According to the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), this location External linkin the centre of the Alpine nation symbolises the bond between the community of Swiss emigrants and their homeland.
The first Congress of the Swiss Abroad was held in Basel in 1918. Since the annual event was canceled during the Second World War and more recently during the coronavirus pandemic, the 100th edition was only held in 2024. Swiss emigrants at the congress celebrated the anniversary with a boat trip from Lucerne to Brunnen and a ceremony on the Swiss Abroad Square.
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After 100 years, the Swiss Abroad Congress remains politically significant
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While the Congress has evolved over the years, its core mission remains the same: to unite the Swiss Abroad and raise awareness of their specific needs.
The OSA used the anniversary to highlight the shifts in patterns of emigration from Switzerland since 1918. Whereas 100 years ago, Swiss nationals tended to emigrate definitively, people today often only move abroad for a few years for professional reasons.
The trip to Brunnen marked the end of the congress, which began on Thursday at the KKL centre in Lucerne. The topics discussed at plenary sessions on Thursday and Friday were the free movement of persons agreement with the EU and the people’s initiative “200 francs is enough!”, which aims to significantly reduce the amount of the media licence fee in Switzerland. Delegates at the congress declared themselves against the initiative.
Translated from German by DeepL/dos
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