A national exhibition focused on participation and experience

NEXPO wants to inspire the Swiss people to collaborate on the design of the new national exhibition and, in the process, learn something about themselves and the country. So-called NEXPOnauts will become ambassadors for NEXPO and invite their networks to participate. This process will create a movement that, over time, will reach the entire population.

As I said, we've extended the invitation to all of Switzerland: municipalities, cantons and the federal state as well as private citizens, associations, organisations and corporations. If everybody participates, it will become Switzerland's NEXPO, initiated by its cities. Switzerland's ten largest cities don't want to hold the reins all by themselves but rather be active alongside all other players.

The curator is still far from extinction or even retirement. However, its members will have to assume the role of team players. They will prepare content decisions, run topic and project scouting, formulate Calls for Projects and assist potential initiatives in working out the concrete details of their proposals. The essential tool for the curators will be the NEXPO platform, where the rules of the game will be implemented step by step.

Participation is an asset, not a detriment. Take politics, for example. Political participation doesn't lead to quality problems and arbitrariness. NEXPO pursues a societal approach that does not level identities and differences but instead points them out and promotes dialogue. The fact that different interests and positions will emerge in the process, and that the NEXPO leadership will have to yield a certain amount of control, is what makes the whole undertaking intriguing in the first place. Plus, national exhibitions have always been social laboratories outside of the realm of the "usual".

NEXPO aims to be up-to-date and accommodate the basic needs of the people. The integration of a digital project platform is an obvious choice.

NEXPLORER is a way to research the relevant topics supported by the NEXPO collective; it's a compass for further project development. In addition, surveys promote an analysis of the Switzerland's future, an examination of its diversity and values. This is how we can realise the desired bottom-up principle, build a community and empower the social base.

Yes, it's the first step.

The matching funds concept originated in participation campaigns. Put simply, it's specific funding for a defined context – in our case, NEXPO. Project financing, however, is only initiated when the community also participates. It's a system designed to ensure NEXPO's social, regional and cultural diversity while at the same time engendering a high degree of participation.

This is one of our goals. We are working on it.