{"id":50413,"date":"2026-04-17T08:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/50413\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T08:01:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:01:14","slug":"making-young-swiss-abroad-feel-more-than-just-passport-holders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/50413\/","title":{"rendered":"Making young Swiss abroad feel more than just ‘passport holders’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When she visits her family in Switzerland, Sofia Garcia-Reyes enjoys hiking. <\/p>\n

courtoisie <\/p>\n

Sofia Garcia\u2011Reyes is the new president of the Youth Parliament of the Swiss Abroad (YPSA). The Swiss\u2011Colombian aims to make the organisation indispensable for young Swiss living abroad.\n<\/p>\n

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April 17, 2026 – 09:00\n<\/p>\n

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\n Emigration, returning to Switzerland, family, education, pensions, banking, insurance… I care about Swiss people living abroad and inform them about the issues that concern them.
\nPassionate about languages and cultures, my career path took a short turn through marketing and assistant work before crossing the road into journalism, in a job that allows me to converse with people from all over the world. <\/p>\n


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\u00abJunge Auslandschweizer:innen sollen sich als echte Schweizer f\u00fchlen\u00bb\n <\/p>\n

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Read more: \u00abJunge Auslandschweizer:innen sollen sich als echte Schweizer f\u00fchlen\u00bb
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\u00abLes jeunes Suisses \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9tranger doivent se sentir suisses, pas simples d\u00e9tenteurs du passeport\u00bb <\/p>\n

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Read more: \u00abLes jeunes Suisses \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9tranger doivent se sentir suisses, pas simples d\u00e9tenteurs du passeport\u00bb
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\u201cI\u2019m so sorry for the delay!\u201d Nearly 9,000 kilometres from Switzerland, Sofia Garcia-Reyes apologises behind her computer screen in Bogot\u00e1. Delayed by another meeting, she connects only a few minutes late to our appointment.<\/p>\n

South America is not particularly known for its punctuality but Garcia-Reyes, a third-generation Swiss Abroad, seems to have inherited this very Swiss trait.<\/p>\n

Plethora of activities<\/p>\n

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Sofia Garcia-Reyes, a specialist in human rights, international humanitarian law and transitional justice at the Universidad de La Sabana, has received an award for her academic achievements. <\/p>\n

courtoisie <\/p>\n

The 27-year-old is a bundle of energy, juggling many different activities. She works for the director of the Direction of Peace and Reconciliation at the mayor\u2019s office in Bogot\u00e1. The latter is in charge of the implementation of the peace agreements signed with the Marxist rebel group FARC. Garcia-Reyes coordinates with lawyers and different services, including a missing persons unit.<\/p>\n

A lawyer by training, she also works with a professor of constitutional law at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogot\u00e1. Since January, she has taken on the role as president of the Youth Parliament of the Swiss Abroad (YPSAExternal link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of work, but I\u2019m very organised.\u201d Another trait that is readily attributed to the Swiss.<\/p>\n

\u2018The place to be\u2019<\/p>\n

Garcia-Reyes has clear ambitions for the Parliament of Young Swiss Abroad. \u201cYPSA must become \u2018the place to be\u2019 and \u2018the place to join’\u201d,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

To achieve this, YPSA aims to make extensive use of social mediaExternal link<\/a> to boost visibility and reach among young Swiss abroad, while also enabling easy communication between members\u2014particularly via a WhatsApp group of around 60 active participants.<\/p>\n

Garcia-Reyes also wants events to be held more regularly \u2013 around one a month \u2013 and to take better account of the community\u2019s wishes. Among other things, YPSA organises webinars, e.g. on studying in Switzerland, film screenings or other online events.<\/p>\n

Through the YPSA community, Garcia-Reyes wants to strengthen the sense of belonging and make \u201cyoung Swiss Abroad feel Swiss, and not just holders of the red passport with the white cross\u201d.<\/p>\n

Multiple challenges<\/p>\n

To survive and gain influence, YPSA must grow. The task is difficult. The young audience is scattered over five continents and its connection with Switzerland has sometimes waned, \u201cespecially among the second and third generation\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Swiss Abroad\n <\/p>\n

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Dec 16, 2025 <\/p>\n

Elections were held from November 17 to December 14 to renew the YPSA committee for the 2026-2028 legislature. While the number of candidates broke a new record, participation is clearly down. <\/p>\n

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Read more: Latin America shines at the Youth Parliament of the Swiss Abroad
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It is also sometimes necessary to motivate active members. For this reason, YPSA has several working groups, for example for the organisation of events or social media posts. \u201cHaving a defined role makes them responsible,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She also believes that YPSA is not sufficiently visible or recognised by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) and Swiss schools abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of our young age, the delegates of the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA)External link<\/a> do not always take us seriously,\u201d she says. She hopes that will change during this legislature. YPSA automatically has two seats on the CSA. With two other current members also serving as delegates for their countries \u2013 Sofia Garcia-Reyes for Colombia and Mathis Steinmann for France \u2013 this brings the total number of young delegates at the CSA to four.<\/p>\n

The organisation has evolved<\/p>\n

Garcia-Reyes has been a member of YPSA since 2021, which she discovered following a social media post. At the time, she was staying in Switzerland.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the pandemic, my law school in Colombia switched to a fully virtual format. I took the opportunity to get to know my family\u2019s country of origin better,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She spent six months in Zurich, alternating between childcare in the morning and law classes in the afternoon.<\/p>\n

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Read more: Everything you need to know about the Swiss Abroad
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She became a member of the group that manages the events, then vice-president for the period 2023-2025, and finally president for the next two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few years ago, the structure was disorganised. For example, there was no concept for social networks,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

Little by little, YPSA has become more structured. Her goal is \u201cto have the best organised committee possible.\u201d But this is a challenge, given the high turnover.<\/p>\n

The members of the YPSA Committee are elected for two years. But few commit to a second term. \u201cThe committee changes a lot, so you often have to start from the beginning,\u201d says the new president.<\/p>\n

Young people are moving away from these commitments because they feel like it requires a lot of work, she notes, citing age as a factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cMembers are often in a period of transition between studies and their first jobs,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Benefits for members<\/p>\n

However, she sees several advantages in being part of a structure such as YPSA. According to her, it facilitates interaction between young people of Swiss origin from all over the world \u201cwho are in the same state of mind\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a small scale, it is also an opportunity to gain management experience, especially when you are in charge of a group,\u201d adds Garcia-Reyes. In the case of a stay or a move to Switzerland, she considers that getting involved with YPSA also helps build connections and interest in the country.<\/p>\n

The young woman believes that her involvement with the Parliament of Young Swiss Abroad has changed her connection to her homeland. As a child, she participated in several youth camps in Switzerland. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are my best childhood memories,\u201d she says. She has strong family ties to Switzerland but through YPSA and as a delegate to the CSA her involvement has become more political.<\/p>\n

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More <\/p>\n

Moving abroad\n <\/p>\n

Swiss Abroad: hurdles to studying in Switzerland remain <\/p>\n

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This content was published on <\/p>\n

Nov 13, 2022 <\/p>\n

Foreign diplomas and financial issues can make it difficult for young Swiss expats to study in Switzerland. <\/p>\n

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Read more: Swiss Abroad: hurdles to studying in Switzerland remain
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Edited by Pauline Turuban. Adapted from French by AI\/ac<\/p>\n

Articles in this story <\/p>\n