Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA)

Organisation des Suisse de l‘étranger (OSE)

Auslandschweizer - Organisation (ASO)

SEM

INA

R AUGUST 13TOAUGUST 192012

MOBILITY AND INNOVATION

Seminar Documentation - IntroductionThis documentation shall guide the participants to the seminar through this weeks activities. It contains basic information on the different agenda highlights while some space is left for personal notes.

From August 17th to 19th 2012 the 90th Congress of the Swiss Abroad takes part in Lausanne. A group of Young Swiss Abroad attending the congress is participating in a seminar the week prior to the congress. The seminar aims at giving the participants insights into the Swiss educational and political system as well as preparing them for their attendance to the congress.

During the seminar the group will visit educational institutions such as the Swiss Hospitality Management School and EPFL in Lausanne. Also the Association promoting Education for the Young Swiss Abroad (AJAS) will provide information on possibilities for studying in Switzerland.

Furthermore the group is given the opportunity to visit the world leading research institute CERN as well as the Geneva offices of the UNO.

A project manager of the Umbrella Organization of Swiss Youth Parliaments is holding a presentation allowing closer look at the Swiss political system and a way for youth to take part.

Additionally the group will be given brief introductions to the personalities of the congress guest speakers and prepare their private meeting with Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter.

OverviewHospitality MGMT School 2EPFL 3UNO Palais des Nations 4Youth Parliament 5CERN 6AJAS 7

Swiss Hospitality

Management

School Lausanne

(EHL)

1. The oldest hotel school in the worldFounded in 1893.

2. Programs which are recognized by the Swiss governmentIn Switzerland, it is the only institute of hospitality management of HES ("Haute Ecole Spécialisée", or University of Applied Sciences) level offering advanced programs which are recognized by the Swiss government.

3. EHL is accepted industry-wide as the best hotel school in the worldAccredited as an Institution of Higher Education by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in the USA and the Bologna process in Europe.

4. Own secret societyEach year, Le Cercle 1893 select a group of student who showed great leadership skills in different sports team and committees. The name of the members as well as their activities is unknown.

5. More than 30 student committees and associationsFrom Sports such as Rugby (EHL Griffins), Ice Hockey (EHL Wolves), etc. to business oriented committee such as the Career Club, Junior enterprise and the Active Leadership Committee.

6. Near 2000 students...... from all around the world.

7. Websitewww.ehl.edu

VisitWe will visit EHL on tuesday August 14,

10 a.m. Mr. Rochat, General Director of EHL is giving an introduction into EHL. After a Q&A session with Mr. Rochat a EHL Student will take us on a campus tour.

Questions & NotesMr. Rochat will answer your questions.

Some questions will come up in direct response to his presentation.

However, if you can already think of questions you want to ask him or the student, write them down here. Also you may use the space to take notes.

VisitWe will visit EPFL on tuesday August 14, 2 p.m. Mr. Daniel Chuard, Delegate for

Formation of EPFL, will introduce the participants to studying at EPFL. After his presentation we will take a tour on the campus.

Questions & NotesWrite down your questions for Mr. Chuard and take notes during his presentation.

École

Politechnique

Fédérale de

Lausanne (EPFL)

1. Founded by the Swiss Federal Government in 1853As one of two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (the other one being ETH in Zurich).

2. Mission- Educate engineers and scientists

- Be a national center of excellence in science and technology

- Provide a hub for interaction between the scientific community and industry

3. RankingsEPFL is evaluated as continental Europe's #1 and world's #20 university in the field of Engineering, Technology and Computer Sciences in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2011.

4. FacilitiesThe campus consists of 65 buildings (the newest being the Rolex Learning Center built in 2010, cf. picture). Various cafeterias, two restaurants, a bar, travel agencies, banks, you‘ll find it all on campus.

5. Fréquence BananeThe EPFL‘s own student radio.

6. Number of studentsMore than 8‘000 from 100+ countries.

7. Websitewww.epfl.ch

United Nations

Organisation

(UNO), Geneva

1. The Palais des Nations is one of several Headquarters of the UNOIt is UNO‘s second most important establishment behind its Headquarter in New York.

2. Different UNO organisms hold offices in Geneva, such as:- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

- United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco)

- etc.

3. 6 Official UNO languagesArabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

4. Websitewww.un.org

VisitWe will take a guided tour at the Palais

des Nations in Geneva on wednesday August 15, 10 30 a.m.

BackgroundThe United Nations (abbreviated UN in

English, and ONU in French and Spanish), is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It contains multiple subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions.

The Palais des Nations (English: Palace of Nations) in Geneva, Switzerland, was built between 1929 and 1936 to serve as the headquarters of the League of Nations. It has served as the home of the United Nations Office at Geneva since 1946 when the Secretary General of the UN signed a Headquarters Agreement with the Swiss authorities, although Switzerland did not become a member of the UN until 2002.

The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, who acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the UN. The current Secretary-General is Ban Ki-moon, who took over from Kofi Annan in 2007 and has been elected for a second term to conclude at the end of 2016.

Envisioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt as a "world moderator", the position is defined

in the UN Charter as the organization's "chief administrative officer", but the Charter also states that the Secretary-General can bring to the Security Council's attention "any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security", giving the position greater scope for action on the world stage. The position has evolved into a dual role of an administrator of the UN organization, and a diplomat and mediator addressing disputes between member states and finding consensus to global issues.

