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Dear Swiss compatriots,
I write to you for the final time; my posting in London is sadly drawing to a close and I will leave in September to become Ambassador to the Czech Republic. It has been a privilege and pleasure for my wife Hayam and me to represent our country in the UK, to strengthen bilateral relations and promote the interests of Switzerland and its citizens.
In doing this work I have been able to count on my dedicated staff, our external partners and many of you. It has always been a particular pleasure to meet members of the Swiss community around the UK, be it on our annual Swiss Ambassador’s Award concert tour to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, at events in London or on my trips further afield. I have been fortunate enough to have spent time in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and many other places in order to meet with political authorities or to promote scientific and economic cooperation. If I have one regret it is that I could not visit the British countryside more, with London keeping me back too often with its duties.
I have experienced four extraordinary years in the UK, witnessing two general elections as well as the two referendums on Scottish independence and on EU membership. The latter has ensured that my final year at the Embassy has been a particularly busy one. Preparations for the UK’s departure from the European Union are well under way and we are working hard to ensure clarity and continuity in the UK-Swiss relationship. The Swiss Confederation’s “Mind the gap” strategy aims to prevent any legal gap when the UK’s exit from the EU is complete, given that the relationship is currently governed by Switzerland’s bilateral agreements with the European Union. As these agreements will no longer apply they will need to be replaced with new bilateral agreements. Be assured that the interests of the Swiss community in the UK are fully taken into account in this process and we are monitoring the situation intently and making representations wherever necessary.
You can find more about this work in the articles below, and you can also stay in touch with developments by following us on social media. We have expanded onto new networks in the past few months; as well as our Facebook and Twitter channels, our Culture Section now has an active Instagram account and our Business Hub is on LinkedIn.
I would like to thank you for your interest in the Embassy’s work, and for flying the Swiss flag in the UK and thus playing your part in promoting our bilateral relations. I invite you to stay in touch with the Embassy and my successor Alexandre Fasel to whom you will no doubt give a very warm welcome.
Together with my wife Hayam I wish you and your families all the best.
Dominik Furgler
Ambassador of Switzerland to the United Kingdom
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Ambassador Alexandre Fasel arrives in September accompanied by his wife Nicole. Ambassador Fasel has most recently held the positions of Deputy Secretary of State in Berne and previously of Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations in Geneva. He has lived in the UK before, studying law at the University of Oxford. As well as a change of Ambassador, we will welcome three new diplomats to the Economic Section this summer: Alexander Renggli, Stefanie Küng and Felix Schwendimann. In addition, David Kilian Beck takes over from Denis Charrière, who retired at the end of May, as Head of the Culture Section.
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The Embassy offers four academic internships per year; two in the Political, Legal and Press Section, and two in the Culture and Sport Section. More Information |
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| Do we have your up-to-date information? |
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The Regional Consular Centre (RCC) in London looks after Swiss nationals in the United Kingdom and Ireland, fulfilling many of the functions of a municipal administrative authority in Switzerland. It is important that your records and contact details with the RCC are up to date so please forward any changes by post or by e-mail. |
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| Accessing the counter online © FDFA |
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The FDFA’s virtual counter allows Swiss nationals who live abroad to manage their data online and to stay in touch with their consular representation more easily. More information |
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| The Swiss political system at a click |
| Landsgemeinde, one of the oldest forms of direct democracy © FDFA, Presence Switzerland |
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Have you ever wondered how many voter signatures are needed to demand a change to the Constitution? You can now access all official information relating to the political system on the Swiss authorities’ online portal. More information
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| Switzerland in your pocket |
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The new app from swissinfo makes it easier than ever to keep up to date with all the latest news and stories out of Switzerland. More information |
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| Education or training in Switzerland? |
| © FDFA, Presence Switzerland |
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Switzerland has an excellent education system and offers a variety of opportunities to obtain a world-class education. Educationsuisse assists young Swiss abroad with advice about opportunities and funding. More information |
