Stapferhaus: Encouraging Dialogue; Reducing Polarization

The Vontobel Foundation is supporting the Stapferhaus with basic funding over three years, from 2024 to 2026, to help the organization strengthen its work leading dialogue and finding solutions in society to counteract polarization and find common answers for the future.

As an actor at the national level, the Stapferhaus makes contemporary issues accessible for social dialogue in our democracy. Founded in 1960 as a "place of human encounter and intellectual engagement," it was converted into a foundation in 2007. Since the 1990s, it has made a name for itself across Switzerland and Europe as a unique exhibition center and place for dialogue. It uses innovative formats that allow the general public to engage in depth on contemporary issues. In 2018, the Stapferhaus opened its new building directly adjacent to the Lenzburg train station. In 2020, it was awarded the European Museum of the Year Award.

The increasing polarization in society and politics is leading to a decline in willingness to compromise, making it more difficult to develop common solutions. With its multi-format approach, the Stapferhaus aims to counter this trend by promoting dialogue and strengthening social cohesion on pressing contemporary issues.

The Stapferhaus is known for addressing controversial contemporary issues in exhibitions and events involving a broad audience. The common denominator of all its exhibitions is that they seek understanding rather than conflict, enticing the audience in a playful way to perceive issues from different perspectives. By engaging with other positions, it critically questions its own positions – or sharpens them. In either case, an exchange takes place to move forward together on the basis of broader knowledge and experience.