Eight symbols that have never existed before: at the Landsgemeindeplatz in Trogen, the exhibition ‘i›we‹i – between two alphabets’, which has been running since 12 September 2026, shows what emerges when young people combine two alphabets to form a single new symbol.
Project launch at the Pestalozzi Children’s Village: Young people sit at tables in pairs, their heads close together. The 16 participants, all of whom come from families with a history of migration, discuss their current needs and aspirations based on their respective life experiences. What’s on my mind? What connects us both? Their task: they had to agree on a single sentence that applied to both of them – despite their perceived differences. From the central concept of this sentence, each created a monogram – a new character that fuses the initial letters from two different alphabets.
For example, Salem and Tarek combined the ‘T’ from the Latin and the Perso-Arabic alphabets to create the message ‘Being there for one another makes us a team’. In the same way, seven further messages were created, including ‘Be brave and don’t give up’, ‘Show respect for others’ and ‘Live in freedom and peace’; phrases that the young people formulated based on their own experiences and hopes.
A day of radio broadcasts in front of the main stage
Even before the official opening, the young people were preparing their own programme with the support of the powerup_radio educators: they learnt how to present a programme, conduct interviews with visitors and give a short speech themselves. They then went live at the exhibition opening: powerup_radio broadcast directly from Landsgemeindeplatz – featuring a presentation of the project, interviews with the audience and contributions from the young people themselves.
At the opening, local councillor Elisabeth Eugster also welcomed those present and recognised the importance of the project. The young people then presented their posters and shared their thoughts. Layan: “It’s really great to see our posters in such an important square!” Tarek: “Yes, it makes me proud that so many people are now seeing our logos and messages.”
A place steeped in history
It is no coincidence that the young people are displaying their messages on the Landsgemeindeplatz of all places. Until 1977, the people of Appenzell Ausserrhoden gathered here every year for the Landsgemeinde to find solutions together and treat one another with respect. The history of the Pestalozzi Children’s Village, founded in 1946 just a few steps away from the Landsgemeindeplatz, also follows this tradition: children from countries that had been enemies only a short time before grew up here together – not by erasing their origins, but by ensuring they remained visible. It is precisely this principle that the project title ‘i-we-i – I-We-I’ takes up: one’s own identity is preserved, whilst at the same time a sense of ‘we’ emerges.
The eight posters will remain on display around the clock, freely accessible, on Landsgemeindeplatz in Trogen until 4 October 2026. After that, the project is set to move on: a tour of Switzerland is being planned so that even more people can see the young people’s messages.