The federal government wants to save on development cooperation: Next year, the new International Cooperation Strategy (IC) 2025 - 2028 and the budget for it will be discussed in parliament. It is already clear that cuts for IC are imminent. terre des hommes switzerland asked young people in Basel for their opinion on this.
The Federal Council announced in February that it would cut the budget for international cooperation. This clearly contradicts the opinion of the majority of the population. A recent survey shows: 65 % of the Swiss* are in favor of an increase in this expenditure. Among young people, the number is even higher. According to the ETH study "Security 2023 78% of the 18-35 year-olds surveyed would like Switzerland to do more development cooperation. For the vast majority of young Swiss people, it is a matter of course that their country assumes global responsibility. For them, it is clear that in view of conflicts and crises all over the world, Switzerland needs to make a much more reliable commitment to the countries of the Global South. The young people in our self-organized youth project also share this opinion.
Voices of the Global Generation
Maria Ioana (24) put it this way in one of the interviews terre des hommes switzerland conducted with young people in Basel: "Switzerland also benefited from the exploitation of the Global South during the colonial era. We therefore have a very strong responsibility. From a historical point of view, we have not yet assumed this responsibility at all, especially financially. In addition, the climate crisis is primarily the fault of the West, but the effects are particularly precarious in the Global South, which of course also has to do with social inequality. That's why I think it's very important to increase spending on development cooperation."
Nils (24) argues "If you think about everything that is consumed that is based on the exploitation of labor and nature of the global South. For that reason alone, you have an obligation not only as a citizen, but as a nation state to compensate for the grievances for which you are also partly responsible."
Lara (22) thinks "We definitely need more money for development cooperation, because Switzerland, or Europe in general, the whole West has a very clear responsibility for the humanitarian as well as the nature-related crises in the Global South. Because we all consume and profit, people and nature suffer. And it can't be that we just go on living our lives and now also just save on aid and consume the same amount."
For a policy with a future
These positions show that the upcoming generation sees itself much more as a global citizen than the generations before it. International studies by Unicef prove this: A generation is growing up around the world that thinks and feels much more globally than their parents and grandparents, a "global generation," so to speak. Young people today are growing up in a highly networked globalized world. They are digitally connected with their peers all over the world and have an international outlook thanks to a wide range of global experiences abroad. For them, it is clear that the major challenges of our time require transnational solutions instead of a short-sighted focus on national self-interest. For her, investments in international cooperation are an important contribution to countering the major global crises. It is time for politicians to take the voice of young people, and thus the next generation, seriously and for the change in values that is also underway in Switzerland to be reflected in concrete political decisions.
