Swiss Review 4/2021

Swiss Review / August 2021 / No.4 8 and chat with my parents to keep track of the latest developments. I am interested in politics but would feel uneasy belonging to a political party. I don’t agree entirely with any of the parties and would find it hard to defend a position that I don’t share. INTERVIEW BY EVEL INE RUTZ Focus Sweet sixteen What matters to the 16-year-olds of today? What are their biggest hopes and fears? What do they think about lowering the voting age to 16? We asked sixteen 16-year-olds to tell us – and learned that theirs is a generation acutely aware that political decisions will shape their future. Quite a few of the young peo- ple I know are anxious about the future. It’s normal to think things over a lot at our age, but climate change and Covid-19 are difficult to process. We don’t know how the sit- uation will pan out – or, for example, which jobs are still safe to go into. The pandemic has taken a year out of our lives. It’s a sobering experience. Mental health issues are on the rise. I am very concerned about climate change. Politicians finally need to realise that something has to be done. They should stop talking and start acting. We don’t have much time left. I try and do as much as possible in every- day life to help our climate – like being a vegetarian and using public transport. I don’t like when people dress opinions up as facts to make a point. I am interested in science and have chosen biochemistry as my main subject. One day, I can imagine doing research and then working as a teacher. I am currently doing an ornithology course in my free time. I like being in nature, going on excursions, and I jog regularly. However, I don’t have much time for hobbies outside school. I think it is good that young people can vote from the age of 16 in the canton of Glarus. Unfortunately, the pandemic has so far prevented me from doing so. The open-air as- sembly has been cancelled twice. I will certainly take part in the next one. I have the vote, so I want to use it. Society will benefit as a whole from the fresh outlook and perspectives that young people can bring. Our pri- orities are different to those of older voters. They should also lower the voting age to 16 at national level. Young people who want to vote should be entitled to do so. After all, it is our future at stake. We are the ones who will have to live with what the electorate decides now. I watch the evening news, read newspapers Outside school, I mainly go to Scouts at the weekend. Other than that, I often go skate- boarding. The skatepark in Aarau is not perfect, but it will do. For me, a good skatepark has to have enough space, so that beginners can also skate alongside people who want to practise the more advanced tricks. And there also needs to be enough shade from the sun. Skateboarding flat out is physically quite exhaust- ing. You can only become a better skate- boarder if you are willing to practise, practise and practise again. There is always the risk of getting injured – usually on the ankles and knees. But Anne Hielscher Born in 2004 and living in Mollis (canton of Glarus), where she can now vote in elections and popular votes at the age of 16. Anne is a pupil at the cantonal school in Glarus. Her main subject is biochemistry.