Democracy and digitization remain hot topics even after the 98th Congress of the Swiss Abroad that took place in Lugano in August 2022.

On the one hand, September 15 was the International Day of Democracy. On the other hand, political progress was also made: In the autumn session, the National Council approved the federal law on the use of electronic means to fulfill official tasks.

In addition, Switzerland held a national vote on September 26th. Like those entitled to vote in Switzerland, a majority of the Swiss abroad support the AHV-21 reform. On the other hand, a majority of the Fifth Switzerland, unlike the whole country, voted for the abolition of factory farming and for the reform of the withholding tax.

The next votes will take place on March 12, 2023 - the Federal Council has decided not to hold a federal referendum on November 27, 2022.

Finally, there are anniversaries to be celebrated from Swiss clubs across the world: The Schweizerverein Dresden in Germany is celebrating its 30th anniversary and is coming together on October 22nd for a steamer trip on the Elbe. The Swiss Society Bangkok in Thailand has been around for even longer: Founded in 1931, it published a book last year on the occasion of its 90th anniversary, which gives readers an understanding of the history of the association with many pictures and anecdotes. The Unione Ticinese di Londra celebrated its 148th anniversay at its AGM in February - join this lively society for the annual Castagnata on the 12th December as the Swiss Embassy London. 

The organization for the Swiss Abroad, SwissCommunity, congratulates them on these happy events and wishes them continued fruitful work in the association.