09/08/2016
A home run at last! This year’s general assembly took place very close to Soliswiss’ headquarters, right across the street at the Allresto Congress Center. For the first time in Soliswiss history, we actively sent out invitations in order to welcome as many members as possible to the general assembly. The date was perfect, too: Friday, i.e. the next day, saw the 100th anniversary of the OSA at the Bundesplatz.
About 40 members and interested parties came to the panel discussion at 3 pm and to the subsequent general assembly. This was a record number of visitors, which will of course be broken in 2017.
“Swiss People Living Abroad Adjust to Risk Changes” was the topic discussed at the Soliswiss general assembly.
Risk analyst Céline Neuenschwander responded to questions about how the risk situation in Europe has changed, and security expect Eric Herren held a presentation on “Terrorism in the Globalization Age”. The program ended with Regina Buol’s contributions regarding her documentary series “Auf und Davon” (“Up and Away”). The presentations were diverse and informative. Dr. Arno Giovannini moderated the discussion skillfully and with a great sense of humor. Thank you very much!
Time began to run out and so Bernardo Brunschwiler, our president, welcomed the guests to the official general assembly and the annual elections. Two new members were unanimously elected to the Board of Directors: Nicole Kuentz from the VSV and Regina Buol from the SRF. We would like to thank both of them for offering their candidacies for this office. Naturally, we will be happy to provide you with their resumes upon request. Jan Metzger and Walter Suter, on the other hand, left the Board. They, too, deserve our sincerest gratitude for their commitment throughout all these years.
The Annual Report 2015 provided a positive picture: Soliswiss has made it through the crisis and, following a period of red numbers, is now in the black again. We can also report a positive development with regards to our members: Our membership numbers keep increasing, and the positive trend is continuing. We are all very happy that our efforts and commitment have also been reflected in the figures. Things are looking up! You, our esteemed reader, are cordially invited to request this annual report from us at any time.
At 5 p.m. sharp, we went over to the appetizers while still continuing the discussion. The little groups that formed at the tables continued to explore the topics from the panel discussion –a good sign. Apparently, our topics resonated with the Zeitgeist and encouraged one discussion after another, drawing attention to various points of view.
For us as a team, the general assembly was a success. We were thrilled to see such a large number of guests! Even the end of the event saw a great deal of input. We take each contribution seriously and will endeavor to continue expanding our range of services. We are highly enthusiastic and absolutely certain that we are on the right track. We thank everyone for coming, for their interest and for their time! We will keep up our hard work helping all Swiss citizens living abroad, travelers and repatriates and look forward to other exciting discussions!