Bern – a Vision Soon to Come True?
Wir alle sind Bern (WasB/We are all Bern) was born out of a visioning process in December 2016 that brought together immigrants (documented and others), researchers and local NGO workers to redefine what citizenship in a globalized and urban environment looks like, and to advocate for this vision from the bottom up.
As an Indian academic, who came to Switzerland via Boston – USA, to work on climate change research and ended up in its beautiful, but sleepy capital city, I was excited to be part of a movement that was creating an alternative view of citizenship shaped by the experience of a diverse group, as opposed to a staid and bureaucratic idea of citizenship.
This can-do, dynamic spirit is at the heart of how WasB functions because the process of “how” we make a change is as important to us, as the change we are seeking to make.
Making “Urban Citizenship” a Reality
So, what is WasB’s vision? We seek to make the concept of “urban citizenship” a reality – namely, the legal, political, social and cultural participation of all city residents, regardless of status and without structural discrimination. In our view, everyone must have the same rights and access as democratic actors in shaping the city.
Our work, therefore, focuses on strengthening participation and growing the movement to enable change from bottom up. Currently, we have four main initiatives that we use as vehicles to bring the concept of urban citizenship into public discourse and thereby push the boundaries within society of what is possible.
“Voting for All”
As Switzerland has a unique system of direct democracy, popular initiatives are voted on regularly. Prior to every vote, we organize an event for those with the right to vote to meet with those without to discuss together, which initiatives should be supported. In a country where one-quarter of the population are considered immigrants without the right to vote, this “Voting for All” event is aimed at getting everyone involved in democratic processes, while simultaneously pointing out that an outdated definition of citizenship denies participation to a sizable portion of the city.
Café Cosmopolis – A Communal Space Created by the Many
This initiative came to life to create a space in the city that can be used without consuming goods and allows all citizens to shape the space and events themselves. Currently, a committee finds a space each month and develops an idea – sometimes the focus is a cultural event such as a concert, other times it is a political discussion. Food, of course, is always a part of the mix! It is not just about the end product – the evening itself, but rather how the evening is organized. To this end, we have just received a grant from the Federal Commission on Migration to rent a fixed space for the café.
Advocating for a City Card in Bern
Similar to cities in North America, such as New York or San Francisco as well as the initiative in the city of Zurich described by Bea Schwager, we are advocating for a city card for all residents to ensure everyone has access to city services, regardless of status. Together with one of our partner organizations, the Counseling Center for undocumented migrants (Berner Beratungsstelle fürs Sans-Papiers), we are part of a working group discussing with the city officials from various departments (social services, police, infrastructure…) as to how such a card could work in practice. Although there are city officials, including the police, who are supportive of such an ID, it would still require external pressure to help pass a political motion. Therefore, we are now strategizing how to gain the support of the public to convince local politicians to pass a resolution making the city card a reality.
Solidarity City Mapping – Residents Share Knowledge About Their City
Undocumented immigrants are resourceful and have often figured out how to navigate a city to find free, inexpensive or informal services that are of high-quality. The focus of the Solidarity City Mapping project is to allow each member of the city to share their tips. This demonstrates that each of us has something to offer to our fellow residents and that each of us can also benefit from one another’s experiences, removing boundaries between the helper and the person helped.
Next month we will organize a workshop, reaching out to various diaspora to further shape what information city residents would find useful and how the information should be organized (a paper map, an online app, etc). Similarly to the Café Cosmopolis initiative, we have also recently received funding from the Federal Commission on Migration to make the city map a reality.
Through our work as a living urban citizenship laboratory, we are putting Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of “becoming the change we wish to see in the world” into practice.
Payal Parekh holds a PhD in climate science and is a member of the civil society movement “Wir alle sind Bern”, which is a network that advocates for “urban citizenship”.
Revised version 12.02.2020
