Good morning, this is Kasmira, editor-in-chief of Geneva Solutions, and after taking a short break this summer, we are glad to be back, and with a new and improved format!

On Mondays, we will be taking a look at what's driving the news agenda that week and interviewing those voices at the heart of the action. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we'll be bringing you a shorter round-up of your latest headlines from International Geneva with more extensive news and analysis in our Wednesday and Friday newsletters.

In other major news, it has been a year since Geneva Solutions officially launched in the midst of the pandemic, and in that time we have strived to tell your stories and report on the often undetected work of the people and organisations that make up International Geneva. That's 890 articles our small team has produced, and we want to say a big thank you to our readers for all your support.

From the outset, we wanted to embed into our newsroom culture a solutions journalism approach, leveraging Geneva’s historical and ongoing efforts to find solutions to global issues. With this aim in mind, our Friday newsletter will be dedicated to reporting on responses that are working, as well as those that may be less successful but are still providing useful insights. We'll be kicking off this week with the launch of a special series on the global water crisis.

Do get in touch and let us know what you think, and happy reading.

Kasmira Jefford

30.08.2021

On our radar this week

Zebras at the Nairobi National Park in Kenya, 10 August 2021. Discussions at the IUCN World Congress Congress will revolve around new biodiversity goals to be adopted in 2022. (Credit: Keystone/EPA/Daniel Irungu)

🌳 Covid, new biodiversity goals, and climate to underpin conservation congress. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature is kicking off its world congress in Marseille on Friday. One of the biggest events in the conservation calendar, member states and organisations will vote on global pressing issues, including whether to call for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, while the link between nature and health will also come under the spotlight.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

🌊🥤Informal talks on marine litter and plastic pollution will be held on Thursday and Friday at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva, amid growing calls for a new UN plastic treaty, which we report on earlier in March. Up to 12 million tonnes of plastic waste enter our oceans every year. Geneva organisations will also be meeting virtually on Monday and Tuesday to discuss how to leverage trade tools to tackle the plastics problem.

Ministerial Conference (EN)

😷 Germany will launch WHO’s new hub on pandemics on Wednesday. Housed in Berlin, the global centre will collect data to predict and prevent future health crises. Germany had announced it would commit €30 million (32m Swiss francs) to startup costs. We reported on this story back in May. Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 4.4 million people have died from Covid-19.

WHO (EN)

Here's what else is happening

France and UK to propose Kabul safe zone at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, says Macron.
Le Journal du Dimanche (FR)
A new garden opens to the public this week near the Palais des Nations.
Radiolac (FR)
Deepfakes are getting more real, and so are the security threats: UN dialogue.
Geneva Solutions (EN)
UN committee condemns Spain for trials against former judge.
RTS (FR)
Nations must share their vaccine stocks, urges group of policymakers including heads of WTO and WHO.
Reuters (EN)

Also on the agenda

📌Don’t miss Geneva Solutions’s debate on water security. Join us and our partners, the Geneva Press Club and the Geneva Water Hub, to discuss the role of water in times of conflict and water as a driver of peace in the Sahel region. More information and registration here.

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!

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