Organization of the Swiss Abroad represents 800,000 Swiss abroad
Published: Thursday, Jul 11th 2024, 18:30
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The Organization of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) represents 800,000 Swiss nationals abroad. It looks after their interests and promotes relations with their home country.
"We keep people together," said Board President and former member of the Council of States Filippo Lombardi when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. The annual Congress of the Swiss Abroad is organized to promote relations between Switzerland and its nationals. There are also offers for young people and online platforms for networking.
The OSA has a service agreement with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Among other things, this includes the information service. The OSA provides information through a range of printed and electronic publications via its communication channels and social networks, as it writes.
It also advises Swiss nationals who wish to emigrate or return to Switzerland on legal issues relating to social insurance, finances and pensions.
"Two centuries ago, it wasn't the case that people returned to Switzerland," says Lombardi. Today, it is important to take care of those compatriots who want to return.
The fifth Switzerland
Founded in 1916, the Organization of the Swiss Abroad also gives Swiss nationals abroad access to the political process. The OSA represents the interests of the Swiss abroad, which includes, for example, negotiations with public and private bodies, public discussions and lobbying at federal and cantonal level.
The Parliamentary Group of the Swiss Abroad plays an important role in this. "We also make voting recommendations when Swiss citizens abroad are directly affected," said Lombardi. The supreme body of the OSA, the Council of the Swiss Abroad, is also known as the "Parliament of the Fifth Switzerland".
©Keystone/SDA
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