Nina Hübner, Communication and Marketing
On 5 August 2016, the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) celebrated its centenary on the Bundesplatz in front of the Federal Parliament building in Bern. SWI swissinfo.ch not only reported live on www.swissinfo.ch and on social media channels Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, but also had a stand at the event.
swissinfo.ch among the people
The Communication + Marketing team talked to countless people, explaining what swissinfo.ch is, what work it does every day, and how important the platform is in conveying the values of direct democracy. swissinfo’s mission is to provide its readership with balanced and neutral information that delves a little deeper. This latter aspect is particularly important in the case of Swiss citizens living abroad, because this “Fifth Switzerland” represents a significant part of the electorate.
#WeAreSwissAbroad
This community isn’t just politically important. Indeed, the stories that these Swiss abroad have to tell show the potential for adventure in Alaska, China, Paraguay, or Tanzania, for example. Stay-at-homes are fascinated by what made them leave all that was familiar and begin a new life in a new homeland.
The #WeAreSwissAbroad hashtag is designed to channel this fascination and make those stories accessible. To this end, swissinfo.ch used the Bundesplatz event as a launch pad for its new Instagram channel, on which Swiss people living abroad tell of their lives in pictures and videos, and take the audience with them on their personal adventures.
