The Politics of Being Heard in Social Crises
by Cordula Reimann and Claudia Meier
How do social crises shape the way we live together? This was the starting question for Zwischentöne — Learning from Crises, an initiative we ran in Lucerne, Switzerland.
In international peacebuilding, telling life stories is regarded as a resource for creating meaning, fostering empathy, and helping both individuals and societies to process traumatic experiences (Bar-On, 2006; Lederach, 2005). Storytelling can build bridges and open up a space for dialogue. This is why we opted for a biographically inspired approach, leaning on oral history, in which 70 people documented their experiences of societal crisis.
The five insights that follow are offered as encouragement for anyone looking to enhance conflict management and build greater crisis resilience in Switzerland and beyond.
1. Appreciation of experiences
“Today, everyone in our family is trying hard, but as a mother, I notice that something is still brewing, and that a lot of unspoken and stressful things are still resonating. And in general, I find that many people, even before the coronavirus, are very oversensitive to everything.”
In times of social crisis, we often only perceive the loudest voices. We lack a deeper understanding of how people actually live through and cope with upheaval. Particularly the experiences of marginalised groups — such as those affected by poverty, young people, refugees, or people with disabilities — disappear in pale statistics. People are talked about rather than talked with.
Zwischentöne (“nuances”) aims to honor individual experiences with crises and conflicts in all their complexity and uniqueness. People from the canton of Lucerne documented their experiences in open group meetings, or submitted them in writing or via voice message. These voices are made publicly accessible on zwischen-toene.ch, in the LU222 archive of the Lucerne Museum, and through media contributions. This creates a contemporary historical documentation of our crisis-ridden present — beyond the fleeting moment of a story shared orally.
Our experience shows that dialogue and listening formats are only effective when participants feel a genuine, empathetic interest. This above all requires a credible and consistent inner attitude, and a willingness to engage again and again with openness and curiosity towards different lived realities. At the same time, this means that dialogue formats must first provide space for subjective experiences, before inviting people into conversation about wider social tensions and experiences of crisis.
2. Deep need to be understood
“Many Swiss think: refugees come here, they get money, they get everything, and they do nothing. But that’s not true. We always try everything: How can we integrate? How can we find a good job?”
For many contributors, it was deeply meaningful to speak openly about their own experiences and to be listened to by others. Several participants shared stories they had never voiced before, along with the sense of not having been understood, or of being misunderstood in the past. Such repeated experiences of being disregarded weaken democracy: those who feel unheard gradually withdraw. The longer this sense of exclusion persists, the less empowered people feel to take part in existing opportunities for dialogue and participation.
This withdrawal is reinforced by a psychological factor that is often overlooked: invisibility. Many people with refugee backgrounds, physical disabilities, or living in precarious circumstances experience — often on a daily basis — that their needs are not taken seriously by mainstream society. At the same time, many dialogue and participation opportunities themselves appear inaccessible. This fosters a form of self-disempowerment,captured in sentiments that participants voiced, such as: “I didn’t know I was even allowed to take part.”
The depth of this need to be heard was also reflected in people’s response to our more experimental formats of story collection. Some readily agreed to record their experiences of crisis while sitting on a park bench during a Sunday stroll. This willingness surprised us in what is often considered a reserved society. Perhaps it was precisely the relative anonymity to speak to a stranger that made people want to share.
3. Meet people where they are
“It also bothers me a lot that I feel so lonely so often, especially in Switzerland. It has something to do with the current society and perhaps also with my retreat into the silent corner. And most likely, there’s just a general loss of trust that has happened over the years.”
Our experiences with Zwischentöne highlight how important it is to meet people in the places where they spend their everyday lives and feel at ease. We were invited into libraries, parishes, and intercultural meeting points. Choosing these locations deliberately signalled our respect for structures that already foster exchange. This approach was only possible thanks to the many organisations that were willing to collaborate. The broad strategic network included actors such as Caritas, Sans-Papiers-Beratung, the Lucerne Red Cross, the Kriens Library, and many others. Through them, we were able to reach a wide variety of groups. Acknowledging and valuing existing structures also increased our acceptance as outsiders.
