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Editor’s Note – February 2021
This is my first issue as Editor-in-chief. My aim is to continue the thrilling adventure of UN Today, which took over from UN Special a year ago with my predecessor Alex Mejia whom I would like to sincerely thank for having successfully guided the magazine during 5...
How Technology Can Promote Multilingualism & How it Cannot
The following is an analysis marking International Mother Language Day, which was commemorated on February 21, on “How Technology Can Promote Multilingualism While Being Realistic — & How it Cannot”
The UN Pension Fund Adopts Facial Recognition Technology: Key questions
Last month, the UN Pension Fund launched a new app for annual recertification of pension eligibility.[1] This app is an alternative to the current paper recertification process, allowing retirees to use electronic facial recognition technology (FRT) for biometric...
SHP: A real estate gamble that went wrong
The new H building, with its clean lines and purportedly collaborative open space, was meant to be the crowning glory of the almost-$1 billion Strategic Heritage Plan. Instead, it is struggling to attract users amidst lower rents outside, fears of spreading Covid-19...
Would open-space and COVID-19 agree to live together in 2021?
As part of the renovation of the Palais des Nations, staff at UNOG are due to move to the new H building which features open space and hot-desking, during the first quarter of 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic is giving rise to many concerns and fears among staff at a time...
David Mc Cuaig, Director of the Strategic Heritage Plan (SHP), UNOG
The new H building features open space. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, many studies were published putting into question the future of open space. How is this impacting the initial plans that have been foreseen for the H building? Open office space means a lot of...
How the Staff coordinating Council has worked for you this past year
In spite of the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNOG Staff coordinating Council (SCC) has worked tirelessly to assist staff. Liquidity crisis In March, the Organization was hit with a major liquidity crisis affecting its regular budget,...
After 20 years I lost my job at the UN, now I am a Consultant
What is like to lose your job after 20 years on a permanent contract? A colleague, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells us his journey. I had a permanent position in one of the most respected UN specialized scientific organizations. After an internal restructuring...
Interpreting the interpreter
A journey through the interesting life of Guillermo Tóth. The portfolio of adjectives becomes immense when referring to talented individuals – and sometimes you just cannot find the right one. This is what happened when I had the opportunity to talk to Vilmos. Sorry,...
S.ave O.ur S.phere
UN Today is following the journey of the Celestial Sphere, from the garden of the Palais des Nations to Florence, where it will be restored by a group of experts. A symbol of peace born in a time of war Eighty-one years after it reached the grounds of the Palais des...
New Year brings new controls on plastic waste and more local, national and global action
Approximately 50 tonnes of plastic enter Lake Geneva every year, according to a study commissioned by the Association for the Safeguard of Lake Léman [1]. Most of this waste comes in the form of particles from tyres brought by runoff water, followed by discarded...
La délocalisation annoncée d’OCHA tombera comme un couperet en 2021
Le personnel dans la tourmente subit anxiété, insécurité de l’emploi et peur du lendemain. Pour le personnel du Bureau de la Coordination des Affaires humanitaires des Nations Unies (OCHA), 2021 risque d’être encore plus pénible que 2020 : postes supprimés, départs...
De la guerre à l’engagement pour les droits de l’homme, histoire d’un enfant soldat
À l’occasion de la journée internationale des enfants soldats, le 12 février, UN Today donne la parole à Michel Chikwanine capturé au Congo (RDC) à l’âge de cinq ans. Fervent militant des droits de l’homme, doté d’une formidable énergie, il multiplie les occasions de...
His Excellency Gennady Gatilov Ambassador of the Russian Federation
UN Today has decided to include an interview with a Geneva-based ambassador every month. This month we had the pleasure to interview His Excellency Gennady Gatilov. Please tell us briefly about your career, why you joined the diplomatic service and how you were...
Chronicle of an unforeseen international career
From a small town in Colombia to advising the world on how to handle quality issues in international trade. My UN Experience: It is never too late or is it? I joined the International Trade Centre (ITC) in 1980 at age 41 and retired almost 20 years later. I was at...
La Pastorale. La maison du CAGI’ : entre patrimoine local et Genève Internationale
Construite entre 1831 et 1836 par l'architecte Marc-François Brolliet pour l'officier Eugène de Budé, La Pastorale constitue avant tout le séjour estival d'une famille patricienne genevoise. Le propriétaire fait donc élever cette demeure dont la façade principale...
