Community Event on 23 October 2026 at the Altes Spital in Solothurn

Presentation by Shqipe Sylejmani

Shqipe Sylejmani was born in Pristina, Kosovo, in 1988 and has lived in Switzerland since she was four years old. She studied journalism and communication in Zurich. As a writer, she draws on her experiences of the Albanian-Swiss diaspora and the cultural richness of her homeland(s), thereby building a bridge between two worlds.

Following ‘Burden & Blessing’ and ‘Dignity and Forgiveness’, she will publish ‘Pride and Resistance’ in 2025, the third novel in the series about Shote Hoti and her travels. 

Presentation by Ali Dönmez 

Ali Dönmez is a speech and language therapist and an expert in multilingualism. He works with children and adults and is a public advocate for inclusive and non-discriminatory language education. His work focuses on promoting multilingualism and addressing issues of educational equity and anti-racism within the education system.

He is regarded as a committed advocate for equal opportunities in education and linguistic diversity.

2 to 3.30 p.m.: Interactive workshops

How do you put multilingualism into practice? Take part in the workshop of your choice and learn from the experiences gained during other projects:

• Workshop 1: Diversitätssensibler Umgang mit Mehrsprachigkeit (A diversity-sensitive approach to multilingualism)
  Presented by Ali Dönmez (in German)
• Workshop 2: Comment favoriser le plurilinguisme et l’éveil aux langues en structures d’accueil?  (How can we promote multilingualism and early language awareness in childcare settings? A book as a tool for intercultural transition)
  Hosted by Marie Girard from ProEnfance (in French)
• Workshop 3: Amahoro. Un percorso alla scoperta del multilinguismo in Svizzera (Amahoro. A journey of discovery through multilingualism in Switzerland)
  Hosted by Lea Conconi and Sofia Santi, Cooperativa Baobab (in Italian and French) 
• Workshop 4: Erzählcafé ‘Mehrsprachig aufwachsen’ (Storytelling Café: ‘Growing up multilingual’, in German)
• Workshop 5: Café-récit ‘Grandir Plurilingue’ (Storytelling Café: Growing Up Multilingual’, in French)
  Further workshops will follow. You can choose your preferred workshop after your arrival.

Angélique Beldner specialises in issues relating to migration, inclusion and racism.

Angélique Beldner has been working as a radio and television journalist for over 25 years and presented the Tagesschau news programme on SRF for 10 years. Since 2015, she has been the host of the successful weekly quiz show ‘1 gegen 100’. For many years, she also coached journalists as part of training and further education programmes at various radio and television stations and the Media Training Centre (MAZ) in Lucerne.

Angélique Beldner has published two books on the subject of racism: ‘Der Sommer, in dem ich Schwarz wurde’ (co-authored with writer Martin R. Dean, Atlantis Literaturverlag, 2021) and ‘Rassismus im Rückspiegel’ (Limmatverlag, 2025).