L'oeil de la Genève Internationale

The long-awaited Ministerial Conference, the World Trade Organization's topmost decision-making body, will be held in Geneva from 12 to 15 June. View of the Centre William Rappard, WTO headquarters, photographed by Luca Fascini in 2017. 

On 30 and 31 May, IPU and UNDP, in partnership with the Agora Parliamentary Development Community of Practice, present the third Global Parliamentary Report (GPR). This online event will examine "the present and future of public engagement" in the work of parliament as global challenges become more pressing. The scene above was taken, by Martine Frank, during Ariane Mnouchkine's 1989 screen filming "La nuit miraculeuse." The film takes place at the French National Constituent Assembly and pays tribute to those who fought for the 1789 Declaration of the rights of the Man and of the Citizen. 

Today, 24 May, on the margins of the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA), the Global Health Centre (GHC) of the Geneva Graduate Institute will hold the high-level panel discussion entitled "A different scale: Global action to address obesity." This side event will feature the WHO Acceleration Plan to STOP Obesity launched at the WHA. 
Photojournalist Lisa Krantz documented one man's losing battle with obesity. Hector Garcia Jr. weighs over 600 pounds in this image. Moving from one room to another has become nearly impossible for him, so his mother, Elena, watches over him. This four-year photographic account titled "A Life Apart: The Toll of Obesity" is accompanied by the heartbreaking testimonies of Hector and his loved ones. It is viewable here. 

Initiated by the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA), the inaugural Science Diplomacy Week starts today, 16 May, until 20 May 2022. This cutting-edge forum will notably address Climate change, Peacebuilding and artificial intelligence, Humanitarian action, Global Health, CyberPeace, Ethics of crisis communication, and Big Data through the lens of science diplomacy. The above scene of young people wearing augmented reality masks was taken during the 33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, in Geneva, in 2019.

On 10 – 11 May, Geneva will host the GIS for a Sustainable World Conference. Based on Geospatial technology in the form of Geographic Information Systems, this merging of data, people and methods aim to share knowledge and respond better to global challenges. In conjunction with the GIS conference, the WHO launches today, 9 May, the WHO GIS Centre for Health, to assist the health sector in its efforts "to respond to an outbreak, track vaccine delivery, collect samples, and explore spatial patterns in areas of case reporting." The image above was taken in the Botanical garden of Ooty in India by Martin Parr in 2018.

The 9th edition of the Geneva Health Forum will take place from 3 to 5 May under the theme "Covid-19 Pandemic and Environmental Emergency: Reinventing Global Health in times of Global Changes." You may access the program and register here. Above, the MFS team disinfect the lakes in Magaria, Niger, to avoid the risk of Malaria. This picture was taken by Zied Ben Romdhane in July 2021. 

From 26 to 28 April, the Graduate Institute will host the 3rd edition of The Future of Work Summit, a flagship event of the Thinking Ahead on Societal Change (TASC) platform. During three days, leaders of international organizations, government, business, academia, and young professionals will share their insights and explore forward-looking perspectives and actions for a more human-centered future of work. The iconic picture above "Zazou the Eiffel tower's painter" was taken by French photographer Marc Riboud in Paris in 1953.

On 12 and 13 April, the WHO is organizing the first round of two public hearings under the guiding question: “What substantive elements do you think should be included in a new international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response?" The public input aims to support the work of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to draft and negotiate an international instrument to strengthen pandemic responses. The sequence of images above features a nurse after visiting Covid patients in Fecamp, France, in 2020 and was taken by photographer Jean Gaumy. 

As a follow-up to the UNECE Mayors' Forum, the Geneva Cities Hub is organizing the conference debate "The work of the UN regional commissions with mayors: good practices, current and future perspectives." This event will bring together representatives of the UN regional economic commissions and mayors from these regions to take stock of the Forum, share their sustainable urban development practices, and identify opportunities that would contribute to greater involvement of mayors at the international level. This view of the city La Praz, Bolivia, was taken from El Alto by Magnum photographer Moises Saman in 2019. 

From 31 March to 1 April 2022, the Swiss Confederation invites you to be part of the first International Cooperation Forum on climate change. Governments, scientists, academics, international organizations, businesses, experts from food systems, energy, health, natural resources management, and finance will gather to find concrete solutions to combat climate change and its impacts on sustainable development.
This flooded village was pictured by Jonas Bendiksen in Genduram in the Gaibandha district, in Bangladesh, in 2010. 