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: when sleeping makes you sick
Do you snore and wake up not feeling rested despite a full night’s sleep? Do you experience morning headaches and excessive daytime sleepiness? If so, you are probably suffering from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS)! OSAS is a common pathology (3-7% of the...
List of Geneva international schools and universities
February is usually the month when we plan the education of our kids for the next year. We offer you this list with basic information on international schools and universities in Geneva and its surroundings. Mosaic School :Date of creation: 2004Number of students:...
Grandir en humanité ou disparaître
La question de savoir comment amener l’être humain, capable du meilleur comme du pire, à opter pour les valeurs d’humanité face à une situation planétaire périlleuse est au cœur de la réflexion de Catherine Dolto. Médecin, haptothérapeute, elle est aussi l’auteur de...
Caught between two worlds
People working in the international organizations are often caught between two different worlds; a formal diplomatic one and a more informal collegial one. Do you write UNese style? Many tell me that when they joined the United Nations, they came from the private...
Ms Adversity, let’s go for a walk.
In line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (including #3: Good Health and Well-Being, #9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and #10: Reduced Inequality), and in the month of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I would...
Would you want to work in the UN of the future?
Last month, a report from a management task force on the future of work at the UN caused considerable consternation among staff with a proposal for new, agile staff contracts. We asked two of those responsible for the report for their views on the future of work both...
Just brew it: 100 Coffees for Inclusion at the International Trade Centre
Inclusion fatigue? Have some coffee! How we stimulated diversity discussions at the International Trade Centre by talking to 100 employees. At the Caribbean region’s recent musical celebration of the United Nation’s 75th Anniversary, Barbadian superstar Rihanna said...
Can diplomacy work online?
This article contains some brief observations, based mainly on recent formal and informal meetings that I serviced and/or attended at the Palais des Nations, as well as on discussions with colleagues and delegates on their experience with ’online diplomacy‘ in the...
What is it like to interpret a remote meeting?
Teamwork is turning it into a success, but what do interpreters make of Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI)? Before the pandemic, interpreters’ experience of RSI was sporadic and invariably negative. It was often sprung on them unannounced and involved sound...
Larbi Djacta, ICSC Chair: I am making the ICSC more transparent
UN Today recently met with Larbi Djacta, the Chair of the International Civil Service Commission, the body that recommends our salaries and conditions of service.You were elected chair of the ICSC, two years ago, at a time when the credibility of the Commission and...
What the Staff Council has been doing for you
Town hall on Equal Pay In early August we organized a town hall on Equal Pay, where we invited an OSLA lawyer to make a brief presentation following the judgement of the UN Dispute Tribunal, to explain on the grounds to appeal the judgement to the UN Appeals Tribunal....
On Her Majesty’s Service
Julian Braithwaite, the UK’s permanent representative talks about dealing with Brexit, online meetings, UN funding, explaining his work to an audience back home and cocktail parties. When Julian Braithwaite arrived in Geneva five years ago as the UK’s permanent...
I grew up with the mountains. International Mountain Day matters to me
This year International Mountain Day celebrates biodiversity. As a mountaineer and environmental expert, Andrea Cararo tells UN Today why this day matters to him and why it should to all of us. Since I was a kid, I have always been a nature and outdoor enthusiast. I...
Michelle Bachelet on her motivations, achievements and human rights during Covid
On 10 December, the world celebrates Human Rights Day. We have asked Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to share her views and insights. Your role as High Commissioner receives a lot of attention, and also criticism, given the sensitivity...
Geneva’s public transportation in a pandemic world
Interview with Anne Hornung-Soukup, Chair of the Board, TPG (transports publics genevois). How has the tpg adjusted to a pandemic world? When Covid-19 reached Switzerland, the Swiss Federal Government stated clearly that public transport was an essential service which...
La Suisse romande à l’épreuve de la COVID-19
Pour le Président de la Fédération des entreprises de Suisse romande, Ivan Slatkine, le pragmatisme du gouvernement a amorti l’impact de la Covid19 sur l’économie mais le modèle d’affaires genevois doit évoluer, et il faut éviter les mesures extrêmes prises par les...
