Dear members,
We are pleased to share with you our CISV Switzerland Fall Newsletter! This is an opportunity to share with you the latest developments in our Chapter. Please reach out with any contributions and suggestions!
Recent Updates
On 24 September, the extended “family” of CISV Switzerland got together for our traditional Family Day! The purpose of the family day is to meet after the summer camps to share our experiences, enjoy a moment of friendship and happiness, allow anyone who’s interested to discover CISV and to meet CISV children and parents and learn from their experiences and to do a CISV activity together, while discovering Switzerland.
This year, the Family Day took the form of a Family Walk, in the beautiful settings of Fribourg, under the Autumn sun!
Delegations from the 2023 summer camps shared their experiences and memories with us and seized the opportunity for an emotional reunion.
This summer CISV Switzerland sent 28 children and 5 leaders around the world! And we welcomed 26 young people to our Seminar Camp in Arzier.
We also took the opportunity to remind families of the principles of CISV engagement (see Our campsbelow) and the upcoming November Mini-camp (see below, Mini-camp).
News from cisv international
Like every year, summer is voting time for CISV International. This year, in order to address the problem posed by age restrictions for each program, the “National Associations” (i.e. member countries) voted for a revision of the rule. From now on, the age taken into account for camps will be the age the children turned in the 12 months preceding August 31 of the season in question. A child born between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013 will therefore be eligible for a village in 2024.
This new rule ensures that all children are eligible for a program from the age of 11 up to and including 17.
our 2024 camps
We will be receiving invitations for international 2024 camps from the CISV International Office in the upcoming weeks and communicate the number of openings by programme type at the time of our General Assembly on 5 November 2023. Families interested in sending their kids to camps in 2024 are encouraged to envisage their participation in the November Mini camp (see Save the Date below), as well as family engagement in CISV throughout the year (see below). A confirmation of destinations and assigned participants shall be expected by January 2024.
On our side, CISV Switzerland will be hosting a Step-Up camp (14 years old) from 13 July to 4 August 2024. As it is customary, the kids (approximately 36 youths) will stay with a host family upon arriving in Switzerland (on the weekend of 13-14 July) and while Staff and Leaders prepare the camp.
We are therefore calling on all CISV families to make themselves available on the weekend of 13-14 July 2024 to host a minimum of two kids (or more). Arrivals will be organized in such a way that families across the country can be host families. More information on Host Families is available here. Please note that in order to be a host family, completion of a short online training will be required, more info to follow in due course.
As you know, one of the foundations of CISV is volunteering and engagement in the association. As such, the involvement of families in volunteering (cleaning camp-sites, cooking during mini camps) and in particular as a host family shall be a selection criterion for participating in camps in 2024. See also Open roles in the Committee below.
focus on ... National junior Representative (NJR)
To show you who we are and what we do, we’ve decided to highlight one committee role per issue of this newsletter. And the very first will be the National Junior Representatives (NJR). These young people, members of the Junior Branch (16-25), work in tandem, one senior and one junior.
In fact, the NJR election is just around the corner! Sima, who holds the position of Senior NJR, will soon be handing it over to Timoté. A new person will therefore be elected as Junior NJR. The role of NJR is an important one, representing the JB internationally, acting as a link between the various committees and the JB and, last but not least, leading the JB. So, who will be our new NJR?
our Fantastic NJRs : Timoté and Sima
save the date
The November minicamp is an opportunity for our newest members to experience what a CISV camp feels like and for those who have already gone to camps to share their experiences, share new things they have learned and learn different activities and games.
The JB (16-25 y.o.) meets on Friday evening, 3 November, to welcome newcomers, organize the weekend schedule and carry out activities requiring more in-depth reflection. Younger participants join the mini camp on Saturday, 4 November for a little taste of what a CISV camp feels like. Our General Assembly follows the end of the camp on the afternoon of Sunday, 5 November.
Anyone interested in taking part in CISV camps in 2024 is strongly encouraged to participate and theparticipation of families to the General Assembly is highly recommended and is open to all, including those not taking part to the minicamp, the registration form will follow shortly so…save the date!
Open roles in the committee
We would like to thank several members of the committee for whom it was time to move on to other projects. For several years, they have given their time, creativity and energy to CISV Switzerland, making all our activities possible! Thank you Damien, Souheil and Sima, and we wish you all the best for the future!
This also means that we have some roles to fill. You can read a fuller description of what they involve on our website here.
- NJR Junior
- National camp coordinator
- Volunteer Coordinator
- Mini camp Coordinator
- Step Up Coordinator
We look forward to seeing you at our General Assembly and wish you all the best
CISV Switzerland
