Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA)
Elected Council Member for Australia for the term 2017-2021:
ROLAND ISLER VIC
I am a graphic designer and manage the print & design department at Caulfield Grammar School, one of the largest private schools in Australia. Since arriving in Melbourne in 1982, I have been involved in the Swiss Community in many different ways, including:
- Hon. Life Member and Past-President of the Swiss Club of Victoria
- Swiss Society of Victoria, member of the Assistance Committee
- Member of the Council of the Swiss Abroad since 2009
- ‘Swiss Review’ Regional Editor for Oceania
I am passionate about Switzerland, its culture and its people, wherever they live. My own experience as an expatriate for over three decades and my active engagement in the Swiss Community make me familiar with and sensitive to the needs of Swiss Abroad. I fulfil the duties as a CSA with passion and conviction and strive to be an effective representative and champion for Swiss people in our region.
I enjoy getting immersed in history, especially the one of the Swiss in Australia. I published the book ‘To Australia! Letters of an Emigrant by J. J. Locher from Speicher’. The book is an annotated German transcript and English translation of a letter written in 1855 by a Swiss digger on the Victorian goldfields. The letter was originally published under its German title in St Gallen, Switzerland in 1857. The book is dedicated to the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad on the centenary of its foundation and was launched at the Congress of the Swiss Abroad in Bern in 2016. See publication.
Over the years I have attended several CSA assemblies and Congress of the Swiss Abroad in Switzerland.
Job: Head of Print Services, Caulfield Grammar School
T: +61 4 1293 5565 / Email
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News
An update on e-voting and the federal election 2019
A lot has happened lately with regards to e-voting. There has been growing resistance and a fair bit of scare-mongering in Switzerland regarding the introduction of e-voting. Whilst the advantages are obvious to the government and the Swiss Abroad, sceptics argue that the trust in the democratic process is compromised due to e-security uncertainty and the cost of developing a secure system is also a concern. Earlier this year, a broad alliance of political parties has been collecting signatures for a popular initiative. Their aim is to ban the introduction of e-voting for at least five years.
Report of the Spring Meeting 2019
The legislative body of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA), met for its biannual meeting at the town hall in Bern on 23 March 2019. For the second time, the meeting followed on an exchange with Swiss parliamentarians for an update on political issues with relevance for the Swiss Abroad.
Exhibition ‘Switzerland elsewhere’
From 13 April to 29 September 2019, the Swiss Abroad will be featured in the Swiss History Forum in Schwyz as part of the exhibition ‘Switzerland elsewhere’.
Spring Meeting of the Council of the Swiss Abroad –
Expat Swiss group wants to vet parliament candidates
Geneva shelves e-voting platform on cost grounds
Canton Geneva has announced it can no longer afford to bear the cost of an e-voting system and plans to abandon the project, according to Swiss public radio, RTS. This leaves only one other e-voting project still standing in Switzerland run by Swiss Post.
Read the full Swissinfo report here
Mobile passport station visits in 2019
The Consulate General of Switzerland in Sydney and the Embassy of Switzerland in Wellington inform that they plan to visit the following cities with the mobile passport station:
• Auckland (May)
• Northland (May – only if sufficient interest)
• Perth (first half of April)
• Melbourne (October)
Jungbürgerfeier – Young Swiss Citizen Celebration
Saturday, 15 September saw the ‘Young Swiss Citizen Celebration’ being held for the third time in Victoria. 15 young Swiss who recently celebrated their 18th birthday, and therefore have become fully-fletched Swiss citizens with all the rights and obligations that this entails, followed the invitation by the Hon. Consul, Manuela Erb, to a luncheon at the Swiss Club of Victoria. They were accompanied by their mums and dads, grandparents and brothers and sisters.
Congress of the Swiss Abroad, 10 - 12 Aug 2018
The Valais city of Visp hosted the 2018 Congress of the Swiss Abroad and assembly of the Council of the Swiss Abroad from August 10- 12. The social program included an excursion to the Ryffelberg-Gornergrat on the final day.
Sign the petition: Electronic Voting for all Swiss Abroad!
Members of the Council of the Swiss Abroad meeting in the town of Visp on Friday, 10 August approved plans to launch an online petition calling for the introduction of e-voting over the next three years. Oceania was represented at the meeting by Katja Wallimann Gates and Beat Knoblauch (pictured), Peter Ehrler and Peter Canziani.
Positive progress in electronic voting
OSA PRESS RELEASE: Bern, 28 June 2018 – The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) welcomes the Federal Council’s decision to commission the Federal Chancellery with the preparation of a project that makes e-voting a regular voting option. This decision represents a significant step forward in the introduction of e-voting and recognises it as a safe and reliable option. For Swiss Abroad, this e-voting is often the only way to exercise their political rights.
Banking problem: No solution for the Swiss Abroad
OSA PRESS RELEASE: Bern, 13 June 2018 – The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) representing the interests of 751,800 compatriots living abroad, is disappointed that the Council of States today rejected Motion 17.3626 by 30 votes to 9 with 4 abstentions. The Council of States has decided not to follow the majority of its Foreign Policy Commission (APK-S) and has rejected a motion calling on PostFinance to accept Swiss Abroad on similar terms as citizens residing in Switzerland. The problem that has existed for our compatriots living abroad for ten years remains unresolved.