The plight of David Hyde, a 22 year unpaid United Nations (UN) intern from New Zealand, found camping in a leaky tent near the edge of lake Geneva, has sparked widespread condemnation of the UN and allegations of exploitation. Unpaid #UN intern David Hyde forced to live in tent near the UN Beach Club http://t.co/FRCtyx56yi […]
Should the UN pay its Geneva interns?
Three interns based in Geneva give their views on unpaid UN internships to the Geneva Interns Association who are raising awareness of the challenges faced by young people at the UN. Their comments address issues such as the difficulties around speaking out and the lack of incentives for employers to change current practices. To support […]
Geneva pensioners asked to prove they are still alive
Tribune de Genève. According to Tribune de Genève 20,000 pensioners were contacted and asked to prove they are still alive. 16,700 in Switzerland and 3,300 abroad. Some of those who received the letters are furious. One recipient said that many of her retired friends found the letters humiliating. The requests were sent to former employees […]
Geneva’s new currency sparks hot debate
Tribune de Genève. An article in Tribune de Genève describes the high emotion surrounding the coming September launch of Geneva’s new currency called the “Léman”. More than 100 comments were submitted on tdg.ch and as many on the newspaper’s Facebook page. Comments such as “why not the drachma, it’s very trendy at the moment” were […]
Angry taxi drivers block the centre of Geneva
Tribune de Genève Emboldened by Uber’s set backs in France, enraged taxi drivers blocked the centre of Geneva on Monday afternoon blocking traffic as far as the airport. The protest started at 4pm and by 6:30pm TGP, Geneva’s public transport operator announced a 50 minutes delay on one of central Geneva’s tram lines. Geneva’s taxi […]
How Voltaire ended up in the town of Ferney-Voltaire
In 1755 the French writer, philosopher and playwright, François-Marie Arouet, known to most by his nom de plume Voltaire, was on the run from an angry Frederick the Great, the Prussian King, who he’d offended with some of his writing. He first headed to Paris only to find that King Louis XV of France had […]
Hopes dashed for French residents living under the noise of Geneva airport
Tribune de Genève. Neighbouring residents of the French communes of Chens-sur-Léman, Messery and Nernier had their pleas for aircraft noise reduction rejected by the Swiss Federal Tribunal. Resident groups have been fighting for years to have the landing flight path into Geneva airport moved so it is over the lake instead of above their homes. […]
The United Nations is too old and afraid to solve the world’s problems
The United Nations (UN) will turn 70 in October 2015. It has surely delivered enormously to humanity since it began in 1915. However, is it well positioned to take on the world’s current and future challenges? In an article published on 12 May 2015, Ian Richards, President of the Coordination Committee of International Staff Unions […]
Swiss German response to Geneva: “We like you but there’s no need to come.”
This year, 200-years after Geneva joined the Swiss confederation, the Fondation pour Genève decided that Geneva should try to seduce the rest of Switzerland. To do this it created a mission called “Geneva meets Switzerland”. Then it created a bus. A large articulated bus, colourfully decorated by Zep1, the creator of Titeuf, a cheeky cartoon […]
CERN gets its own Accident and Emergency
On 4 May 2015, the Geneva University Hospital (HUG) and CERN opened an Accident and Emergency centre at CERN in Meyrin, Geneva. The centre is managed by HUG which is supplying all of the staff. CERN welcomes around 9,000 people every year and this centre will be better placed to help them when urgent medical […]
