On 1 January 2017, a new national agency for the promotion of exchanges and mobility in Switzerland – movetia – officially opened its doors, taking over the mandate of dealing with all matters related to exchanges and mobility at federal level from the ch Stiftung, the foundation formerly entrusted with these tasks by the Swiss Federal Council and the Swiss Cantons. The new agency is the operational arm of the Swiss Foundation for the promotion of exchanges and mobility (FPEM) – a joint organisation created in March 2016 through a joint decision taken in February 2016 by the Swiss Federal Council and the Cantons, with a view to giving a new boost to the promotion of mobility both within Switzerland and internationally. The agency is supported by a number of internal actors: the Secrétariat d’Etat à la formation, à la recherche et à l’innovation (SEFRI), the Office fédéral de la culture (OFC), the Office fédéral des assurances sociales (OFAS) as well as by the Conférence suisse des directeurs cantonaux de l’instruction publique (CDIP). Based in Solothurn, movetia is to promote and facilitate exchanges and mobility in the field of formal, non-formal and informal education of all young people, from school to the tertiary level. With the extension of the Swiss Erasmus+ interim solution by one year (see

Mr Tschopp further specifies that the aim is to “pursue both common and different objectives for the three levels of education. For the tertiary level and the upper secondary level, the existing programs should be optimised and the number of participants increased. We want to create new offers, especially in the field of national exchanges, where creativity and persuasiveness are required in cooperation with the cantons and the actors involved. We will also examine the field of teacher exchanges and adult education without neglecting other sectors or partners. The mission of movetia is to be proactive and reactive, depending on the development of the contexts and demands.”

ACA is very proud to welcome movetia as a new ACA member in 2017 and wishes Mr Tschopp and its staff great success in the tasks ahead! We would also like to express our sincere thanks to the ch Stiftung for a fruiful cooperation and involvement in the ACA framework.

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