Making young Swiss abroad feel more than just ‘passport holders’

When she visits her family in Switzerland, Sofia Garcia-Reyes enjoys hiking. courtoisie

Sofia Garcia‑Reyes is the new president of the Youth Parliament of the Swiss Abroad (YPSA). The Swiss‑Colombian aims to make the organisation indispensable for young Swiss living abroad.

“I’m so sorry for the delay!” Nearly 9,000 kilometres from Switzerland, Sofia Garcia-Reyes apologises behind her computer screen in Bogotá. Delayed by another meeting, she connects only a few minutes late to our appointment.

South America is not particularly known for its punctuality but Garcia-Reyes, a third-generation Swiss Abroad, seems to have inherited this very Swiss trait.

Plethora of activities

Sofia Garcia-Reyes, a specialist in human rights, international humanitarian law and transitional justice at the Universidad de La Sabana, has received an award for her academic achievements. courtoisie

The 27-year-old is a bundle of energy, juggling many different activities. She works for the director of the Direction of Peace and Reconciliation at the mayor’s office in Bogotá. The latter is in charge of the implementation of the peace agreements signed with the Marxist rebel group FARC. Garcia-Reyes coordinates with lawyers and different services, including a missing persons unit.

A lawyer by training, she also works with a professor of constitutional law at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogotá. Since January, she has taken on the role as president of the Youth Parliament of the Swiss Abroad (YPSAExternal link).

“It’s a lot of work, but I’m very organised.” Another trait that is readily attributed to the Swiss.

‘The place to be’

Garcia-Reyes has clear ambitions for the Parliament of Young Swiss Abroad. “YPSA must become ‘the place to be’ and ‘the place to join'”,” she says.

To achieve this, YPSA aims to make extensive use of social mediaExternal link to boost visibility and reach among young Swiss abroad, while also enabling easy communication between members—particularly via a WhatsApp group of around 60 active participants.

Garcia-Reyes also wants events to be held more regularly – around one a month – and to take better account of the community’s wishes. Among other things, YPSA organises webinars, e.g. on studying in Switzerland, film screenings or other online events.

Through the YPSA community, Garcia-Reyes wants to strengthen the sense of belonging and make “young Swiss Abroad feel Swiss, and not just holders of the red passport with the white cross”.

Multiple challenges

To survive and gain influence, YPSA must grow. The task is difficult. The young audience is scattered over five continents and its connection with Switzerland has sometimes waned, “especially among the second and third generation”.

It is also sometimes necessary to motivate active members. For this reason, YPSA has several working groups, for example for the organisation of events or social media posts. “Having a defined role makes them responsible,” she says.

She also believes that YPSA is not sufficiently visible or recognised by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) and Swiss schools abroad.

“Because of our young age, the delegates of the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA)External link do not always take us seriously,” she says. She hopes that will change during this legislature. YPSA automatically has two seats on the CSA. With two other current members also serving as delegates for their countries – Sofia Garcia-Reyes for Colombia and Mathis Steinmann for France – this brings the total number of young delegates at the CSA to four.

The organisation has evolved

Garcia-Reyes has been a member of YPSA since 2021, which she discovered following a social media post. At the time, she was staying in Switzerland.

“During the pandemic, my law school in Colombia switched to a fully virtual format. I took the opportunity to get to know my family’s country of origin better,” she says.

She spent six months in Zurich, alternating between childcare in the morning and law classes in the afternoon.

She became a member of the group that manages the events, then vice-president for the period 2023-2025, and finally president for the next two years.

“A few years ago, the structure was disorganised. For example, there was no concept for social networks,” she recalls.

Little by little, YPSA has become more structured. Her goal is “to have the best organised committee possible.” But this is a challenge, given the high turnover.

The members of the YPSA Committee are elected for two years. But few commit to a second term. “The committee changes a lot, so you often have to start from the beginning,” says the new president.

Young people are moving away from these commitments because they feel like it requires a lot of work, she notes, citing age as a factor.

“Members are often in a period of transition between studies and their first jobs,” she says.

Benefits for members

However, she sees several advantages in being part of a structure such as YPSA. According to her, it facilitates interaction between young people of Swiss origin from all over the world “who are in the same state of mind”.

“On a small scale, it is also an opportunity to gain management experience, especially when you are in charge of a group,” adds Garcia-Reyes. In the case of a stay or a move to Switzerland, she considers that getting involved with YPSA also helps build connections and interest in the country.

The young woman believes that her involvement with the Parliament of Young Swiss Abroad has changed her connection to her homeland. As a child, she participated in several youth camps in Switzerland.

“These are my best childhood memories,” she says. She has strong family ties to Switzerland but through YPSA and as a delegate to the CSA her involvement has become more political.

Edited by Pauline Turuban. Adapted from French by AI/ac