Tomorrow, 17 March, the UNDP and GCSP invite you to join the "Geneva Presentation of the UNDP Special Report on Human Security." To bring a larger perspective on human security, high-level speakers will share their views through the lens of climate, security, health, and digital in light of emerging threats in the 21st century. The image above was taken during a geological study at the Atacama desert in Chile by Magnum photographer Patrick Zachmann in 2003.

On 9 March 2022, the Geneva State Council has decided to grant CHF 1 million in emergency humanitarian aid to support the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Ukraine. The image above was taken in Shyrokyne, Ukraine, in 2018 when the ICRC distributes food parcels and hygiene items to IDPs. 

From 28 February to 1 April, the United Nations Human Rights Council holds its 49th session. You may consult: 

• The Program 
• Public meetings webcast 
• How to watch HRC meetings online guide
• The brochure to know more about the work of the HRC

Above, a close-up of the ceiling of the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, "Room XX" at the Palais des Nations, Geneva. Discover the room's story through this video. 

On 23 February, the OECD DAC and UNDP will be launching the Nexus Academy under the theme "Bringing Humanitarian, Development, and Peace actors together to advance a common understanding of nexus approaches." The event will be held both virtually and at the Palais des Nations.
This young livestock farmer lives in Rumbek, South Sudan. According to the ICRC, keeping livestock alive and healthy is vital for the farmers in this country. Informed, they bring their cows to the ICRC vaccination site.

On 9 February, UNHCR, GANHRI, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs, and UNDP invite you to the launch of their jointly developed manual: "Protecting Internally Displaced Persons: a Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions." The webinar provides a simultaneous interpretation in English, French, and Spanish. You may register here.

Above is a view of the Al Kahzer IDP camp in Iraq photographed by Peter van Agtmael in 2017. 

On 3 February 2022, PHAP and the ICVA invite you to the 3rd session of The Climate Charter – A Practical Guide webinar series, which will focus this time on "Practical tools and initiatives for reducing environmental impact in humanitarian action." You may register here. This picture was taken in August 2021 at Darbal, Rif Dimashq governorate in Syria, when the ICRC and the Syrian Red Crescent installed a solar pumping system and tank to supply 5,000 people with drinking water.

On 24 January 2022, starting at 3 pm, the Geneva Cities Hub, with UN-Habitat, Norway and the GEN, convenes you to "The Plastics wrap-trap: what about cities in inter-states negotiations?" All stakeholders are welcome to share their views to better involve Local and Regional Governments (LRGs) in plastic pollution reduction negotiations.

This picture of a newspaper wrapped up in a plastic bag was taken in front of the Presidential Museum and Leadership Library, Odessa, the USA, by Lorenzo Meloni, in 2020.

On 20 January, the GCSP's Geopolitics and Global Futures Programme invites you to the virtual event Swiss Ideas on Space Security and Sustainability. Senior practitioners from the space community will be focusing on Switzerland's contributions to a safer outer space. -20°, around midnight, a view of the Matterhorn and Milky Way from 3000 meters of altitude by Gilles Monney.

On 13 January 2022, in the framework of the Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution dialogues, and in partnership with UN-EMG and GRID-Arendal, the Geneva Environment Network (GEN) convenes you to the virtual conference "UN response to marine litter and plastic pollution." In the same field of expertise with this event co-organized by the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions and the Minamata Convention Secretariats, the GEN organizes the "8th Replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund – Ambitions for the Chemicals and Waste Cluster," on 14 January. Here, a beach in Nice, France, in 2015 by Martin Parr.

"Geneva, City of Peace," 2021 was marked not only by the first meeting between the two heads of state, Joe Biden and Vladimir Poutine, the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the launch of the Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address with the participation of Nobel Prize Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator inaugural summit – to name but a few but also the 70th anniversary of the Refugee Convention and UNHCR's activities. As such, this year has perpetuated Geneva's tradition as a host city where dialogue takes place, and global governance reunites to build a better world. In this impetus, the Office of International Geneva looks forward to pursuing next year its endeavor in promoting, through its website, International Geneva's organizations' activities (up to 100 events in our calendar every week) and those who shape it (new interview section launched in 2021). 
Happy Holidays!