Swiss Review 3/2020

Swiss Review / June 2020 / No.3 22 OSA news “Swiss Review” announced at the be- ginning of November 2019 that, as an exception, there would be just five printed editions of the magazine in 2020, and that a sixth edition would only be published online. Now the good news for all those who read the printed version of “Swiss Review”: at ameeting on 12March 2020, the Exec- utive Board reviewed its original de- cision and concluded that this one-off omission of the printed edition will not go ahead after all. This is because “Swiss Review” ended 2019 in a much better financial position than ex- pected back in August 2019. Sufficient funds are nowavailable, meaning that we can continue providing our read- ers with what they want without any interruption. Given that visitor traffic for the on- line edition is low, we remain focused onmodernising the OSA’s online pres- ence. Through the planned merger of the current www.revue.ch, www. aso.ch and www.swisscommunity. org websites, we also aim to improve our magazine’s reader-friendliness and visual appeal. In developing our strategy for “Swiss Review”, we must be conscious of the fact that our print and online readers have increasingly diverging reading habits. However, having our own online editorial team is currently not an option – which is why I am all the more grateful to our current “Swiss Review” editorial teamfor their creative and dedicated work. I hope that our readers continue to enjoy “Swiss Review” – our most im- portant key information resource. REMO GYSIN, OSA PRESIDENT educationsuisse Tel .+41 31 356 61 04 Fax+41 31 356 61 01 info@educationsuisse.ch www.educationsuisse.ch Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) Alpenstrasse 26 CH-3006 Berne Tel. +41 31 356 61 00 Fax +41 31 356 61 01 info@aso.ch www.aso.ch www.revue.ch www.swisscommunity.org Our partners: Foundation for Young Swiss Abroad Tel .+41 31 356 6116 Fax+41 31 356 61 01 info@sjas.ch www.sjas.ch Good news for print subscribers You won’t miss anything – the next “Swiss Review” will also be available in print. Voluntary subscriptions to bolster printed edition Readers who particularly appreciate receiving the printed edition are able to support it with a voluntary subscription fee. Your support expressed in this way will help us to offer the “Review” on paper in the same quality for many years to come. The bank details for the transfer of voluntary subscriptions are as follows (please note: cheques cannot be cashed): IBAN: CH97 0079 0016 1294 4609 8 Bank: Berner Kantonalbank, Bundesplatz 8, CH-3011 Bern BIC/SWIFT: KBBECH22 Beneficiary: BEKB Bern Account 16.129.446.0.98 Organisation of the Swiss Abroad Fao Mr A. Kiskery Alpenstrasse 26, CH-3006 Bern Reference: Support Swiss Review Payments by PayPal: revue@aso.ch Parliament of the “Fifth Switzerland” unable to sit due to the coronavirus The Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA), referred to as the Parliament of the “Fifth Switzerland”, was scheduled to sit at Berne’s city hall on 14 March 2020. Unfortunately, the meeting, which had been planned in detail, had to be can- celled at short notice owing to the corona- virus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak. After Switzerland saw its first confirmed cases of the virus in February, the Federal Council banned all major events with more than 1,000 people. Several cantons (including the canton of Berne, where the CSA was due to sit) then introduced tougher restrictions, only authorising events with fewer than 1,000 participants subject to certain conditions being met. The Executive Board and management of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) therefore saw no other option but to cancel the CSA. In their joint message to CSA delegates at the end of February, the OSA President and Director also cited their “institutional responsibility towards delegates and the public” as a reason for taking this decision. Another decisionwas taken allowing CSA delegates to vote on some of the forthcoming agenda items by email. The results of this voting procedure were still outstanding at the time of going to press (MUL)