enjoy dancing with other peo- ple and forgetting my everyday worries. I also play the piano, draw people and animals in my sketchbook, and use my sewing machine to alter my clothes. My girlfriends and I often spend time along the River Aare, where we play cards or volleyball, skate, have picnics, listen to music, or just talk. To find out more on this issue, visit www.revue.ch What do 16-year-olds like Dewjana (GE), Lisa (TG), Malin (SO), Noelia (GL) and Valérie (SG) have to say? To read the portraits of all 16 young people interviewed, visit us online at www.revue.ch . Having so many interests is a good thing, in my view. But it can also be a hin- drance, because I have no plans on what to do after I leave school. A law degree sounds interesting. Or maybe I could study medicine. Whatever I decide, I want to add my voice to the fight against inequality. For the moment, this means taking part in street demonstrations. I need to express my views in some way or other, given that I am not yet entitled to vote. I don’t understand why I still have to wait two years. We have already studied politics at school, so I amwell aware of how government works. At 18, I will just have a little more life experience. INTERVIEW BY FL AVIA VON GUNTEN Elena Niederhauser Born in 2004, living in Tarasp in Lower Engadine (canton of Graubünden), and about to begin an apprenticeship as a chemist. Elena can well imagine going into politics. When I am not at school or doing homework, I am usually out with my friends, or either reading or cooking. School is very important to me, and I am trying to get the best marks possible. I will be leaving school at the beginning of summer, after which I start an apprenticeship as a chemist. I want to get a good training and then ideally go and study – for which I will have to leave my home valley. After that, I will probably live in the city or even abroad. But I would like to return one day and live here again in the Lower Engadine. My mother is involved in local politics. When my brother and I were younger, neither of us were interested. Nowwe notice howmuch we talk about politics at home, especially when there is a referendum around the corner. It has become quite exciting. The latest pro- posals – the initiative on pesticides and the initiative on clean drinking water – affected our family directly, because my parents run a farm. We had tomake a podcast about these proposals at school, when we looked at the politics in detail. I always try to formmy own opinion. While I think it would be great to be allowed to vote at 16, I also think the issues would be too complex for me. There are many things I really have no clue about! When you are 16, there are more important things than exercis- ing your democratic duty. However, I would happily change our climate policies. We could do so many things better. I can very well envisage get- ting involved in politics one day. I don’t need to be Federal Councillor or anything like that. INTERVIEW BY FADRINA HOFMANN