Foraus
foraus is a thinktank on Swiss foreign policy. It is headquartered in Bern and has another office in Geneva, it works according to the grassroots principle, based on 9 regional groups across Switzerland. Most of its members are academic scholars, students and young professionals, who produce evidence-based discussion papers to be used as recommendations for decision makers and a broader public. The think tank organises events and is funded through membership fees as well as through the support of foundations and private donors.
History
foraus was established in autumn 2009 by students from Zürich, Geneva and Bern. The idea of a grassroots think tank was developed by founders Nicola Forster and Pablo Padrutt. 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, London, Paris, and Vienna.
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.The head office is located in Bern, 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. The president of foraus is Elisa Cadelli and the co-president is Marie Juillard. The co-directors are Sereina Capatt and Marie Hürlimann.
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.