Citizen Dialogue
Daniel Waldmeier, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, 20 Minuten
«We’re always on the lookout for innovative ideas»
1.29 children per woman: in 2025, Switzerland’s birth rate fell to a historic low. 20 Minuten, the country’s largest news portal, wanted to hear directly from the public why this is happening and which conditions would help reverse the trend. For this citizen dialogue, the newsroom partnered with BrainE4 for the first time: within twelve days, 1,760 participants contributed 1,635 ideas and arguments and pitted them against each other in more than 111,000 idea duels. Deputy Editor-in-Chief Daniel Waldmeier takes stock.
Mr Waldmeier, Switzerland’s birth rate is at a historic low. Why was this exactly the right moment for 20 Minuten to run this citizen dialogue with BrainE4?
It is a major societal issue – in Switzerland, but also worldwide. You can see that, for example, in the French President’s attempt to counter the trend with a letter to the population. The topic spills over into almost every political debate. It also strongly affects the younger generation, and 20 Minuten is a medium that speaks to younger audiences in particular.
«It’s about being able to sort arguments by importance and consensus.»
There are already plenty of conventional surveys on family policy. What convinced you to take a different route with the BrainE4 method?
It was definitely the participatory aspect: involving the community and letting people contribute their own ideas – combined with the hope of finding arguments that would otherwise have been overlooked. In political debates, the narratives are often already familiar because they are set by the major parties.
Back in 2014, we were also the first media outlet to launch a large online reader survey together with LeeWas ahead of the vote on the mass immigration initiative. So we’re always on the lookout for innovative ideas or methods in this field.
«We’re always on the lookout for innovative ideas that could be interesting.»
How did you communicate the invitation? What drove most of the participation?
Whatever we place on our homepage gets seen. At launch, we published an article introducing the project. The methodology was explained in accessible terms in an interview with the mathematics professors involved. And we accompanied the citizen dialogue with a news ticker.
«Those who took part were very engaged.»
1,760 participants, 1,635 ideas submitted, 111,015 idea duels played within twelve days. How do you assess these figures?
Measured against 20 Minuten’s reach, they are not outstanding. But what you can see is that those who took part were very engaged. That is reflected in the high number of idea duels and of ideas and arguments contributed.
«A really exciting, innovative tool with a smart crew behind it.»
Did you get any reactions from colleagues or from people in your personal circle?
It was a topic of conversation in the newsroom. The general view was: this is an innovative way to engage in depth with a political topic without taking a political position. After all, it’s about sorting arguments by importance and consensus. You try to find out where there is common ground and where a compromise might be possible. Ultimately, that’s what democracy is all about.
Did anything surprise you?
In the final report, financial arguments are very much to the fore. That suggests the pressure on young families is relatively high, similar to health insurance premiums in conventional surveys. I would have expected societal reasons for the low birth rate to feature more prominently.
«BrainE4 makes it possible for everyone to contribute their ideas and arguments.»
Is there something BrainE4 can do that others can’t?
With a larger target group, BrainE4 makes it possible for everyone to contribute their ideas and arguments. The arguments are set against each other in competition. This allows ideas to be clustered by importance and agreement. It gets exciting where both dimensions score highly.
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How did you make the data and insights available to the public?
The newsroom reported on the key findings of the citizen dialogue (see here). We linked to BrainE4’s full report, so anyone interested in the detailed results can read them there.
«This way of thinking about surveys has a lot of potential.»
What was it like working with the BrainE4 team?
Very productive. We held a strategy workshop in which we formulated the open questions. The question is the real key to a successful dialogue. One challenge was embedding an external tool as seamlessly as possible into the 20 Minuten world.
Beyond the journalistic content, what did the idea duel bring 20 Minuten as a media outlet?
We gained new ideas on how to think about political topics – especially how to actively involve the community in debates. That fits well with the principle of ideological neutrality in political reporting, which is central to 20 Minuten. We see ourselves as a forum in which Switzerland discusses political and social issues.
Online Dialogue:
1,760
digital interviews
1,635
ideas and arguments
111,015
idea battles
«There is a broad range of applications – wherever you want to find blind spots.»
In your view, where does the format work particularly well?
Wherever a group is evaluating ideas. It works for arguments too, but they need to be formulated concisely.
Which topics do you think it would be particularly suited to?
Pension provision is one area where I could easily imagine it. There would be plenty of ideas there that could be pitted against each other, too.
I’ve also wondered whether it could be used in sport. How would football fans pick the national team?
That would be great! It can certainly be playful at times. Thanks to the gamification element, you’d end up with the team the public would most like to see on the pitch. That would surely be of interest to national team coach Murat Yakin as well.
What is your overall verdict on using BrainE4?
An exciting, innovative tool with a smart crew behind it. This way of engaging with the community has a lot of potential.
Who would you recommend it to?
In my view, the tool can be useful wherever leadership isn’t purely top-down and decision-makers want to understand what employees or the public really think. I believe there is a broad range of applications.
Interview: thk
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