‘Switzerland can make better use of its diaspora’

How has the Swiss abroad community changed over the past century? Rudolf Wyder, former director of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), dived into archives and wrote a book on “100 years of OSA” ahead of the anniversary celebrations in August. About 760,000 registered Swiss expats currently live abroad, nearly half of them in neighbouring France, Germany, Italy and Austria. There is also an important Swiss abroad community in North America. Many of them have dual nationality. Swiss Review: You have just completed your work. The book is set for publication at the beginning of August. During your research, did you come across facts that despite being director for many years you were not aware of? Rudolf Wyder: Most definitely. Even though I was director of the OSA for a long period, there were many gaps in its history which I wanted to fill in, out of personal interest as much as anything. There were periods never dealt with historically. What was the ...