Lionel: “We need to create spaces for young people.”

But as for the right to vote at 16, I’m not sure it’s the best idea, as not everyone is necessarily ready. One solution would perhaps be to first give the right to vote at a communal level. For referendums and national elections, I think we would need more in-depth information. At the level of local politics, I think the commune should listen more to the views of young people.

The opening of a skatepark in Martigny recently is a good thing. But it took 15 years to happen! During Covid-19, if it was raining, there was nowhere to go to meet up with your friends. We need to create spaces for young people.

My future? I’d like to have a house and a family in Martigny. I have another dream, more short-term: I’d like to go to Japan with my friends to discover the culture as I’m a fan of Manga and Japanese cartoons. Regarding the big questions of the future, there is of course global warming. I make small efforts at my own level: I recycle my waste, I don’t waste electricity. But for me, we are missing real joint action. In any case, we need to stop using nuclear energy, to avoid polluting the ground for life, and we need to find clean energies instead. Would I become involved in politics? I don’t campaign for anything at the moment, but why not, one day!

Interview by Stéphane Herzog

Lionel Formaz

*2005, lives in Martigny (VS). He is in his first year at the Ecole de commerce (business school). He trains assiduously at Greco-Roman wrestling, as well as parkour and skateboarding.

The portraits of all 16 young people interviewed

• Anne: “I have the vote, so I want to use it”
• Jason: “I am a keen, effective, quick-witted debater”
• Johanna: “We could use our voice to do more against climate change”
• Kimmo: “I would like to sail around the world”
• Juliette: “The decisions that are made do affect the lives of young Swiss citizens”
• Lionel: “We need to create spaces for young people.”
• Yves: “I give my all playing football”
• Moritz: “I take responsibility for my decisions”
• Malin: “Missing a few hours of classroom time is a trifling matter in view of the climate crisis we face”
• Cléo: “Swiss politics? It’s a huge muddle for such a little country.”
• Olivia: “I want to add my voice to the fight against inequality”
• Noelia: “Sitting around at home is not really my thing”
• Lisa: “After all, it is our future at stake”
• Dejwana: “Switzerland? It’s better than Lebanon, where we struggled to be accepted”
• Elena: “I always try to form my own opinion”
• Valérie: “We should start with the little things in our own lives first”