This event will be translated into sign language.

Islam Alijaj has cerebral palsy, a severe, clearly visible and audible disability. He is a secondo with roots in Kosova. And his name is, of all things, Islam. None of which make a career in politics any easier. Nonetheless, he still wants to become a member of the Swiss National Council. In 2022, Alijaj surprised everyone by getting elected to the Zurich municipal council. The then thirty-six-year-old politician is not only intelligent and charming; he is extremely tenacious, ambitious, power-conscious and sometimes even “megalomaniacal”. His goal: to shake up the Swiss disability system, take the lead so that those who really know what they are talking about get to have their say. “Nothing about us, without us” – should be the motto for future decision-making. And in 2023, he was indeed elected to the National Council, as the first Swiss-Albanian.

In cooperation with Zukunft Inklusion – Aktionstage Behindertenrechte 2024

If you would like to take part in the event, but the entrance fee exceeds your financial means, please contact Maria Marggraf, info@literaturhaus-basel.ch or 061 261 29 50. We will find a solution together.