The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, after being recommended by the Security Council, where the permanent members have veto power. The General Assembly can theoretically override the Security Council's recommendation if a majority vote is not achieved, although this has not happened so far. There are no specific criteria for the post, but over the years, it has become accepted that the post shall be held for one or two terms of five years, that the post shall be appointed on the basis of geographical rotation, and that the Secretary-General shall not originate from one of the five permanent Security Council member states.

PresentationAlexandra Molinaro, Project Manager at DSJ/FSPJ/FSPG, is going to introduce you to

the activities of Youth Parliaments and their members on wednesday August 15, 4 p.m.

Questions & NotesPrepare questions about Youth Parliaments and Swiss politics in general. Also take notes

during the presentation.

Youth Parliaments

1. Umbrella OrganizationIn Switzerland Youth Parliaments exist on different political levels. These Parliaments are supported and linked by an Umbrella Organization called DSJ (german)/FSPJ (french)/FSPG (italian).

3. NumbersSwitzerland has more than 40 Youth Parliaments and more than 1500 young parliamentarians.

3. Function / GoalYouth Parliaments are a way for young people to defend their interests on a political level.

4. CareerParticipation in a Youth Parliament is a good start for a career as a politician.

5. DSJ/FSPJ/FSPG on Facebookwww.facebook.com/dsj.fspj.fspg

6. Websitewww.dsj.ch

European

Organization for

Nuclear Research

(CERN), Geneva

1. The largest physics laboratory...... in the world!

2. Established1954

3. InstitutionCERN was originally founded by 12 European states and has 20 member states today (cf. map)

4. EmployeesCERN has near 4‘000 employees.

5. Visiting scientists and engineersMoreover, CERN hosts thousands of scientists and engineers from Universities all over the world.

6. Budget for 2012CHF 1‘174‘780‘000

7. Websitehttp://public.web.cern.ch/public/

8. Virtual ATLAS TourA virtual tour can also be found online @ www.virtualvisit.web.cern.ch/VirtualVisit/ATLAS/

VisitDr. Steven Goldfarb, physicist at CERN,

will take us on a guided tour through his institution on thursday August 16, 10 a.m. The tour will mainly focus on the ATLAS experiment...

BackgroundCERN, the European Organization for

Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics, finding out what the Universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constituents of matter — the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn about the laws of Nature.

The instruments used at CERN are particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before they are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions.

Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the Franco–Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe’s first joint ventures and now has 20 Member States.

The founding convention defines CERN‘s mission as follows:

“The Organization shall provide for collaboration among European States in nuclear research of a pure scientific and fundamental character (...). The Organization shall have no concern with work for military requirements and the results of its experimental and theoretical work shall be published or otherwise made generally available”.

Questions & NotesPrepare questions for Dr. Goldfarb and

take notes during his presentation.

PresentationMrs. Silvia Hirsig is going to introduce you to AJAS on thursday August 16, 4 p.m.

Questions & NotesAJAS may be of special interest for some of you. Especially for those of you who already

know that they want to study in Switzerland but also for those who didn‘t think about it yet. Prepare questions for Mrs. Hirsig and take notes...

Association

Promoting

Education for the

Young Swiss

Abroad (AJAS)

1. FoundedBy the Organization for the Swiss Abroad and Pro Juventute (a foundation for youth) in 1962

2. MissionAJAS helps Young Swiss Abroad to overcome the several hurdles such as financing, accommodation, etc. when they want to study in Switzerland.

3. Websitewww.ajas.ch

Personal- Which law would you abrogate if you could

decide it on your own?- What did you do in your life that you would not

like the public to know because of your political career?

- Are you a member of a business network such as the Rotary Club? What do you think of such networks?

- How many languages do you speak?- What made you choose a career as a politician?- How do you manage career and family? Does

your family sometimes accept to be second priority?- What are your music preferences?- Do you smoke?- Would you consider the young you as rebellious

and adventurous?

Mandate- Have you met Barak Obama?- How much do you earn?- How is it to be the head of the Department of

Foreign Affairs in a neutral country?

Swiss Politics - What do you think of the Swiss people‘s „yes“ to

the Minaret Initiative and in general of the ban of new Minarets?

- What do you think about a fix income for every citizen and the relevant initiative?

- What do you think about internet voting?- What is your opinion on the relationship between

economy and ecology? Are there certain visions you have for Switzerland? Can other countries‘ models (e.g. Netherlands) serve as examples for Switzerland?

- Can you give insights on the Gotthard Bunkers?- How do you perceive Switzerland‘s smoking

prevention? Tobacco adds seem to be more frequent here than in EU countries and elsewhere.

Education- Which educational system do you consider the

best in the world?- In Switzerland there seems to be a trend away

from the Professional Education to High-School and University Education. How do you perceive this trend? How do you think the Swiss Government should react?

- How do you perceive the organization / harmony of ETHZ and EPFL? Do you agree on the merge of these two institutions?

International Politics- What do you think of Germany buying Data CDs

with confidential bank information?- Where do you see advantages of double/multiple

citizenship?- How do you perceive the ascent of extreme

rightwing parties in several European Countries (e.g. Hungary, Greece,...)?

- How do the crisis in Syria and also in Libya affect Switzerland? Specifically energy/petroleum issues?

- How do you perceive the western countries‘ role in international conflicts such as in Syria? What do you think of military material deals with such countries?

- Do you consider Switzerland as a typical „western“ country?

Various- Coop or Migros?- Tie or bow tie?- Mac or Windows?- Scotch or Bourbon?- Improvise ...