The Swiss Abroad need a strong voice and targeted information 

The Swiss Abroad are the essential face of Switzerland’s presence in the world. A media platform such as SWI swissinfo.ch plays a central role in maintaining close links with members of the diaspora. The revamped SWIplus app is also intended to help strengthen the exercise of their political rights.   

The Swiss community abroad continues to grow steadily. Today, more than 800,000 Swiss people live outside Switzerland (30 years ago the figure was around 500,000). This represents almost 11% of all Swiss passport holders. If the Swiss Abroad were a canton, it would be the fourth most populous. 

From a purely demographic point of view, the growing weight of the Swiss Abroad is undisputed. But its legitimacy is still far from assured. For some years now, the Swiss Abroad have been facing a growing lack of interest from politicians. Extraordinary geopolitical situations – the Covid pandemic, war in Ukraine and the Middle East – have pushed the concerns of the Swiss Abroad under the radar. 

Parliament also lacks a strong voice to champion the causes of the diaspora. Unlike France and Italy, which have electoral constituencies for their expatriate citizens, the Swiss Abroad have no direct representation in the federal parliament.   

What’s more, no party seems prepared to move forward with the development of electronic voting, one of the main demands of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA). Despite the fact that they have been able to vote by post in federal elections since 1992, Swiss citizens living in far flung areas are often deprived of their democratic rights owing to the late delivery of voting material. 

Sharp criticism 

More worryingly, the Swiss Abroad have been the subject of scathing criticism in recent months. “Free citizens”, “selfish”, “luxury pensioners”: the attacks on the Swiss Abroad reached unprecedented proportions during the vote on the 13th monthly pension payment. 

The claim that a 13th payment would mainly benefit pensioners abroad offended the growing number of people who emigrate when they reach retirement age to escape financial difficulties in Switzerland. 

The government’s savings plan announced last autumn didn’t reassure the Swiss Abroad either, since it provides for cuts in contributions to Swiss schools abroad and those allocated to the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, as well as to the SBC’s international offering – subsidies that benefit SWI swissinfo.ch in particular. 

Making concerns visible 

Against this backdrop, it is more important than ever to be able to count on a medium that covers the news of the Swiss Abroad and makes their concerns visible – both within the community and to the Swiss Abroad who are interested in them. 

At the heart of SWI swissinfo.ch’s mandate is also a democratic mission of the highest order: to provide contextualised information so that the 230,000 Swiss Abroad who are on the electoral register can freely form an opinion and exercise their political rights in their country of origin to the best of their ability. 

This is all the more important as the face of Swiss emigration is changing: these days, people no longer necessarily emigrate for life. Swiss nationals who spend a few years abroad studying, doing research or as seconded or self-employed workers have every interest in taking part in votes and elections, as the decisions they take during their absence will have a tangible impact when they return to Switzerland. 

An app dedicated to the Swiss Abroad 

All these reasons explain why we have put so much effort and passion into developing and enriching the content of our SWIplus app. This platform offers centralised, free access to the most useful information for expatriates or people in the process of moving abroad. It also enables Swiss people abroad to chat with each other or with people in Switzerland, thereby strengthening links with their country of origin. 

In addition to our much-appreciated articles and briefings – daily and weekly – you can now find the top news programmes from Swiss public broadcasters SRF, RTS and RSI, as well as news from your favourite cantons. Personalised features – voting tips, a selection of the best Swiss films, Swiss oddities and so on – are also among the highlights of this completely revamped app. 

Technologies may evolve, but our conviction has remained the same since 1935, when the Swiss Shortwave Service, the forerunner of SWI swissinfo.ch, was founded: wherever they are in the world, all Swiss citizens deserve to be well informed, and in their preferred language. 

>> Find out more about our SWIplus application: 

Edited by Mark Livingston. Translated from French by Thomas Stephens/ac