Swiss Review 6/2018

Swiss Review / November 2018 / No.6 4) Summit meeting with a goat: A special kind of encounter at the sports camp for young people in Saas Grund. 3) Learning languages also means getting to know Switzerland: Language students on a day trip to the Chillon Castle. 2) The Youth Service’s outdoor camps are also group experiences. On the Euschel pass in the Jaun region. 1) Aiming high: Young people on a via ferrata in Saas Grund. 24 OSA news Girls in traditional wrestling breeches, young people in the mountains making friends with a local goat, daredevils on a jag- ged rock near Saas Grund and language students on the shores of Lake Geneva. These are just some of the highlights and mem- orable moments experienced by Swiss children and young peo- ple living abroad during camps in their second home country. Cycling, hiking, wrestling, climbing, chatting, having a party: the pic- tures speak for themselves. Such snapshots are made possible by the courses and camps for Swiss Abroad aged 8 to 25, which are organised every year by the Foundation for Young Swiss Abroad (FYSA) and the Youth Service of the OSA. The goals of the projects for children and young people are: ■ ■ The participants become better acquaintedwith their second home, Switzerland. ■ ■ Young Swiss Abroad from all over the world are brought together. ■ ■ An understanding of the mentality and way of life of their second home country, as well as its culture, history and society, is acquired. ■ ■ Every young Swiss Abroad is allowed at least one stay in Switzer- land. In order to make this stay possible for everyone, we collect donations to support financially disadvantaged families by con- tributing to camp and/or travel expenses. The participation of many volunteers is necessary in order to carry out these projects. Every year, almost 160 camp leaders and 30 host families contribute to ensure that the young Swiss Abroad have a great stay in Switzerland. In addition to the objectives mentioned above, the quality of the implementation of the projects is also very impor- tant. The summer and winter camps are planned and implemented according to the “Youth+Sports” guidelines (Y+S). In order to prepare our camp leaders well, an annual camp leader training course is of- fered. The language courses are held in cooperation with renowned language schools. The Foundation for Young Swiss Abroad (FYSA) organised nine children’s holiday camps this summer. A total of 339 children between the ages of 8 and 14 from over 70 countries participated. In the sum- mer, the Youth Service organised five youth camps, three language courses and several stays with a host family. A total of 200 young peo- ple from over 60 countries participated in the youth programmes. It is a pleasure to note that all the camps and courses of both the FYSA and the OSA Youth Service were fully booked. Emotional moments in the second home country – Scenes from the summer camps for children and young people 1 2 3 4