SwissCommunity.org

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SwissCommunity.org
Website logo
"SwissCommunity.org - The platform for the Swiss abroad."
social network
languages German, French, English
operator Organization of the Swiss Abroad
user 30,000
On-line August 21, 2012
http://www.swisscommunity.org/

SwissCommunity.org is a social network platform for the Swiss Abroad , which is operated by the Organization of the Swiss Abroad (OSA). It offers the Swiss living abroad (“Fifth Switzerland”) the opportunity to contact and communicate with one another and to maintain a close connection to their home country. In contrast to comparable social networks, SwissCommunity.org not only offers classic community functions but also well-founded information on events and developments in Switzerland. The internet platform also supports the 732,000 Swiss Abroad in exercising their political rights . In the spirit of a 27th virtual canton, SwissCommunity.org offers the Swiss diaspora a platform for expressing opinions and thus making it heard in Switzerland.

organization

SwissCommunity.org was launched on the occasion of the 88th Congress of the Swiss Abroad on August 21, 2010 in St. Gallen. The organization for the Swiss Abroad that designed the platform was set up in 1916 by the New Helvetic Society . Today OSA is the representative and recognized representative of the interests of the “Fifth Switzerland” and provides a wide range of services for the 732,000 Swiss nationals abroad. This includes advice and information on legal and practical questions in connection with emigration , stay abroad and return migration. In addition, there is a wide range of other services such as a. Offers for children and young people, training advice for young Swiss abroad, information on Swiss schools abroad, the implementation of the annual Congress of the Swiss Abroad and detailed information on events in Switzerland and OSA activities. SwissCommunity.org supports OSA in fulfilling its task of providing information to Swiss emigrants (in accordance with Art. 40 BV) and enables Swiss people around the world to strengthen their relationships with one another and with their canton of origin.

Via SwissCommunity.org

target group

The platform addresses the basic needs of the Swiss abroad, such as the need to establish contact and exchange information, ideas and “insider tips”, as well as the desire to share experiences or find yourself among compatriots abroad. SwissCommunity.org offers the Swiss abroad a simple and uncomplicated way to network with one another and to maintain a connection with those who “stayed at home”. Three years after it was founded, more than 30,000 members from 186 countries have registered on SwissCommunity.org. Among them are several federal parliamentarians and journalists. SwissCommunity.org is available in German , French and English .

content

The platform consists of a public and a protected area.

The public area is characterized by detailed information tailored to the needs of the Swiss abroad. This includes:

  • The news from the information platform swissinfo that is continuously fed to the platform .
  • The online version that appears parallel to the print edition of “Swiss Review”. Published six times a year by OSA and distributed free of charge to all Swiss households abroad.
  • The network's own online magazine, the latest edition of which is only available to members of the platform, but is later accessible to everyone in the public area.
  • Useful and relevant information on all 26 Swiss cantons and on Switzerland as a whole.
  • Contact details and information on over 330 Swiss associations abroad.
  • All addresses of all Swiss embassies worldwide.

In the protected area , users can register free of charge and create a personal profile with photos and information. Using various search criteria, the Swiss can easily find other compatriots in their area and get in touch with them. The closed area offers registered users:

  • A pinboard.
  • A calendar of events.
  • A marketplace where users can place small advertisements.
  • Discussion forums, which are at the center of member activities and in which mainly political topicalities as well as topics related to Swiss institutions and questions relating to life abroad are discussed. The Swiss abroad can count on practical advice and experience reports from their compatriots for questions relating to emigration, stays abroad and return immigration.

media

SwissCommunity.org publishes an online lifestyle magazine four times a year, which is published on the homepage. Each issue is dedicated to a specific topic and also includes portraits of Swiss people all over the world, interviews, interesting facts about the Swiss cantons and culture, as well as information about current events in Switzerland. The magazine appears in German, French and English.

When registering on SwissCommunity.org, members have the opportunity to sign up for three of the cantonal newsletters of their choice, which appear four times a year, as well as the OSA newsletter, which appears six times a year.

The online version of “Swiss Review” appears six times a year, parallel to the print edition. The "Swiss Review" is the only medium that reaches all Swiss households abroad, provides them with information from Switzerland and keeps them up to date on Swiss reality. The “Swiss Review” is published by the Organization of the Swiss Abroad on behalf of the federal government.

Political commitment

SwissCommunity.org takes the place of a 27th canton in Switzerland, albeit a virtual one due to the geographical distance of its members.

In the run-up to the referendums, which take place four times a year in Switzerland, debates and exchanges play a decisive role in forming opinions. In this context, SwisCommunity.org plays a central role at the political level, as the platform enables all Swiss people, regardless of their country of residence, to actively participate in the political process as well as to express their opinions and exchange ideas with compatriots. The federal parliamentarians and journalists registered on the platform help ensure that the concerns of the Swiss Abroad find their way onto the political agenda in Switzerland.

Partnerships

The OSA has the status of a non-profit organization and has to raise large parts of its finances itself. The partnerships with various companies such as Switzerland Tourism and swissinfo are therefore an important building block for success . The partnerships with the cantons are also important, so far Lucerne , Aargau , Zug , Geneva and Ticino have been included. Partnerships with all 26 cantons are sought for the future.

SwissCommunity.org and the organization for the Swiss Abroad in general are also in close contact with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) .

Awards

On the occasion of the “Best of Swiss Web Awards” on March 31, 2011 in the Kongresshaus in Zurich, SwissCommunity.org was honored as one of the outstanding Swiss Internet projects of 2011 and was awarded the silver medal in the usability category. The award goes especially to the clarity of the content and the user-friendliness of the platform developed by Mediaparx.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The virtual club of international Switzerland . Swissinfo August 19, 2010. Accessed January 25, 2013.
  2. ↑ Statistics of the Swiss Abroad by country of residence and consular districts 2013 ( Memento of the original from October 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 657 kB). Website of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved May 23, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.eda.admin.ch
  3. ^ The Fifth Switzerland . Website of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ 30,000 members in the virtual 27th canton of Switzerland (PDF; 51 kB). SwissCommunity.org website. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  5. ↑ SwissCommunity.org - The platform for the Swiss abroad .
  6. ↑ Meyer, Heinrich 2011: Swiss ICT Yearbook 11. Zurich: Netzmedien AG, p. 90.