Dear YFU Switzerland Members and Friends,
First and foremost, thank you wholeheartedly for your continued support to YFU Switzerland! Your support means the world to us.
I’m thrilled to invite you to our National Conference 2025! Mark your calendars for January 25th, 2025, at 12:30 PM. We’ll be gathering at:
Spinnrad Bern
Spinnereiweg 15
3004 Bern
2023/2024 was my sixth and final year as a YFU Board member and President. I hoped for a calm year, but life had other plans. We faced challenges, changes, and some fantastic highlights. The biggest hurdle? A drop in student numbers, making it tough to cover costs. We also had important changes in our national support team. Saying goodbye to John Borruat, our amazing National Director, was tough. John is a longstanding and committed YFU member, an exceptional leader, and he has helped steer the organization through the pandemic. Thankfully we found a very suitable successor in Nicole Litschgi, and the handover was smooth.
Our Administration and Finance Coordinator role saw three different faces this year. Not ideal, but Louis stepped up and managed the financial year closure. Kudos to him!
On the bright side, we adopted a new Leitbild at the last National Conference. This year we were able to launch the Local Coordinator project, showing our volunteers’ incredible commitment. And guess what? We introduced a hoodie designed by students, for students. As you can imagine, it’s my new favorite piece of clothing!
At this year’s National Conference, after the official part, we’ll have plenty of time to socialize. We’ll also have a symbolic ceremony to pass the torch from John to Nicole. Then, it’s time for apéro, dinner, and whatever you like! I am looking forward to spending this evening and maybe even some time on Sunday with you all.
Check out the attached program for the key events on January 25th, 2025. More details will follow, so stay tuned. Don’t forget to sign up by January 10th, 2025, at events.yfu.ch/nc
Looking forward to seeing you in Bern! Have a wonderful Christmas season!
Warm regards,
Marc Weiss
President of YFU Switzerland
Invitation to the National Conference 2024
Fiscal Year
10.2023 — 09.2024
You are cordially invited to YFU Switzerland’s National Conference 2025 which takes place
Date
Saturday, January 25th, 2025
Location
Spinnrad
Spinnereiweg 15
3004 Bern
Schedule
11:45
Welcome coffee – drinks – snacks
12:30
Membership Meeting starts – National Conference 2025
14:00
Break
14:15
National Conference continuation
16:00
Break
16:15
Socializing
18:00
Passing on the torch
18:30
Dinner
20:00
Open evening (informal sharing, games, dancing)
Arrival trains
Bern dept. 11.31 – Felsenau arr. 11.33 or every 15 minutes.
Please use public transport as there’s no parking space we can use. It’s possible to park at the Train Station in Bern and take the S-Bahn. With the S9, it’s 2 minutes to Felsenau, Bahnhof, and then a 5-minute walk. At Felsenau station you’ll have to take the elevator up and then the way will be marked with balloons.
Agenda
1
Welcome and Opening
Marc Weiss, Chair
2
Minutes of the National Conference 2024*
Marc Weiss, Chair
3
Election of Auditor
Selina Bruderer
4
Board’s and National Director’s Annual Report
Different Board Members
Nicole Litschgi, ND
5
Financial Statement,
Auditor’s Report Fiscal Year 2023/24*
Matz Canzani, Chair Finance Committee
6
Discharge of Board Members
Selina Bruderer
7
Board Membership Changes*
Farewell of exiting Board Members:
Sabina Garzoli
Marc Weiss
Re-election of current Board Member:
Selina Bruderer
Matz Canzani
Marco Hunziker
Oliver Meili
Presentation and election of new Board Member(s):
Marion Härri
Elise Moret
8
Budget for 2024/2025
Matz Canzani, Chair Finance Committee
9
Outlook 2025
Nicole Litschgi, ND
10
Motions (if any presented)
Marc Weiss, Chair
11
Miscellaneous
(anything can be brought up but not voted on)
Marc Weiss, Chair
* Additional information for all agenda items marked with an asterisk
Documents
Any additional information about the Conference as well as the following documents will be uploaded to below as of January 6th, 2025.
Item 2
Minutes of the National Conference 2024
Item 5
Financial Statement, Auditor’s Report Fiscal Year 2023/24
Item 7
Documents of the candidates for Board Membership
Please note: No printed versions of these documents will be available at the National Conference!
Motions
To be considered, any motions or additional nominations for Board elections (through written recommendation by ten members of YFU Switzerland) must be submitted to the Board (board@yfu.ch) no later than December 28th, 2024 (4 weeks prior to the National Conference).
YFU Membership
Returnees 2023-2024 as well as active volunteers and staff are automatically members of YFU Switzerland. Anyone else becomes a member by paying a membership fee, which, following a decision by the National Conference 2020, amounts to CHF 80.- per year.
To limit administrative costs, there will be no special post mailing reminding members to pay their fees. However, anyone willing to become/stay a member is invited to send their membership fees to YFU, Alpenstr. 24, 3006 Bern, IBAN CH42 3000 5227 9620 8779 0. The ½-price ticket for public transport to Bern will be reimbursed to members on a voluntary basis. Amounts not collected will be considered as a donation to YFU Switzerland.
Please note: No printed versions of these documents will be available at the National Conference!