The ongoing participatory project “Ways Out of the Climate Crisis” is part of the permanent exhibition “Earth, folks! – The Changing Climate.” Over the past few months, visitors were able to choose a focus topic. The majority voted for “Let those affected have a say.” This was followed by a public call for projects on this topic. Sixteen projects were submitted, and a seven-member expert jury selected four of them.
Until November 15, 2026, visitors can now vote at the interactive voting station in the exhibition to decide which of these four projects they find most compelling. The winning project will receive a public prize of CHF 2,500 in partnership with WWF Switzerland’s One Planet Lab, as well as a permanent place in the exhibition.
The four nominated projects are:
- Developing Climate Strategies Together: Oberland-Ost Region. In the Bernese Oberland, a regional office is supporting pilot municipalities on their path to climate neutrality. The local population is actively involved through a digital suggestion box and an annual “climate workshop.”
- Granting Legal Rights to Water Bodies: The Reuss Initiative. With 5,460 signatures, the cantonal initiative submitted in January 2026 calls for water bodies in the canton of Lucerne to be granted constitutional rights and thus be able to be represented in court.
- Holding polluters accountable: Climate lawsuit from Indonesia. Four Indonesian islanders are suing cement manufacturer Holcim in a Swiss court for damages due to climate-related harm and are demanding that the company reduce its CO₂ emissions.
- Rethinking democracy: The Rhône People’s Assembly. From 2021 to 2024, 25 randomly selected residents of the Rhône river basin developed a decision-making model that prioritizes biodiversity over financial interests and includes all living beings in the river basin in a “water democracy.”
The participatory project “Paths Out of the Climate Crisis” is part of the permanent exhibition “Humans, Earth! – The Changing Climate” at the Natural History Museum of Bern and is being implemented in partnership with WWF Switzerland’s One Planet Lab.
