about us

the board

ADRIAN SCHMID (President)
Lucerne/Switzerland
Born 1956 in Switzerland
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The former Vice-President of the Swiss Green Party was a member of the Lucerne city parliament for almost two decades, which he presided over in 1999.

For about 40 years, he has worked at the executive level for various non-profit organisations, such as the Tenants' Association of Lucerne, the VCS (a national Transport & Environment NGO) and the Swiss Heritage Association. He has many years of experience with direct democratic processes at local, regional, national and international level.

The social scientist Adrian Schmid is one of the co-founders of the "Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy" and is Secretary General of the "Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe".

Learn more about Adrian Schmid's motivation to develop and defend democracy here (in German).

DR NANCY ECKERT
Alpthal/Switzerland
Born 1980 in Germany (GDR)
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Nancy Eckert has been working at the interface between politics, the public and business in public institutions for over 12 years. She is currently head of the office of the sponsors' conference and the university council of the University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland.

As a dual citizen of Germany and Switzerland and as an educationalist and political scientist, she is very familiar with different political and social systems. With her specific profile in education and higher education, she is politically active in Switzerland at national and cantonal level.

With her commitment, she would like to make a significant contribution to strengthening the political education of children, adolescents and young adults.

BRUNO KAUFMANN
Arboga/Sweden
Born 1965 in Switzerland
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Bruno Kaufmann is global democracy correspondent for SWI swissinfo.ch, the ten-language international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. He has been reporting as Northern Europe correspondent for Swiss Radio and Television SRF since 1990.

He is co-founder of the Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe and co-president of the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy. As a political scientist, he is the author of numerous publications on the subject of participatory and direct democracy, including the "European Democracy Passport" published by the European Union (available in 23 languages), the "Global Passport to Modern Direct Democracy" (International IDEA) and the "Swiss Democracy Passport" (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs).

The former member of the municipal government of Falun/Sweden now lives in Arboga/Sweden.

Here you can learn more about Bruno Kaufmann's motivation to democratise democracy worldwide (in German).

DANIEL SCHILY
Bonn/Germany
Born 1967 in Germany
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Daniel Schily co-founded the association "Mehr Demokratie" in Germany in 1988 and serves on the board of "Democracy International".

For decades, Daniel Schily has accompanied and supported democracy projects in Germany and worldwide, such as the "Direct Democracy Navigator", the "European Public Sphere" and the "Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy".

Schily, natural scientist and teacher, is co-owner of the technology group Voith, headquartered in Heidenheim an der Brenz. He is engaged in the agricultural and social enterprises of the Rengoldhausen farm on Lake Constance.

Daniel Schily lives in Bonn/Germany.

Learn more about Daniel Schily's motivation for promoting democracy worldwide and helping young people learn about democratic rights here (in German).

ANN-CHRISTINE VOSSBERG-STRAW
Arnegg/Switzerland
Born 1989 in Germany
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Dr. Ann-Christine Vossberg-Straw is an astrophysicist and systems thinker, as well as being a member of the Swiss Democracy Foundation's board of trustees. Her scientific work on complex, dynamic systems shapes her current focus of designing democratic processes that are scalable, transparent, and usable in everyday life.

Following years of research at ETH Zurich and the University of California, Santa Barbara, she lived in the United States for several years, where she and her family experimented with self-organised forms of learning and decision-making. This combination of analytical clarity and practical experience informs her work.

She focuses on achoring democratic culture in schools, communities, and organisations – and on making democratic participation a tangible right that empowers people to share responsibility and effectively influence decision-making processes.

Ann-Christine lives with her family in eastern Switzerland.

MARCEAU SCHROETER

Geneva/Switzerland
Born 1986 in Switzerland
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Marceau Schroeter has spent over ten years raising international awareness of the Swiss system. Adopting an educational and committed approach, he strives to make these mechanisms accessible to the general public and promote citizen participation.

He currently serves as Political Rights Attaché at the Geneva State Chancellery, where he is responsible for the Genevy Electoral Commission (cec.ge.ch) and leads several projects aimed at strengthening youth political participation and civic education. His expertise also leads him to speak at conferences, contribute to civic initiatives and take part in international missions.

Marceau Schroeter is the author of Au cœur de la démocratie suisse (Slatkine, 2022) and A Journey Inside Swiss Democracy (Demokratiq, 2026).

He lives with his family in Geneva.