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 […]
France to boost Geneva International
While the Swiss government often fails to recognize the crucial importance of its international community, particularly in the Lake Geneva region, the French view it differently. The Lake Geneva area, which includes both Swiss and French territory, is being increasingly treated by France’s neighbouring Rhone-Alpes Region as a key priority. Swiss journalist and writer Daniel […]
New law could lift Uber’s Geneva prospects
Uber’s efforts to shake up Geneva’s expensive and uncompetitive taxi market could be bearing fruit. After the canton of Geneva announced that all rides in the canton arranged via Uber were illegal, Uber responded by launching an online petition calling for the liberalization of Geneva’s taxi market. The petition has now collected 14,800 signatures and […]
Relocation threatens jobs at the UN in Geneva
In an interview with the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, Ian Richards, the British economist who represents United Nations (UN) and UN agency staff in Geneva, speaks out about plans to relocate its employees around the globe. Ban Ki-moon the United Nations’ secretary general favours greater staff mobility and centralisation of administrative tasks via a new […]
Is Lausanne beating Geneva?
A Tale of Two Cities “Lausanne is the capital of Suisse Romande and Geneva is Geneva,” a canny observer recently remarked. The distinction is important. Geneva may be wealthier and have a greater international reputation, but Lausanne, Switzerland’s fourth largest city population-wise, often seems more dynamic. The two cities have chosen very different strategies. Geneva […]
Rebranding International Geneva
Michael Møller, the Danish diplomat and former aid worker appointed in November 2013 as acting director-general of the UN in Switzerland, would like to see a vibrant new International Geneva that includes not only the UN agencies and NGOS, but also multi-national corporations, Swiss businesses, donors and the local population. “We need to act together to […]
A 5-step guide to Switzerland’s immigration changes
On 9 February 2014, Swiss voters decided by a slim majority of 50.3% to adopt new rules on immigration. The new rules now form part of the Swiss Federal constitution. The changes are broad and short on specifics. For this reason the adoption of new legislation implementing the changes is critical for clarifying the exact scope […]
Palestine Geneva summit: Once again to the breach
GENEVA Over the past several years, Geneva has been re-asserting itself as a neutral mediation centre, either formal or informal, for conflicts such as Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and the Iranian nuclear issue. Back in 2003, it also hosted an Israeli-Palestinian peace effort known as the Geneva Initiative, which outlined possible venues for genuine reconciliation. The […]
