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, […]
Are you a struggling writer? The Geneva writers conference could help.
The conference is for people who not only wish to take their writing seriously, but who also have a stake in eventually publishing their work, either through traditional outlets, or as independently published authors. In today’s publishing climate authors are making less money than ever. Higher percentages and more control pertain where authors have the […]
US prisoners awaiting execution were given paint and pencils. Here’s what happened.
Geneva-based political cartoonist Patrick Chapatte and Swiss investigative journalist Anne-Frederique Widmann got together and organised an exhibition of artworks created by death-row prisoners called Windows on death row. This unique art exhibition was inaugurated in Los Angeles last October. Death-row inmates from all over the US share their daily lives on death row and the reality […]
5 films that will change the way you feel about refugees
Some people flee their homes for a better life. Others do it for survival. The five films below bring to life the unimaginable savagery and tragedy of life in some parts of the world. These five are a small selection of those showing at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva, running from 4 to […]
Why Zurich beats Geneva on quality of life
Mercer, a consulting firm, recently published it’s 2016 quality of life ranking of 230 cities around the world. Both Zurich and Geneva made the global top ten. But what puts Zurich second, six places ahead of Geneva at number eight? The survey is used by multinational companies to compensate employees fairly when placing them on international […]
Overcoming extreme poverty by 2030 – what can you do?
There will be a double-anniversary concert in Geneva’s Victoria Hall 13 March 2016 at 17:00, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1% for Development Fund and the fifth anniversary of the United Nations Orchestra with Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony and Brahms double concerto for violin and cello. To remind readers about the purpose of the 1% for […]
Should a Geneva city employee be allowed to wear a veil while working with the public?
Tribune de Genève. This question is causing a political storm in Geneva after a member of staff working for the city’s cultural department came to work wearing a veil covering her hair, something she had not worn when she was hired. Geneva’s Administrative Council is currently looking at the question. Sami Kanaan, head of the […]
How Switzerland brings far more than neutrality to international affairs
This week Renu Chahil-Graf interviews Switzerland’s UN Ambassador Alexandre Fasel. Alexandre talks about what Switzerland brings to international affairs and what lies behind it. During the interview he shows how he embodies it. A Walk in the Park with Ambassador Alexandre Fasel: Switzerland’s UN representative and Keeper of the Flame of International Geneva. Switzerland’s ambassador in […]
