Hello, this is Michelle, with more from our special edition on what international Geneva will be like in 20 years. To plan for the future, it helps to understand the past. Seasoned reporter Antoine Maurice reminisces about Geneva’s years of glory thirty years ago when he would cover some of the newly born UN agencies.

But delving into the past also means acknowledging what went wrong and could serve as a lesson for next time – here are just a few. Plus, we look into the life that gave rise to one of international Geneva’s shining stars, WTO’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

29.09.2022

Journey to the past

Thanks to its open access, La Maison de la Paix has been increasingly replacing the Palais des Nations as a meeting spot for International Geneva. (Credit: Eddy Mottaz/Le Temps)

Missed opportunities, new possibilities. Switzerland, which has for a long time failed to make International Geneva’s potential better known worldwide, may finally be moving in the right direction. But this will mean investing intelligently to get the message across, warns journalist Edward Girardet.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

1992-2002: a time of hope. The end of the Cold War represented a period of optimistic globalisation during which International Geneva thrived, writes Antoine Maurice, former editor-in-chief of Le Journal de Genève. But was it more or less fruitful than the decades that followed?

Geneva Solutions (EN)

Here's what else is happening

🌾Inside the UN's high-stakes deal to open Ukraine's grain corridor – and the discreet but outsized role played by a Geneva-based mediation organisation.
Devex (EN)
💻ITU election race: After letting Beijing take over the UN field, Washington is waking up.
Le Temps (paywall) (FR)
🕵️War correspondent Anne Nivat: field reporting key to understanding Ukraine conflict.
Tribune de Genève (paywall) (FR)
👨‍💻Covid flexible working arrangements could alleviate workplace mental health stress – WHO.
Health Policy Watch (EN)
🇮🇷What sort of justice for Iran's international crimes, when politics bend the law? – asks Alain Werner in this op-ed.
Le Temps (paywall) (FR)

More from our special edition

Director general of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at Aid for Trade Global Review 2022. (Credit: WTO/Bryan Lehmann)

The ‘go-getter’ at the helm of the WTO. A new star is shining in International Geneva’s constellation. With a mixture of personal courage and a sense of humour, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is reviving multilateralism – a hard task when you’re the bearer of bad news. Hosting the World Trade Organization’s public forum this week, the director general said that the global trade forecast currently under revision could be expected to be lower than previously predicted.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

Digital Geneva – but not just yet. Fifteen years ago, in the Château de Bossey not far from Geneva, tucked away in the Swiss countryside, one of the earliest definitions of Internet governance was created. International Geneva has long been connected with Internet governance but other cities are also stepping up to the challenge, writes Michael Kende, co-leader of the Digital Geneva Initiative.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

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