Swiss government has admitted: parliamentarians are invited to train on climate issues

This was the request of the teacher Guillermo Fernandez: that Swiss parliamentarians be educated about the climatic condition of the country and about the consequences of the disturbance. The teacher went on a 39-day hunger strike last winter and it paid off. Next Monday, May 2, an information day on climate and biodiversity was held in the House of Representatives.

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A post shared by Guillermo Fernandez (@papaonhungerstrike)

A hunger strike to move the lines

Guillermo Fernandez is a Swiss teacher. For the Swiss magazine theIllustratedhe describes himself as “a good normal Swiss, with a normal salary, a normal house”† The condition sine qua non, according to him, to the success of his company: Last November he went on a hunger strike in front of the Swiss parliament to encourage decision-makers to take up the climate issue. A solitary action that soon took on a national dimension and made this activist famous throughout Switzerland.

“There was a class whose girl came up to me after our collective conversation to tell me that my own children were extremely lucky to have me as a father. Still, I was very clearly headed for death if it didn’t work out. †

Guillermo Fernandez for theIllustrated

He ended his hunger strike on December 9, after the president of the National Council, the ecologist Irène Kälin (V/AG), promised him to organize an information day on climate and biodiversity in parliament.

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A post shared by Guillermo Fernandez (@papaonhungerstrike)

An information day on climate issues

It was this Monday, May 2: the parliamentarians, now students again, attended a three-hour lecture on global warming and biodiversity in Switzerland. France news tells us that several IPCC experts have been invited to speak, with one goal: to broaden the horizons of elected officials about considering climate issues in politics.

An initiative that was received mixedly by parliamentarians: the right was notable for its absence. According to RTS, just under a third of elected officials responded to the call. In question, agenda conflicts, but not only: certain elected officials of the SVP (Swiss First Party) deliberately chose not to come, believing that the debate on the climate challenge already existed.

The fight continues

Guillermo Fernandez plans to extend his promotion. When he promised his wife that he would not go on a hunger strike again, he formed a collective with teams that were created spontaneously during his strike.

“These people who were in my adventure were not activists, like me by the way. They are often just parents. We want to prevent our children from having to kill their neighbors to survive when the food (…) is no longer enough for everyone.”

Guillermo Fernandez for theIllustrated

Guillermo Fernandez’s action shows us the non-negligible impact that the individual can have on society: everyone can do their part, even everyone.

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