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Un lieu
qui vous
ressemble.

maturation methods. These are generally excellent;
thanks to the quality of the local milk, they are rich
in texture and soft and melting in the mouth, with a
symphony of flavours because of the rich variety of
herbs and plants in the area where the cow is queen.

Landsgemeinde: There are many other traditions and
Dormir Travailler
events that go back for generations, but one of them,
Un coliving, Un espace de coworking,
un espace de partage des bureaux privatifs, the Landsgemeinde (open-air parliament), we need to
& une ludothèque des salles de réunion & describe in detail. We were deeply impressed by the
des loges téléphoniques square and monument where the open-air assembly
meets for real direct democracy. This used to be the
tradition in several other Cantons but now only
remains in Appenzell Innerhoden and Glarus.
“S Woot Ischt Frei…» The Word is Free...” The
Landsgeneinde has taken place every year since 1403,
on the last Sunday in April. After a special ritual
service, all the village inhabitants assemble in the
Manger & Boire Divertir square. Those eligible to vote can carry their swords
on this day. Before voting on local government issues,
Un Café, une Guinguette Un espace de jeux, une zone
& un Carnotzet de rencontres, d’échanges members of the Standeskommission and the cantonal
& des ateliers interactifs
court are elected, and every four years elections take
place for the Ständerat (upper chamber).

The government gives an account of its activities.
During this, each voter has the opportunity to come
onto the podium and argue for or against an issue, put
COLLEX˙ The Landammann invites participation with the words:
forward a suggestion or submit an individual initiative.

“S Woot ischt frei” (the word is free). Everybody can
speak freely, men and women, though the latter have
only been allowed to speak and vote since 1990; this
was the last Swiss Canton to give women the vote.
After the discussions, voting is carried out openly by
show of hand. Everybody knows each other and can
BOSSY Arguments might be made for secret ballots, but
see how everyone votes.

the Appenzellers say they do not need it; they bring
their swords and vote openly and transparently. This
message of freedom, openness and pride is represented
by the impressive monument: a large statue showing
a man with a sword raising his hand to vote. This
powerful symbol shows why people want to preserve
this tradition: it is their history, the force that gives
Un lieu qui suit votre them equality and freedom, makes them powerful and
responsible. It shows that this is the heritage for future
rythme de vie, vos Appenzellers, one of direct democracy, transparency
évolutions professionnelles and openness. For us, this was something far
stronger and overwhelming in its force than even the
www.voisins.ch et personnelles. breathtaking National Geographic cover. •

w w w. d i va i n t e r n at i o n a l . c h
VOISINS DE COLLEX-BOSSY - Route de L’Etraz 3 - 1239 Collex-Bossy - +41(0) 22 735 24 24 - info@voisins.ch

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