A walk in the park. This week Renu Chahil-Graf interviewed Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, the UN agency combating HIV and AIDS. Michel knows about discrimination. The son of a mixed-race marriage in Mali in the 1950s, he is well qualified to fight the discrimination faced by those with HIV. He also knows how […]
Get inspired at the United Nations 70th anniversary open day
The Palais des Nations, home of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), will open its doors to the public on Saturday, 24 October 2015, to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations. Under the theme “Strong UN. Better world”, the Open Day will be among key events being held worldwide that day […]
Is Geneva airport really one of the world’s worst five?
On 28 July 2015, the British newspaper the Independent, posted a thirteen-line article listing the worst five airports in the world written by senior travel writer Simon Calder. Geneva’s Cointrin was listed number four. No methodology or data were presented to support the author’s conclusions. For example, it is not clear which airports were included […]
Large numbers flock to see Geneva’s “project of the century”
Last weekend over 32,000 people turned up to visit the sites of the ongoing construction of what has been dubbed Geneva’s “project of the century”. When complete the project will connect the train networks of France and Geneva to create a seamless link between Cornavin, Geneva’s central train station, and Annemasse in France. In addition, […]
Even the poorest countries pay for vaccines. Gavi’s Seth Berkley explains why.
A walk in the park. This is the first of a series of interviews of Geneva-based leaders done by Renu Chahil-Graf while walking through Geneva’s green spaces. This week Renu interviewed Seth Berkley, the CEO of the international vaccination organisation Gavi. Seth has been on the cover of the magazine Newsweek, recognised by Wired Magazine […]
The United Nations turns 70. Here’s what they thought when it turned 30.
This year the United Nations celebrates its 70th birthday. The world reflects on the organisation’s past and speculates about its future. In 1975 people did the same thing. The video below, set in New York, shows that while much has changed much is also the same as it was 40 years ago. Flared pants and […]
Switzerland decides to support refurb of UN offices in Geneva
Today, Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, expressed his deep appreciation to the Swiss government for supporting the renovation of the historic Palais des Nations buildings in Geneva. The complex was built between 1929 and 1936 as the headquarters of the League of Nations, later becoming home to the United Nations […]
Geneva should stop paying tax to France says the MCG
Tribune de Genève. The Geneva Citizens Movement (MCG), a political party known mainly for its outspoken views on workers who live in France but work in Geneva, is calling for a stop to transfers of tax money from Geneva to France. The initiative is part of their campaign for the Federal elections to be held […]
Swiss urban pressure and Paris law destroying French villages
Swiss reluctance to ruin its own idyllic countryside in the Lake Geneva region combined with French laws enabling unfettered urban development is leading to the rapid destruction of the historic centres of numerous villages in neighbouring France. Edward Girardet and Christopher Woodburn explore why Paris no longer seems interested in ‘Patrimoine’, once one of the […]
Unpaid UN intern in tent tells his story
David Hyde, the young man who lived in a tent while working unpaid for the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, published his story on the website The Intercept. He describes how he planned to make a documentary about the plight of unpaid UN interns. He talks about his shock at the scale of the media’s […]
