The 100th Congress of the Swiss Abroad ended on Saturday with a visit to the Swiss Abroad Square in Brunnen, canton Schwyz. According to the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), this location in the centre of the Alpine nation symbolises the bond between the community of Swiss emigrants and their homeland. The first Congress of the Swiss Abroad was held in Basel in 1918. Since the annual event was canceled during the Second World War and more recently during the coronavirus pandemic, the 100th edition was only held in 2024. Swiss emigrants at the congress celebrated the anniversary with a boat trip from Lucerne to Brunnen and a ceremony on the Swiss Abroad Square. The OSA used the anniversary to highlight the shifts in patterns of emigration from Switzerland since 1918. Whereas 100 years ago, Swiss nationals tended to emigrate definitively, people today often only move abroad for a few years for professional reasons. The trip to Brunnen marked the end of the congress, which ...