Reaching people where they are also means going beyond urban centres. Cities are often well served by participation formats, while rural areas tend to be overlooked. An interesting exception is the MiPaPe association, which organized an exchange in Glarus in September 2025 — a place few dialogue initiatives look towards. Engaging rural regions with cantonal or national projects from outside requires time to build relationships — but the effort is particularly worthwhile.
One group we struggled to reach were young people, despite the involvement of dedicated youth organisations within the network. We also sought dialogue through Instagram. While a few meaningful conversations developed there, only a small number accepted the invitation to document their experiences. In retrospect, this was likely not only due to our communication, but also to the absence of young people within the project team — people who could have acted as credible mediators and bridge-builders.
4. Linking personal experience to political processes
“Our authorities determined the measures with this blind faith in science. That wasn’t good. At the same time, it was, of course, difficult. I wouldn’t have wanted to be Federal Councilor Berset back then. He certainly had a difficult job. But for a revolutionary like me, the understanding of democracy was simply lacking.”
The Zwischentöne experience shows how much the artificial separation between individual experience and political practice can intensify social tensions — and that bridging this gap is everyone’s responsibility.
Those who hold political or administrative power also have their own experiences of crisis. They are part of society, with doubts and stories of their own, and under pressure when crises unfold. Recognising the human face of politics can help to dismantle barriers. As a society, we could learn to deal with crises in more resilient ways if those in positions of political responsibility were willing — and able — to show their vulnerability not only in confidential, nuanced conversations, but also publicly, especially in times of crisis. At the same time, we all need to reflect on the tendency to level sweeping accusations at “politics.” Society as a whole must hold up a mirror to itself and consider which opportunities for participation it is not making use of. More self-efficacy and empowerment would foster greater courage and hope.
Civil society, too, must reconsider its relationship with politics. It is not enough to simply point out grievances; we must also understand how decisions are made and where we can make a tangible contribution. Zwischentöne has shown that the doors are much more open than many imagine: our exchange with parliamentarians in the Federal Palace in March 2024 was direct and on equal terms. At our big public event on 16 September 2025, we brought decision-makers into dialogue with the Zwischentöne narrators. Many agreed spontaneously — some even without knowing the project in detail. This shows that civil society can play an important role in narrowing the distance to politics.
5. Build alliances across forms of discrimination
“There’s a well-known saying: “You can judge the strength of a society by how it treats its marginalised groups.” I would add: “… in times of crisis.” In ordinary times, we may not be wanted, but at least we are accepted. In crises, however, we become invisible. Before the next major crisis, we need to learn that only a truly diverse society can be strong. Everyone must have a seat at the table if we are to find solutions together.”
Zwischentöne set out to reflect a cross-section of society. We succeeded: stories from people with very different backgrounds and opinions now stand side by side on the website and were discussed together at the public event. Our particular focus was on reaching marginalised groups and fostering connections between them. The guiding idea was simple: if we consider different forms of discrimination together, we can raise greater political and social awareness. The minority becomes the majority.
The perspectives of young people, those experiencing poverty, people with disabilities, and those with refugee backgrounds are often treated in isolation. Many of these groups have had to — and still have to — fight hard to make space for their concerns. As a result, many communities organise separately, even though they share similar experiences of exclusion.
This often leaves little space for a nuanced understanding of overlapping forms of discrimination. As a society, we could make far better use of this potential — for deeper mutual understanding and for building new alliances across identities.
And now?
Building on the insights gained from these stories, Zwischentöne is now shifting its focus towards the institutional level. In cooperation with public authorities, we are developing a prototype for participation in crisis management at both municipal and cantonal levels. In this way, we are helping to make the “politics of being heard” an even stronger reality.
