Opening of the exhibition “Zum Geburtstag viel Recht” at the Swiss National Museum

At the Swiss National Museum in Zurich, Alain Berset opens the exhibition “Zum Geburtstag viel Recht. 175 Jahre Bundesverfassung”, devoted to fundamental rights. Four interactive games let visitors test naturalisation, the limits of free speech, the protection of privacy and the right to a fair trial.

His speech starts from John Dewey in 1939: democracy is not a perpetual-motion machine. The 1848 Constitution was written in 51 days, a speed “die in Bundesbern seither nie wieder erreicht wurde”. Without fundamental rights, he says, there is no freedom, no dignity, no protection against an overreaching state; the exhibition shows this “mit spielerischem Ernst”.

Speeches on this site

• Ouverture de l’exposition « CH Lab » au Musée national suisse (in German, French-language page)

Sources

• Swiss National Museum, press release of March 2023