Closing event

On 20 May 2025, the Citizens’ Assembly concluded with a dignified and inspiring closing event at the Kornhausforum in Bern. More than 100 invited guests from politics, academia, and public administration attended as members of the Citizens’ Assembly presented their results.

To open the event, Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider delivered a welcome address in which she expressed her deep gratitude to the participants. She emphasized how important new forms of citizen participation are for democracy. “The idea of the Citizens’ Assembly sends an important signal at a time when democracies around the world are under pressure. In times when filter bubbles only reinforce one’s own opinion, dialogue is actively sought — including with those who think differently. More democracy is therefore not only being called for, but also being practiced. Or, as one might say in the case of Switzerland, the country of popular votes, initiatives, and referendums: even more democracy,” said Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider.

At the heart of the evening were the voices of the participants themselves: Nicolina Onofrei and Albert America described the roughly six-month process from their perspective. Afterwards, Augusta Simoni-Bullo and Rebeca Meier presented the six reform proposals that had been jointly negotiated during the sessions. The topics ranged from strengthening health literacy and ensuring fairer access to healthcare, to structural questions of financing and quality assurance. Finally, the four of them together handed over the final report (PDF, 6 MB) to Federal Councillor Baume-Schneider – accompanied by the applause of the audience.

Afterwards, the audience itself became active: those present exchanged views with their neighbors, accompanied by short smartphone surveys. It quickly became clear that the results sparked great interest – while also raising important questions, such as feasibility and political follow-up.

These questions were then taken up directly on the panel. In an engaged discussion, Barbara Gysi (National Councillor, SP), Benjamin Fischer (National Councillor, SVP), Giorgio Fonio (National Councillor, The Centre), Jörg Mäder (former National Councillor, GLP), and Maya Graf (Councillor of States, Greens) reflected on their impressions and the significance of the results. A key point of debate was how the concerns set out in the final report could feed into future parliamentary debates.

The closing of the evening once again belonged to the participants themselves: in a final conversation, they reflected on their experiences and formulated what they are taking away from the process – and what they wish to pass on to politics and the public. It became clear that the Citizens’ Assembly had not only produced reform proposals, but had also sparked something within the participants themselves.

In conclusion, Andri Heimann from the Center for Democracy Aarau summarized the key insights and emphasized that the closing of the Citizens’ Assembly did not mark the end, but rather the beginning of a deeper public and political engagement with the results. During the subsequent reception, many guests took the opportunity to continue their conversations and to establish new contacts.