Swiss Review 1/2018

Swiss Review / January 2018 / No.1 OSA Youth Service: Discover Switzerland with other young Swiss Abroad and make new contacts The winter camps have already come and gone. A total of 50 young Swiss Abroad enjoyed the magnificent winter weather in the Swiss mountains again this year where they headed straight for the slopes. Preparations for the summer camps are now getting under way. The teams of leaders are fully focused on planning the camp activities to ensure participants have a wonderful time once again. The Youth Service is organising the following camps and activities this summer: Camps for young people ■ ■ Camp with sport and recreational activities in Saas-Grund (Valais): 14/07 to 27/07/2018 ■ ■ Camp with sport and recreational activities in Wyssachen (Berne): 28/07 to 10/08/2018 ■ ■ Outdoor camp (starting in Valais): 28/07 to 10/08/2018 ■ ■ Camp with sport and recreational activities in Fiesch (Valais): 11/08 to 24/08/2018 ■ ■ Swiss Challenge, the whole of Switzerland: 14/07 to 27/07/2018 Politics camp and the Congress of the Swiss Abroad Our politics camp is ideal for anyone wanting to find out all about Swiss politics. Before the Congress of the Swiss Abroad in Visp, the Youth Service will be running a highly diverse two-week programme. Swiss politics will be explained simply, objectively and clearly. The camp will also include workshops and meetings with Swiss politicians on the topic of “Switzerland without Europe – Europe without Switzerland”. In addition to the workshops and political topics, participants will also have the chance to explore the magnificent mountain landscape of the canton of Valais and to visit the city of Berne. All of this is topped off by participation in the Congress of the Swiss Abroad. Language courses The camps provide an excellent chance for participants to discover their roots and Switzer- land. Our language courses present another fantastic opportunity. On our German and French courses, participants study one of the four national languages to enable them to communicate or they develop already acquired skills. The Youth Service is running the fol- lowing courses: ■ ■ German course in Zurich: 09/07 to 20/07/2018 ■ ■ French course in Fribourg: 09/07 to 20/07/2018 ■ ■ German course in Basel: 23/07 to 03/08/2018 ■ ■ German course in Brig: 06/08 to 17/08/2018 Information and registration: www.aso.ch or www.swisscommunity.org. 23 IMPRINT: “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss Abroad, is in its 44 th year of publication and is published in German, French, English and Spanish in 14 regional editions. It has a total circulation of 425,000, including 218,287 electronic copies. Regional news appears four times a year. The ordering parties are fully responsible for the content of advertisements and promotional inserts. This content does not necessarily represent the opinion of either the editorial office or the publisher. EDITORS: Marko Lehtinen (LEH), Editor-in-Chief; Stéphane Herzog (SH); Marc Lettau (MUL); Jürg Müller (JM); Simone Flubacher (SF), responsible for “news.admin.ch” , Relations with the Swiss Abroad, FDFA, 3003 Berne, Switzerland TRANSLATION: CLS Communication AG LAYOUT: Joseph Haas, Zürich PRINT: Vogt-Schild Druck AG, 4552 Derendingen POSTAL ADDRESS: Publisher, editorial office, advertising: Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, 3006 Berne, Tel.: +41313566110, Fax: +41313566101, Postal account (Swiss National Giro): 30-6768-9. Email: revue@aso.ch COPY DEADLINE for this edition: 1.12.2017 All Swiss Abroad who are registered with a Swiss representation receive the magazine free of charge. Anyone else can subscribe to the magazine for an annual fee (Switzerland: CHF 30 / abroad: CHF 50). Subscribers are sent the magazine direct from Berne. www.revue.ch CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please advise your local embassy or consulate. Do not write to the editorial office in Berne. OSA advice I’ve heard that the Swiss Abroad can vote electronically in some cantons. Which ones are they? The following cantons allow their citizens abroad to vote over the Internet: Aargau, Basel-Stadt, Berne, Fribourg, Geneva, Lucerne, Neuchâtel and St. Gallen. Other cantons, such as Vaud and Thurgau, plan to introduce e-voting for their citizens abroad in the course of 2018. The introduction of electronic voting falls under the remit of the cantons which have sole discretion as to whether or not to pro- vide their citizens with this additional means of voting. This is why not all cantons currently provide the Swiss Abroad with this op- portunity. The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad is campaigning for the intro- duction of e-voting for all Swiss Abroad, regardless of which canton they vote in. For further information, see the factsheet on electronic voting published by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad: http://aso.ch/fr/ politique/themes-politiques OSA news The OSA’s Legal Service provides general legal information on Swiss law, particularly in are- as which concern the Swiss abroad. It does not provide information on foreign law or inter- vene in disputes between private parties.