New magazine for girls “Kosmos”: this Swiss magazine for girls wants to do everything differently – culture

Strong statements instead of makeup advice: the new Swiss magazine for girls “Kosmos” wants to end stereotypes about roles. But how? 5 things you should know.

A new world. Yes, there will even be a new cosmos for girls aged 8-13 in Switzerland when “Kosmos – The magazine for girls (and the rest of the world)” first appears in December.

The girls magazine wants to offer more than makeup tips, stars and beauty ideals. He wants to inform and entertain young women with texts and reports on psychology, environment, science and society.

But who is behind the new print magazine? And what exactly is it? 5 things you should know:

1. The idea comes from Poland, the editors from Switzerland

There is not a big publisher behind “Kosmos”, but four women with experience in journalism and publishing. One of them is Laura Simon from Basel. “My colleague Marta Kosińska discovered ‘Kosmos’ magazine in Poland after it was founded there three years ago,” says the editor.

Martha had subscribed to him for her daughters, who were just as excited about him as she was. “When he moved to Switzerland a few years ago, he wanted to find something similar, to no avail.” Then, together with Laura Simon, Martina Polek and Cyrielle Cordt-Moller, he decided to launch a magazine for Switzerland in cooperation with the Polish “Kosmos”.

2. This is what distinguishes «Kosmos» from other magazines for girls.

Magazines like “Bravo Girl” or “Mädchen” do not meet the demands of many young women, says Laura Simon. “It is completely prescribed for girls how they should be. In addition, there is no magazine that shows other models than the conventional ones. We believe that girls can be trusted much more, ”says the editorial. “Kosmos” does not want to depend on the clichés of conventional roles.

3. This is what the first issue is about

It begins with the main theme “My voice”: “It is about the singing voice and the anatomical voice, that is, the question of how a sound is created. But it’s also about yelling in anger. “Anger is a feeling that girls feel, but is often not attributed to them.” Usually we like to leave that to the boys.

“My voice” also has a political meaning. “Next year we will celebrate 50 years of women’s suffrage in Switzerland. This is one of the reasons we chose the topic of the problem. We want to send a strong signal. Girls also have a voice, and they should dare to use it. “

4. Everything is a crowdfunding project

In order to get started with the 72-page magazine, the four founders launched a crowdfunding campaign in mid-October. “We achieved our collection goal of 45,000 francs in four days.” The second collection target of 70,000 francs, to be used for the second issue, has already been reached. “That showed us that there is definitely a need in Switzerland,” says Laura Simon.

5. That is why «Kosmos» is printed on paper

It takes courage to launch a new magazine right now. The trend towards digital and declining ad money are causing problems for many magazines. Many newspapers have long discontinued their youth supplements.

So why a print magazine that is 72 pages long and contains high-quality illustrations? “I think that on the part of parents it is necessary to have something of high quality in their hands. But our goal is also to take children away from the screen a bit. You can also select themes with a printed product. We just try to make the magazine to last a long time, you want to collect it and maybe even use it for a class test. “