Foraus

foraus (German: Forum Aussenpolitik, French: Forum de politique étrangère, Italian: Forum di politica estera) is a thinktank on Swiss foreign policy. It is headquartered in Bern and has offices in Geneva and Zurich and works according to the grassroots principle, based on 9 regional groups across Switzerland. Most of its members are academic scholars, students and young professionals,[1] who produce evidence-based discussion papers to be used as recommendations for decision makers and a broader public.[2] The think tank organises events and is funded through membership fees as well as through the support of foundations and private donors.

Forum Aussenpolitik
Forum de politique étrangère
Forum di politica estera
Abbreviationforaus
Formation2009 (2009)
TypeThink tank
HeadquartersZurich
Region served
Switzerland
Europe
President
Anna Stünzi
Websiteforaus.ch

History
Nicola Forster

foraus was established in autumn 2009 by students from Zurich, Geneva and Bern.[3] The idea of a grassroots think tank was developed by founders Nicola Forster and Pablo Padrutt.[4] foraus is present with regional chapters in Swiss cities with a university.

In 2017 Foraus began to work on the Open Think Tank Network of participatory think tanks together with sister organisations in Berlin (Polis 180), London (Agora), Paris (argo), and Vienna (Ponto).

Activities

Foraus aims to provide a contribution to foreign policy in Switzerland through evidence-based contribution and to promote a constructive dialogue based on academic research.[5]

The head office is located in Zurich, while the Geneva office coordinates the activities in the French-speaking region as well as the relations with the international organisations. There are foraus regional groups in many Swiss university towns (Basel, Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, St. Gallen and Zürich). The president of foraus is Anna Stünzi, who replaced Nicola Forster in 2019.[6] The co-directors are Anna-Lina Müller and Darius Farman.[7]

The three main activities of foraus are the publication of discussion papers on all aspects of Swiss foreign policy, the organisation of events, and the communication with media, the broad public and decision-makers.

Publications

foraus releases discussion papers and policy briefs on current issues on a regular basis. Focus points are the implications of national referendums for Switzerland's foreign policy, and the challenges related to immigration and the Switzerland-EU relations. The contents of the publications are developed in 11 thematic programmes (development policy; Europe; peace and security; global governance; migration; environment, transport and energy; international law and human rights). In the framework of the prospective withdrawal form the European Union (Brexit), foraus studies on the post-Brexit institutional options[8][9] gathered substantial attention in the United Kingdom.[10][11][12]

Events

The think tank organizes workshops, panels and conferences with high-level politicians, diplomats and scholars on a regular basis. foraus events are regularly attended by Swiss decision makers and opinion leaders, including many past and current members of the national government, but also international guests such as José Manuel Barroso, Enrico Letta and Joseph Stiglitz.

Policy Kitchen

Foraus has developed its own digital policy innovation platform called Policy Kitchen.[13] The tool is designed to foster collaboration across borders.

See also

References
  1. Ritter, Adrian (19 July 2012). "Ehrenamtliche Forschung". UZH News. Zurich. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  2. Mettler, Jon (11 October 2013). "Die jungen Wilden der Aussenpolitik". Berner Zeitung. Bern. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  3. TEDx Nicola Forster – says Switzerland needs more brainpower Youtube, 29. Oktober 2010
  4. Daum, Matthias (10 February 2011). "Er will wissen, nicht glauben". Die Zeit (in German). Hamburg. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  5. von Grünigen, Franziska (19 September 2011). "Politexperte Nicola Forster: "Politik ist sexy!"". Radio SRF (in German). Zurich. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  6. "Nicola Forster tritt als Präsident von Foraus ab" – via www.tagesanzeiger.ch.
  7. "People – Foraus". Archived from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  8. Najy, Cenni (June 2016). "Plan B after Brexit. What Britain Can Expect Negotiating a Swiss-Type Arrangement with the EU". Foraus Discussion Paper. 30. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  9. Phinnemore, David; Najy, Cenni (June 2017). "The Option of Association: The United Kingdom Post-Brexit and the European Free Trade Association". Foraus Discussion Paper. 34.
  10. Foulkes, Imogen (22 August 2016). "Brexit fuels Swiss anxiety over new deal with EU". BBC News. Geneva. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  11. Wintour, Patrick (2 July 2017). "UK considers potential shortcut on trade deals post-Brexit". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 July 2017., [The Guardian], 2017
  12. Gutteridge, Nick (2 July 2017). "Brexit shortcut: Britain urged to become 'associate member' of Efta to boost global ties". The Daily Express. London. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  13. "Home Page | Policy Kitchen". www.policykitchen.com.
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