‘SwissCommunity Days’ welcomes new faces of Council of the Swiss Abroad

The inaugural meeting of the new Council of the Swiss Abroad will take place in a highly symbolic setting: the federal parliament building in Bern. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

This weekend, the new Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA) will hold its inaugural meeting at the Federal Palace in Bern as part of the “SwissCommunity Days” event. More than half of the council members are new, and the proportion of female delegates has increased significantly.

This weekend is a double celebration for the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA). The meeting on August 22-23 marks the start of the new 2025-2029 legislative period of the CSA.

A new format will also be introduced via the SwissCommunity Days event, described as a platform for exchange between diaspora members, federal authorities and elected representatives, which will partly replace the previous Congress of the Swiss Abroad.

Over 70 new delegates

The list of newly elected members of the CSA shows that the body has been fundamentally revamped. Over half of the council seats – 71 out of 140 – have been filled with new faces.

The increased number of female delegates – 49, up from around 30 – is also striking. This is presumably due to the online direct elections which, in addition to a pilot test in 2017, were held in over 40 countries this spring.

The council will also be more youthful. In countries such as Germany, an increasing number of younger representatives won seats in direct online elections. The impact of this new composition on the council’s work should become clearer over the course of the legislative period.

Focus on the political concerns of the Swiss Abroad

The inaugural meeting will take place in a highly symbolic setting: the federal parliament building in Bern. On the first day of the SwissCommunity Days event, the elected councillors will join various workshops.

The focus will be on issues such as, “What are the structures of the OSA and the council?”, “What are the most important concerns of the Swiss Abroad?” and “How can delegates best represent their community?” .

The official confirmation of the elected delegates and the election of the OSA board will not take place until the second day. The adoption of a resolution on the upcoming vote on the electronic identity (e-ID) scheme on September 28 is also on the agenda.

>>The OSA sees the e-ID as a possible instrument for strengthening the political rights of the Swiss Abroad.

New meeting format

The SwissCommunity Days event replaces the previous Congress of the Swiss Abroad, which used to take place annually. In future, the congress will only be held once per legislature. This is OSA’s response to declining numbers of participants and less sponsorship money.

Instead, the new format is intended to provide a focused working meeting of the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA), as OSA President Filippo Lombardi explained to Swissinfo last year.

“The handover meeting serves to exchange and pass on best practices,” Lombardi said.

The upcoming council meeting will also be an extended session, as new and outgoing council members will be meeting together in Bern for the change of legislature.

The political aspect of the council

The annual meeting of the Swiss Abroad basically has a dual function. On the one hand, it is a social event, an opportunity for the Swiss diaspora to exchange experiences and make contacts during their stay in Switzerland.

At the same time, it has a political function: to reaffirm the existence of the Swiss Abroad vis-à-vis the Swiss authorities and to represent and publicise the specific interests of the diaspora.

The Council of the Swiss Abroad is dedicated to this political aspect. The Congress of the Swiss Abroad was reorganised last year.

What is the Council of the Swiss Abroad?

The CSA sees itself as the representative body for the more than 800,000 Swiss citizens who live around the world. In its own words, it acts as the “Parliament of the Swiss Abroad”, taking up the concerns of the Swiss Abroad community and advocating for their concerns with the Swiss public and authorities.

The council meets three times a year; two meetings take place on site and the third online. Two of the three meetings can be attended and voted using online tools.

Of the 140 council members, 120 live abroad. The council also includes Swiss politicians who represent the interests of the Swiss Abroad in parliament.

Edited by Balz Rigendinger/Adapted from German by Simon Bradley/ts