Rather than taking the strong franc lying down, Geneva Tourism has decided to offer 1,000 free hotel nights to draw travelers to the city. Geneva has done well scooping up travel awards. In 2014 and 2015 the city was crowned Europe’s best weekend city break destination ahead of cities such as Paris, London, Rome, Istanbul, Madrid, Lisbon, […]
Why people power and peace movements still matter
Renu Chahil-Graf takes a Walk in the Park with Colin Archer, Secretary-General of the International Peace Bureau to discuss the importance of people power and peace movements. The sounds of war drown out calls for peace Listening to Colin Archer, one understands why he chose Geneva’s Botanical Gardens for his walk. Not only does he consider this […]
Italian student brutally murdered in Geneva
Tribune de Genève. A doctoral student at the University of Geneva died after being attacked on the streets of Geneva. The attacker, on the run, is actively sought by the police. The 29 year old Italian researcher died on Monday evening after receiving blows to her head from a metal bar. According to information sourced by […]
Geneva airport has its eyes on Lyon’s airports
20 Minutes. Geneva airport is aiming to invest in Bron and Saint-Exupéry, Lyon’s two airports, as part of a privatisation launched by the French government, according to 20 Minutes. Bron airport, opened in 1920, lies around ten kilometres east of Lyon’s centre. Without traffic the 155 km drive from Bron to Geneva airport takes around 1 hour 30 minutes. Saint-Exupéry airport, eponymous with […]
Muslim pupil in Geneva refuses to be touched by teacher
Le Matin. The controversy continues. Last week, two muslim pupils at a secondary school in Basel refused to shake their teacher’s hand. On Sunday, the Swiss broadcaster RTS, revealed a similar case at a school in Geneva. The incident occurred at the beginning of 2015 during a gym class. The teenager, who had recently converted […]
Geneva encourages foreigners to become Swiss before rules change
Back in June 2014, the Swiss parliament passed a law which changed the number of years of residence required to qualify for Swiss citizenship, the type of residence permit you must have before applying, and the age band within which one year of residence counts as two. The new law only allows those on permanent […]
If you saw the future would you try to change it?
Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s 17th century play Life is a dream is about a King who tries to alter fate by locking his son away. This harrowing, thought provoking tale about the conflict between free will and fate and a father and son will be performed by a group puppeteers at the Théâtre des […]
Most Afghan girls don’t go to school. How grit and dad got this one to the top.
This week Renu Chahil-Graf goes for a walk in the park with Afghanistan’s UN Ambassador in Geneva Dr. Suraya Dalil, and learns about her journey to the top, and of the men who helped her succeed in a place where only 5% of girls finish school. It started out as a normal school day in Kabul in 1978, […]
Some Geneva NGOs have committed to paying interns. Most haven’t.
This week 27 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Geneva pledged to pay their interns. After various campaigns pushing for change like the “Pay your interns” initiative, or the media stunt by New Zealand intern David Hyde, who camped on the shore of Lake Geneva to highlight the issue, NGOs in Geneva have heard these calls and are now […]
On this day 200 years ago Geneva nearly doubled in size
A 19th century map of Geneva looks like an expanding puzzle. 200 years ago, on 16 March 1816, a big piece making up nearly 40 percent of present-day Geneva, was added. 19th century Geneva is marked by four important dates. The first is 31 December 1813, the date it gained independence from Napoleonic France. The second is 19 May 1815, […]
