Page 49 - Bulletin, Vol.83 No.3, December 2024_version 11-12-2024
P. 49

177. The Board also requested that the Pension Administration propose options for
            a longer-term mechanism for amending the small pension scale for presentation at
            the April  2025 Board session, with the  final proposal to be presented at the July
            2025 Board session.








                  CARREFOUR INTERNATIONAL - GENEVA IS THE

                                   GUEST OF HONOUR OF 2025


                                                                              By Evelina RIOUKHINA

            One of the most important external                  Cantons of Appenzell), as well as to the
            activities organised by AFICS is our                Canton of Glarus, which is not  very well
            monthly  Carrefour International  meetings          known here, but which aroused particular
            at the Cité Seniors, which take place               interest during our discussion: its history,
            every first Wednesday of the month, from            culture, geography (Sardona, a UNESCO
            2 to 4pm. These meetings are the result             heritage site), but also the Linthal region
            of a fabulous joint initiative by our               with Europe's highest dam, its solar farm
            President Odette Foudral and the City of            at an altitude of 2,500 metres, and its
            Geneva.                                             five-storey hydroelectric power station,
                                                                which can serve as a model of an energy
            During 2024, we paid tribute to the Swiss           battery for Europe, and which is literally
            Cantons, to show our deep respect to the            “hidden” inside the mountain. Seeing
            Host Country. We  were fortunate that               such an interest, we took a  trip to the
            these meetings were so informative that,            Canton to learn more about the Dam,
            surprisingly, they also raised the interest         visited the power station and went ‘inside’
            of our Swiss colleagues (who have been              the mountain, and you can  find the
            Swiss for several  generations!). This              detailed report of this trip in this issue of
            convinced us that we had met a                      the Bulletin.
            challenge! At the same time, we are very
            grateful to René Guénard and Viviane for            We then travelled to  the Cantons of St.
            their advice, active participation and              Gallen, Schaffhausen and Thurgau for a
            interest.  Of course, covering all 26               historical and cultural tour, paying
            cantons in a single  year is impossible.            particular attention to Switzerland's only
            Each canton has an interest in its own              trilingual Canton Graubünden, which  is
            right, but,  however, we did manage to              also Switzerland's largest canton, but also
            cover all the cantons farthest away from            a very special one, often referred to as
            Geneva. Starting with the cantons which             ‘the Switzerland within Switzerland’. And
            founded the Swiss Confederation  -                  why is that? We may tell you more about
            Schwyz, Uri,  Obwalden and Nidwalden  -             it in the next Bulletin or, even better: why
            we then moved on to the traditions and              not take a trip there together, or organise
            customs of Appenzelland (of the two                 a journey for our  members in this very

            AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 83 No.3, 2024-12                                                47

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