Good morning, this is Yves Daccord in Boston, where I have the impression that, for once, the answer to our problems will not come from the United States.

I would like to share with you my conviction that we need to rethink the social contract that unites us. Living together comes at this price and it should keep us busy in this new year, which I hope will be safe and exciting for you all. Enjoy this first Geneva Solutions newsletter of 2021!

05.01.2021

On my radar

🌍 The world doesn’t really know how to make peace. I have seen that during all my years at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): 90 per cent of active armed conflicts are in countries that have previously experienced civil war. So it was high time to propose a bold and innovative initiative to reframe the current approach to peace processes. I am proud to be part of it, and to join people like Ilwad Elman and Teresita Quintos Deles.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

📹 Digital surveillance is part of our lives at home, at work, and even at school. Covid-19 is accelerating the phenomenon. The question now is no longer whether digital surveillance is needed or not, but what surveillance, for whom and for what purpose? The debate has only just begun.

Maclean's (EN)

📈 ‘We think that you should be led in your parenting not by fear, but by the data’. Really? Check out this article by my Harvard colleague Urs Gasser and John Palfrey, president of the MacArthur Foundation, who offer advice on how to become “a connected parent”.

The Harvard Gazette (EN)

Surprising fact

7 out of 10 of the largest national surveillance programmes are in democratic western countries.

Here’s what else is happening

Sir Brian Urquhart dies aged 101. The UN’s second ever staff member helped establish the organisation and worked as principal adviser to five secretary generals.
The Guardian (EN)
Protecting heritage in conflict areas. How can preserving heritage help build peace?
Geneva Solutions (EN)
UN denounces attacks on villages in Western Niger. Saturday’s attack reportedly left around one hundred people dead.
UN News (EN)
Afghan peace talks resume. Government representatives and Taliban officials are due to resume talks in Qatar, but escalating violence risks undermining efforts.
Reuters (EN)
Kazakhstan abolishes death penalty. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has ratified a UN treaty against capital punishment.
DW (EN)
Building resilience in West Africa. With violent conflict and climate change hitting the region hard, communities need new ways to survive.
World Bank (EN)
What to expect from Syria in 2021. Will humanitarian aid be able to meet rising needs in the country?
Syria Direct (EN)
Over 7 million facing famine in South Sudan. Spiralling conflict, mass displacement, economic crises and Covid-19 are pushing up food insecurity.
International Rescue Committee (EN)

Image of the day

Credit: African Cities/Creative Commons

Cities are becoming more and more important on issues as crucial as the climate crisis, migration and security. Initiatives to improve urban development are multiplying, including this new consortium launched to tackle complex problems in some of Africa’s fastest growing urban areas.

Changemaker of the day

Beatriz Botero Arcila is a specialist in data issues and their governance, particularly in urban environments. A musician who is passionate about her city of Bogota, she is currently finishing her PhD at Harvard and is helping me set up the research department of the pop-up institute that I am leading.

Berkman Klein Center (EN)

Next on the agenda

Museum pioneer. I’m a big fan of Pascal Hufschmid, the director of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum. His contribution to International Geneva is just remarkable. He was able to use the Covid-19 crisis to reinvent his museum and he is now hiring people to continue the adventure. Go for it.

A new era for Le Temps. Geneva, French-speaking Switzerland, and the key issues and themes that underlie this region will benefit from the renewal of the newspaper Le Temps which, as of this week, changes ownership.

Data protection in a Covid-19 world. The ICRC is doing a great job on the issue of data protection. On 12 January, the organisation will launch its DigitHarium, a forum exploring the issue of data protection in a Covid world.

GS news is a new media project covering the world of international cooperation and development. Don’t hesitate to forward our newsletter!

Have a good day!

Avenue du Bouchet 2
1209 Genève
Suisse