Reto Rhyn

What was your job at SAD?

I was Switzerland’s project manager for the school project EUROSCHOOLS 2008. This project was funded by UEFA and the governments of Switzerland and Austria. Around 100 schools took part, with 20,000 school children. The project was thought up in 2006, in light of the UEFA EURO 2008. The general project management was done by streetfootballworld in Berlin. In the EURO host-countries Switzerland and Austria, responsibility for the project was shared between SAD and the Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation.

I was responsible for funding, planning, implementing and documenting the project as well as the concept. The activities in schools focused on fair play in football and on intercultural dialogue. The highlight for the schools was in June 2008 – the schools’ European fair-play-football championship with matches in 8 towns and the final in Innsbruck.

What is your best memory of your time at SAD?

The autonomy with regard to my work was the key thing for me. In the 2 and a half years I spent at SAD, I learnt a lot about project management, event management, communication and marketing, as well as how that type of project is funded. Because of the collaboration with partners from Berlin and Vienna, I was often in those cities which was a great ”side effect” of my work. In particular, working together with the project managers in Berlin and Vienna went really well. We were a young team and got on very well on a personal level.

Where do you work now and what are your responsibilities?

I am head of the migration and hiring division of the SAH (Swiss Labour Assistance), and a member of management. As a division head, I am responsible for 4 departments with around forty members of staff. As a member of management, I can help to shape the SAH and make sure it is ready for the future. As the person responsible for topics concerning refugees, the anticipated high number of refugees represents an exciting challenge.