Dear members,
Here is the summer edition of our CISV newsletter! We are now in June, with seven delegations and six seminar participants ready to participate in amazing camps this summer of 2025. In this edition, we introduce them to you, review our recent meetings, talk about interesting projects by our partner organizations, and inform you about an important volunteer role to be filled within the Committee in the coming months.
CISV Switzerland Delegations
We have a significant number of participants who will have an unforgettable experience by participating in a CISV camp this summer, including:
- Village Sweden, Helsingborg: Andreas, Livia, Louise, and Victoire with their leader Sofia
- Village Denmark, Nordsjaelland: Giorgia, Guillaume, Jade, and Philomène with their leader Étienne
- Youth Meeting Canada, Vancouver: Elena, Leonardo, Lorenzo, and Jeanne with their leader Charlotte
- Youth Meeting Sweden, Stockholm: Axel, Caio, Niels, and Rafael with their leader Adam
- Youth Meeting Switzerland, Satigny: Adrien, Célestine, Domitille, and Rafael with their leader Sirine
- Step-Up 14 years – Brazil, São Paulo: Adrian, Caterina, Oskar, and Phileas with their leader Nada
- Step-Up 15 years – Mexico, Guadalajara: Alice, Emilie, Felipe, and Santiago with their leader Stella
- Seminar Camp – Canada, Waterloo: Ainoah
- Seminar Camp – Norway, Hordaland: Adrian and Juliette
- Seminar Camp – Sweden, Stockholm: Léo
- Seminar Camp, Spain, Galicia: Joachim and Thomas
We already wish them a great camp and look forward to hearing their feedback during Family Day on September 21 (see Save the Date below).
Looking back at the Day Camp (March 30th)
In March, the delegations and new members with their families met in the lovely ArsenAlt hall in Fribourg. The venue is ideally located halfway for most members coming from German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland, which helped maximize participation.
The delegations had time to plan their upcoming meetings, parents attended an information session about the forms to be filled out by our Risk Manager Sophia, new families were able to connect with existing ones, our new leaders got to know our experienced leaders, and… everyone enjoyed the sunshine, a delicious Canadian buffet, and the activities organized by our amazing Junior Branch (JB).
A big thank you to all the organizers, especially to Fanny for finding the venue and handling the reservation, and to Clémence, our National Junior Representative, Tim, our Senior Junior Representative, and the entire JB for the always appreciated outdoor energizers.
Looking back at the Mini Camp (May 16th-18th)
Our traditional May minicamp took place in Arzier (VD). The JB (15+) gathered already on Friday evening to plan ahead, while the children joined on Saturday morning.
Our delegations and potential future members got to experience a miniature CISV camp, with a schedule very similar to that of an international camp.
This time, the legendary Killer Game was won by Emilie!
Sophia and Bianca organized two training sessions: one for Step Up and Seminar participants, and one for leaders and staff.
Participants also had the chance to buy great CISV goodies from our shop to trade during the summer camps.
Again, a big thank you to our fantastic JB for the organization and to our amazing kitchen and cleaning volunteers, coordinated by our new Volunteer Coordinator Pablo.
The next camp will take place from November 7–9, 2025, again in Arzier (see Save-the-Date below), but we are still looking for a more central location (see Campsite Wanted below).
Fundraising - Cake Sale in Basel by CISV Children
a great training before the inter-cantonal competition this autumn
CISV children and teenagers organized two cake sales in Basel this spring to raise funds to contribute to participation costs for their camps. They themselves did the shopping and scouted the sales location, baked, prepared change and posters, set up the tables on the day, took care of the presentation, informed passersby about CISV, sold at the stand and in the street and carefully packaged all the purchased cakes.
BRAVO AND THANK YOU to Adrien, Niels, Lorenzo, Juliette, Adrian, Emilie, Livia, and Leonardo C. for the time, energy, and creativity they put into these actions. Thanks to you, a total of 350 CHF was raised. It also helped inform passersby about CISV’s existence and mission, and perhaps even recruit new members.
It is important for CISV Switzerland to engage parents in helping the association thrive and grow. We also care deeply about involving children and teenagers in this effort. CISV Switzerland needs funds and is planning a cake sale competition this autumn in Zurich, Bern, Lucerne, Lausanne, Geneva, Fribourg, and Basel. If a parent would like to lead this activity locally, they can contact Charlotte Frederiksen (Cha.frederiksen@icloud.com, 0791953054) to receive communication tools and organizational tips.
Additionally, if you have ideas for sponsors to help CISV Switzerland reduce expenses and allow more children to discover CISV programs, it would be greatly appreciated and useful. Last year, thanks to a similar initiative, the company Bardush donated sheet sets for 40 children. CISV Switzerland is also open to partnership opportunities—for example, a local supermarket providing fruits and vegetables for the camp, or a company that shares CISV’s values and wishes to contribute financially. In return, CISV Switzerland will organize customized actions for its sponsors and provide visibility and recognition if desired. Don’t hesitate to share your ideas or questions with Charlotte Frederiksen.
Thank you in advance!
AFS is looking for Hostfamilies !
Bring the world to your home!
Martina from Chile likes to climb or play an instrument in her free time and is interested in science. Amie is from Thailand and is heavily involved in school activities, from leading as class president to participating in the Red Cross and the recycling club. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, playing guitar, biking and exploring different cultures through food.
They are two exchange students coming to Switzerland as part of the AFS exchange programs. On August 15, 2025, a total of 72 young people from 25 different countries will travel to Switzerland for a school year.
AFS host families volunteer to open their home and their hearts to a young person, to a new family member. For example, you can gain a new sister with whom you can discover the world together and learn from each other. Become part of the AFS community, which has been facilitating global encounters and connecting people from all over the world for over 70 years, and welcome an AFSer into your family, no matter how big or small.
Experienced, local AFS volunteers and staff will guide and help you overcome the challenges throughout your stay. For more information, visit the AFS website (www.afs.ch/gf/) or talk to our AFS contact person Artemis Mazzotti (hostingadmission@afs.org/ 044 218 19 19).
New : Campsite Wanted
We are still looking for holiday camps, scout centers, or other venues that can host our minicamps and summer camps. We are counting on you to help us find places that are:
- Located in fairly central areas of Switzerland to make travel easier for our members (being close to a few families is ideal to simplify logistics)
- Suitable for hosting children and adults, with gender-separated rooms, separate toilets and showers (capacity ~60), an equipped kitchen, a dining room, a large common room, and an outdoor play/gathering area
Feel free to send us your suggestions at secretary@cisv.ch
save the date
Please mark your calendars! Our next gatherings are:
- 21 September: Family Day
- 7-9 November: November Minicamp