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| British MPs visit Switzerland |
| The British delegation inside the Swiss Parliament © FDFA |
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In April the Embassy accompanied a group of 13 MPs and Peers from five British political parties to Switzerland to explore aspects of the Swiss-UK relationship in areas of trade, finance, and science & innovation. More information |
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| Swiss-UK exploratory trade talks |
| Dr Fox and Federal Councillor Schneider-Ammann © WBF/EAER |
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Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann met Liam Fox, the UK’s Secretary of State for International Trade, for a working meeting on the future shape of bilateral economic relations following Brexit. The head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) also met with Andrea Leadsom, the former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and now Leader of the House of Commons. More information |
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The Swiss Business Hub UK & Ireland hosted a two-day fact-finding mission on technological innovation in insurance. Bringing together over 20 companies from Switzerland and 50 from the UK, the event was a unique opportunity to explore the potential for business and R&D collaboration in this rapidly evolving field. Over a series of expert talks and matchmaking sessions between businesses, the event provided a vibrant platform for discussing emerging business models based on cutting-edge technology such as self-driving smart cars. More information |
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| Science Museum partnership on robotics |
The Embassy has a partnership with the Science Museum London on their current exhibition Robots, to showcase Switzerland as an innovative country with strength in cutting-edge technology in general and robotics in particular. Within this ongoing collaboration the Embassy exhibited at last month’s public event Lates, which was visited by over 3100 people. Festival visitors at our stand were able to experience what it’s like to fly above and between buildings at breakneck speeds wearing a drone suit provided by EPFL. They also had the opportunity to interact with YuMi, ABB’s collaborative industrial robot, and they had a chance to win a great prize in a competition sponsored by Lausanne Tourism.
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| Swiss Air Force awarded Hartree Memorial Trophy |
| Colonel Martin Lerch and Mrs Lerch with the PC-7 Team © M.Lerch |
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The PC-7 aerobatics team of the Swiss Air Force was awarded the Bill Hartree Memorial Trophy for the most accurate, safe and polished flying display at the Cosford Air Show on 11 June 2017.
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The Embassy’s ‘CH+UK’ initiative promotes Swiss artists, creative industries and culture across all disciplines in the UK and hosts the listing of Swiss cultural events throughout the UK. More information |
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| Swiss Ambasador’s Award 2017 |
| Christoph Croisé © Miriam Elias |
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23-year-old Swiss cellist Christoph Croisé will make his London debut with the Swiss Ambassador’s Award Concert at Wigmore Hall on 17 October 2017, and tour in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. More information |
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| Keynote speech by former Swiss President |
| Mr Kaspar Villiger © Joana Saramago |
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The Embassy hosted another fruitful networking event for alumni of Swiss universities based in the UK.
Kaspar Villiger, former President of the Swiss Confederation and Finance Minister, and former UBS Chairman, gave a keynote speech on global politics, economics and future challenges for Switzerland. A question and answer session with Mr Villiger was followed by a networking reception over Swiss beers and canapés.
If you are an alumnus of a Swiss University and you're based in the UK, visit the Alumni network page for more information.
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| July and August 2017 - London |
| Tennis and athletics |
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| 1 August 2017 – London and UK |
| Swiss National Day |
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Celebrate the 1 August with fellow Swiss from in and around London at the Swiss Church in Covent Garden in London, or check the Swiss Societies’ website for celebrations near you. |
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| 28 September 2017 – London |
| Ageing Well – natural memory loss or dementia |
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The Swiss Benevolent
Society is continuing its series of “Ageing Well” seminars. The next seminar on
28 September at the Embassy is focusing on Dementia, with
speakers from Dementia UK exploring the difference between natural memory loss
and Dementia. More information |
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| London |
| Swiss Church Events |
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A range of community and cultural events take place at the Swiss Church in the heart of London. Events calendar |
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| UK |
| Swiss Club and Societies |
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Events organised by the various Swiss clubs and societies across the UK are listed on the website of the Federation of Swiss Societies in the UK. Events calendar |
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