“You are an enhancement for the canton and its citizens” said Pascal Broulis, in glowing reference to expats who have made Vaud their home. The president of the collegiate seven-member Vaud state council, as well as minister of finance and external relations also stated that Vaudois are “xenophiles” because they consistently show great openness towards foreigners – including when issues that concern them are put to vote. “But we don’t know you very well,” added Broulis.

A relationship that is characterized by discretion can however be put under strain during times of economic hardship. “We must not allow our mutual respect to become indifference” he stressed at the Palais de Rumine, where the event was held.

According to the latest statistics, there are currently 30,000 expats in Vaud out of a total population of 684,922 and a foreign population, including immigrants and refugees, of around 197,000. The term expat is meant to encompass all those from Anglo-saxon countries (USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand), France, the Benelux and Scandinavia. 

“Sixth Switzerland” was also an expression used by Mr. Broulis to designate those who work in Switzerland but were not born here. The four linguistic regions, German, French, Italian and Romansch compose the first four, while Swiss abroad are considered the fifth, sometimes referred to as the 27^th canton.

Jacques Perrin, president of the 150 member-strong Vaud cantonal parliament, says he got the idea for the meeting from his counterpart in Geneva, Eric Leyvraz, who likes to invite local expats from international organisations at least once a year. The gathering was also motivated by Perrin's own experience as an expat and the fact that his two grown children live or have lived abroad.

“It’s important to get to know the people who govern the country where you reside. Although the executives who work in the multinationals sometimes get such opportunities, it’s rarely the case for the non-working spouse” Perrin observed.

“I think it’s immensely important to enter into contact with these people, first to inform them that our local deputies would like to hear from them and secondly to remind them that the canton is keen to welcome new citizens through the naturalisation process,” he added.

The local infrastructure, and particularly the sensitive topic of schools, was next on the agenda. Anne-Catherine Lyon, the canton’s education minister chose to talk on the theme of synergies to be developed between expat children and the public school system.

Those who were hoping for promising announcements were disappointed. The only avenue that was explored was the possibility for international schools to invite official representatives from the canton on their boards. “We have however realized that collaboration is not possible on the pedagogical side, since the programmes are so different, so my colleagues and I have decided that the appointment of a representative from the economy department who can assist the schools in their expansion plans is more relevant," she said. 

One such example is the Director of the SELT (Vaud Service of economy, housing and tourism), Lionel Eperon, who represents Vaud on the board of governors of the International School of Geneva’s La Châtaigneraie campus.

Ms Lyon then went on to announce that about a quarter of the total number of expat students schooled in the canton actually attend public schools, which she interprets as a vote of confidence.  The figure is based on residency permits and is believed to be correct. On the other hand, statistics on the number of students who attend international schools are not available and are therefore based on extrapolations.

According to Ms Lyon, out of a total school population of 82,500 students (excluding preschool), less than 5 percent attend private schools.

She added that Americans are no longer the largest national expat group since they have recently been overtaken by French and Belgians, a tendency that will inevitably have a demographic impact on the schools, since there is no language barrier for the children of these new expats.

To conclude, Lyon spoke of the theatre piece “Airport Kids”, produced in Lausanne last autumn, to underline the importance of integrating children, “by offering them the possibility to play in the neighborhood with local children.”

Meanwhile the attendance of more than 100 expats for this first meeting was considered extremely positive and the experience will probably be repeated.

Related Swisster links on “Airport Kids”: