Swiss societies in Britain rebrand as SwissCommunity UK

Keystone / Alessandro Della Valle

Major changes are taking place for the Swiss community in the UK: a new ambassador will arrive in London, and FOSSUK, the federation of Swiss societies, is rebranding as SwissCommunity UK, shifting its focus to individual membership.

On a typically rainy London day, Swiss citizens gathered at the Swiss embassy, just a ten-minute walk from the Sherlock Holmes Museum. The fictional detective has a surprising Swiss connection: his presumed death took place at the Reichenbach Falls in the Bernese Oberland.

But this was no sightseeing trip. The Swiss Abroad gathered on Saturday, June 7 for the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Federation of Swiss Societies in the United Kingdom (FOSSUK) to discuss the future of their representation.

A year of change for the Swiss Abroad in the UK

FOSSUK President Loredana Guetg-Wyatt will step down this year after more than a decade of service in various roles. SWI swissinfo.ch

This is a year of transition for the Swiss community in London. This summer, Ambassador Markus Leitner and his wife Doris will leave the UK after completing a four-year mission. FOSSUK, which is marking its 60th anniversary, will also see its president, Loredana Guetg-Wyatt, step down after more than a decade of service in various roles. “Serving as President of FOSSUK has been an incredibly rewarding experience. As the organisation transitions into a new structure, I feel this is the right time to step down and make space for the newly elected Delegates and incoming committee to define how best to move forward. I am proud of what we’ve achieved over the past 10 years and I am confident that the Swiss community in the UK will continue to thrive with fresh leadership and ideas,” says Guet-Wyatt.

“FOSSUK isn’t currently meeting the needs of Swiss residents in the UK,” Treasurer Lakshmi Sundaram told around 90 attendees at the AGM. The organisation will rebrand as SwissCommunity UK and shift its focus to individual members. However, Swiss clubs and associations will retain a privileged role within the new structure, which may also include other types of organisations, such as private companies.

“This is a year of transition for FOSSUK: by the end of 2025 there will be a revised structure, a new budget and a new way forward,” said Sundaram. Under its new name and new structure, SwissCommunity UK is set to hold its first AGM on December 6. Sundaram added that the organisation’s role as a representative voice for Swiss citizens in the UK, especially post-Brexit, will remain unchanged.

A milestone for Swiss democracy abroad

Between April 11 and May 11, for the first time, all Swiss citizens of voting age in the UK and 13 other electoral districts, including Germany, Canada, the United States and Australia, were able to elect their representatives directly. Each electoral district covers a country or region with a sizeable Swiss community.

Of the more than 800,000 Swiss living abroad, over 40,000 reside in the UK, which is also home to one of the largest youth populations among Swiss expatriate communities. This demographic shift was a key driver behind the move to direct elections.

Andreas Feller-Ryf spearheaded the pilot project which allowed Swiss Abroad to elect their representatives directly. FOSSUK

The pilot project was initiated by UK delegate Andreas Feller-Ryf and supported by the Swiss foreign ministry and the Bern University of Applied Sciences. The foreign ministry contributed CHF40,000 ($48,657) towards the development of a secure voting platform.

With this support, the platform was created and all data was stored on a central server in Switzerland, a crucial factor in building trust among voters. For the project to demonstrate that it could be successfully implemented around the world, it required a representative sample of the different districts, Feller-Ryf explained, resulting in the selection of the 13 districts.

Additionally, to promote the vote, over 240,000 emails were sent globally by the Swiss foreign ministry and the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), informing citizens about the new system for the 2025–2029 period. SWI swissinfo.ch has reached out to SwissCommunity UK for the exact number of voting participation.

“Before, we used Google Forms to vote, now we have a transparent, secure Swiss voting tool. Maybe this can be an example for successful e-voting in Switzerland, who knows,” said Feller-Ryf, drawing laughter from the crowd. For many Swiss Abroad, the struggles of exercising democratic rights, especially around e-voting, are all too familiar.

In her address to the congress, Yvonne Rohner, head of consular protection at the Swiss foreign ministry, spoke about the proposed federal electronic identity (e-ID)External link system.

Franz Muheim, president of the Swiss Club Edinburgh and a delegate of SwissCommunity UK, emphasised the practical importance of e-ID. The e-ID would be a valuable tool for the Swiss Abroad, says Muheim. 

However, progress on the initiative is currently on hold pending a referendum, scheduled for September 28.

New delegates to guide the transition

At the Swiss Abroad congress in Kassel, Germany (one of the 13 electoral districts piloting direct delegate elections) only four elected representatives attended in person. In contrast, all newly elected members and three deputies from SwissCommunity UK were present in London.

The three newly elected delegates, along with the two re-elected delegates, three deputies and committee members, received warm applause from the audience.

The newly elected delegates to SwissCommunity UK take the stage in London. SWI swissinfo.ch

“I’m hopeful that the new structure of SwissCommunity UK will enable us to connect more closely with our constituents and better understand their most pressing needs. It is my hope that our organisation can grow into a trusted companion for the Swiss living in the UK and that our combined experience can help with the bureaucratic challenges of an international lifestyle,” said Stefan Bucher, one of the newly elected delegates to the organisation.

Toby Matthiesen, another newly elected delegate, agrees: “The Swiss in the UK face unique challenges post-Brexit as Switzerland and the UK rethink their relations with the EU and with each other. By transitioning to SwissCommunity UK, we hope to be able to get the Swiss in the UK more involved as individual members, so we can provide relevant information in a direct and uncomplicated manner and organise events that are open and inclusive. We especially want more people involved in our events and are open to all ideas!”

However, the transition will not be without its challenges: several delegates later said they were not aware that the rebranding of FOSSUK would be formally presented at the congress, nor that they were expected to join the transition committee responsible for shaping the new structure.

Big changes on a tight budget

Lukas Weber, the new Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) director, remains optimistic. SWI swissinfo.ch

Lukas Weber, the new Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) director, acknowledged the scale of the challenge facing not only SwissCommunity UK but also OSA: “The biggest challenge is restructuring a longstanding organisation – but with less money and fewer resources,” he said. Still, he remains optimistic. The organisation’s core mission to strengthen ties between the Swiss Abroad and their homeland remains unchanged.

Edited by Simon Bradley