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 book is dedicated to the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad on the centenary of its foundation in 2016 and was launched at the Congress of the Swiss Abroad in Bern that year. See publication.
To better communicate with Swiss citizens in our region my fellow delegate Carmen Trochsler and I created an online presence via this website and social media. I am also responsible for the ‘Regional News Oceania’ section of the ‘Swiss Review’, which goes out to all registered Swiss households in Oceania.
Please contact me If you have an issue to raise or an experience to share. T: +61 4 1293 5565 / Email
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News
Council of the Swiss Abroad Spring Meeting 2020
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the meeting of the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA) on 14 March 2020 in Berne had to be cancelled. As a consequence - and as a first in the history of the organisation - the 127 delegates were asked to cast their votes electronically in matters that couldn’t be postponed until the next meeting.
2020 without any Council of the Swiss Abroad assembly
Sadly, the Congress of the Swiss Abroad that was to be held in Lugano from 21 to 23 August 2020, and with it the CSA summer assembly, had to be cancelled.
Coronavirus – a message from the Swiss Government
Dear fellow Swiss
As you are all aware the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is quickly spreading around the world but the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not changed its warning level (public health emergency of international concern) since January 30, 2020.
Movetia – Exchange and mobility
Are you a student or graduate from a university, university of applied arts and sciences, a teacher training college or a qualified teacher seeking experience?
The exchange-programs offered by Movetia gives young students and graduates from abroad the opportunity to work as language teaching assistants in Swiss grammar schools, vocational schools and vocational baccalaureate schools. As native speakers, they bring a unique richness to the teaching of languages, as well as exemplifying cultural aspects of their country of origin.
The program is for young Swiss Abroad who were either born in a country where English, German, French, Spanish or Italian is the official national language or have lived there from the age of four. The paid position begins after the summer holidays and usually lasts a whole school year. The deadline for applications for the school year 2020/21 is 13 March. For further information and registration, please see the website.
Mobile passport station visit in Australia in 2020
The team of the Consulate General in Sydney will be visiting Brisbane QLD from 24 April to 1 May 2020 with the mobile passport station.
Provided enough interest is received, Cairns QLD will also be visited during this time.
Registered citizens in QLD, NT and northern NSW will be contacted by email or letter two months prior to the visit with detailed information regarding dates, venues and procedures. Please ensure that the Consulate General has your up-to-date personal data and email address.
The Consulate General aims to provide this service to its compatriots rotating the locations, servicing each capital city on a regular basis.
Jungbürgerfeier – Melbourne
Saturday, 5 October saw the ‘Young Swiss Citizen Celebration’ being held for the fourth time in Melbourne. 13 young Swiss who recently celebrated their 18th birthday, and thus became fully-fletched Swiss citizens, followed the invitation by the Hon. Consul, Manuela Erb, to a luncheon at the Swiss Club of Victoria. They were accompanied by families and friends.
Summary of Proceedings at the CSA Meeting in Montreux on 16 August 2019
1)
CSA elections in 2021: because the Swiss e-voting systems are on hold until further notice, direct election via e-voting of the CSA delegates (as per pilot projects in Australia and Mexico in 2016) will not be possible. The CSA Delegates in Australia will have the job to organise the next elections without certainty of assistance at this stage. Importance is given to umbrella organisations in countries where they exist, which will have the task to organise fair and democratic elections. Default solution is the ‘old System’ each country carried in the past.
Pacific Islands Forum
The 50th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Summit took place in Tuvalu from 13 to 16 August, 2019.
AVIS28 – Foreign policy vision for Switzerland 2028
Switzerland is a success story, but it will have to evolve under fast changing international conditions. Therefore, foreign policy will become more important for Switzerland’s prosperity and security. Starting from these reflections, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis established the AVIS28 working group in 2018 with the aim to define a coherent and adaptive foreign policy vision for Switzerland for 2028. AVIS28 is a source of inspiration and new ideas, and at the same time, it should initiate a broad discussion on the future of Swiss foreign policy. Switzerland needs the courage to change. Its foreign policy must become more focused, networked and agile. Switzerland should also work more closely with like-minded states, like Australia and New Zealand, towards their common goals.
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.
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.
Council of States decides against discriminatory social security changes
OSA PRESS RELEASE: Bern, 30 May 2018 – The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) is relieved that the Council of States has today decided to follow the recommendation of its Commission on Social Security and Health (SGK-S) to delete the amendment to Article 4 (1) in the context of the supplementary benefits reform. This means that the current rules remain in place. Last March, the National Council approved an application whereby Swiss Abroad would have had to pay social security contributions (AHV) for at least ten years in order to qualify for supplementary benefits, which would have discriminated against Swiss Abroad.
New Partnership with Geneva Cantonal Bank
On 10 March 2018, at he CSA meeting in Bern, the executive of the OSA announced that it had entered into a partnership with the Geneva Cantonal Bank (BCGE).
More information is available under the topic Swiss Banks.
Health insurance: we’re interested in your experiences!
The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) would like to know about difficulties you have encountered in the area of health insurance and the practical problems that you face as a Swiss person living abroad. This may be of specific relevance to those living temporarily in the Oceania region or those in need for travel insurance when visiting Switzerland. By the same token, if you have had positive experiences or wish to share good practices, please do so!
The purpose is to look at ways of improving the situation of Swiss people living abroad in this regard.
You can send your experiences and suggestions to us delegates and/or directly to the head office in Bern: info@aso.ch