Making Young Swiss Abroad Feel More Than Just 'Passport Holders'

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Sofia Garcia‐Reyes is the new president of the Youth Parliament of the Swiss Abroad (YPSA). The Swiss‐Colombian aims to make the organisation indispensable for young Swiss living abroad. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: Making young Swiss abroad feel more than just 'passport holders' This content was published on April 17, 2026 - 09:00 6 minutes

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. Passionate 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.

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Deutsch de ((Junge Auslandschweizer:innen sollen sich als echte Schweizer fühlen)) Read more: ((Junge Auslandschweizer:innen sollen sich als echte Schweizer füh Français fr ((Les jeunes Suisses à l'étranger doivent se sentir suisses, pas simples détenteurs du passeport)) Original Read more: ((Les jeunes Suisses à l'étranger doivent se sentir suisses, pas simples détenteurs du passep

“I'm so sorry for the delay!” Nearly 9,000 kilometres from Switzerland, Sofia Garcia-Reyes apologises behind her computer screen in Bogotá. Delayed by another meeting, she connects only a few minutes late to our appointment.

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.

Plethora of activities

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's office in Bogotá. 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.

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

“It's a lot of work, but I'm very organised.” Another trait that is readily attributed to the Swiss.

'The place to be'

Garcia-Reyes has clear ambitions for the Parliament of Young Swiss Abroad.“YPSA must become 'the place to be' and 'the place to join'”,” she says.

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

Garcia-Reyes also wants events to be held more regularly – around one a month – and to take better account of the community's wishes. Among other things, YPSA organises webinars, e.g. on studying in Switzerland, film screenings or other online events.

Through the YPSA community, Garcia-Reyes wants to strengthen the sense of belonging and make“young Swiss Abroad feel Swiss, and not just holders of the red passport with the white cross”.

Multiple challenges

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,“especially among the second and third generation”.

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This content was published on Dec 16, 2025 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.

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