What I learned at the UN in four lessons
All and each one of my forty years of professional life were devoted to multilateral cooperation, including serving at UNCTAD from 1999 to 2014, when I retired and decided, stubbornly, to continue defending the same UN cause. I learned more than what I brought to the...
From the Pandemic to the League of Cities: an interview with Lord Foster, Architect, Founder and Executive Chairman of Foster + Partners and President of the Norman Foster Foundation
On 6 October Lord Foster opened the first UN Forum of Mayors at the Palais des Nations, with an inspirational and optimistic speech on how COVID-19, and pandemics in general, have shaped our cities, often accelerating positive transformations. UNToday had the...
Remembering Quino, creator of Mafalda, the girl who wanted to join the UN
¡Paren el mundo que me quiero bajar! Although for many years this famous sentence has been wrongly attributed to Mafalda, it fits the purpose for the beginning of our story. For indeed on September 30th the world stopped to let Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón - Quino by...
Hip and knee replacement: benefits of computer-assisted surgery
Hip and knee replacements are among the most commonly performed orthopedic procedures and their number continues to grow worldwide. Significant improvements in implant design and materials have been observed over the past decade. However, surgical technique and...
University of Geneva launches new certifying course in strategic and operational philanthropy
UNIGE launches new executive education courses to certify professional knowledge in strategic and operational philanthropy in 2021. The University of Geneva will launch a new course in strategic and operational philanthropy in autumn 2021, resulting from the...
Quelques idées pour acheter local et en ligne
La crise de la CODIV-19 et le confinement ont bousculé nos habitudes de consommation. Face à cette situation, il est plus que jamais important d’acheter local. Plusieurs initiatives de soutien aux entreprises et producteurs locaux ont vu le jour. Consommer local,...
Editor’s Note – December 2020
This is my last edition as Editor-in-Chief of UN Today and I want to express my appreciation to all of you, our readers, for your permanent support to our editorial efforts at the UN in Geneva. Before this strange year 2020, I had the privilege of serving as...
L’impact bien réel du mécanisme de plaintes des organes conventionnels de l’ONU : « une évolution positive, largement »
« Un mécanisme presque juridictionnel - même s’il n’est pas une cour internationale – qui fonctionne comme une cour ». C’est ainsi qu’Anna Batalla, juriste au Haut-Commissariat aux droits de l’homme, définit le mécanisme de plaintes associé aux organes de traités de...
His abilities. Their disabilities.
When the rights of persons with disabilities are secured, the world gets closer to upholding the core values and principles of the United Nations Charter. Last year the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy was launched by the Secretary-General, enabling the UN...
Geneva Marks 100 Years of Multilateralism and Looks to the Next 100 Years
UN Geneva and partners celebrate the centenary of modern multilateralism with a series of activities. Evolution of global cooperation in the Swiss city is highlighted. COVID-19 reinforces the need for multilateral problem-solving. Creative solutions bring lessons of...
Fighting racism internationally starts with confronting racism internally
Leadership Starts at Home The world desperately needs UN leadership to combat systemic racism. That cannot happen without tackling the systemic racism within the organization. Systemic racism normalized inside institutions normalizes inequality and violence This...
How Racist Is the UN?
Back in June, Antonio Guterres told a staff townhall that “if racism exists anywhere, it also exists in the UN.” But how racist is the UN? And in an international organization, with staff from all quarters, what is racism? Let’s start back in 1945. The UN was founded...
Racisme, retour au pire ?
Historienne de la littérature du XIXe siècle, Nicole Savy, a travaillé sur les stéréotypes racistes et antisémites. Elle a exercé des responsabilités nationales à la Ligue française des droits de l’Homme et du citoyen. Les comportements racistes sont-ils récents ou...
Nos suggestions de lecture sur le racisme
Le chant des revenants Jesmyn Ward Pivot du roman, Jojo, 13 ans, vit dans une petite ville du Mississipi. Il est né d’un homme blanc, Michael, et d’une femme noire, Léonie. Accro à la cocaïne, sa mère ne se remet pas de l’assassinat de son frère, Given dont le spectre...
100 ans de multilatéralisme à Genève
100 ans de multilatéralisme à Genève est un coffret indispensable. Il permettra aux lecteurs de trouver un ensemble d’informations à la hauteur de l’importance du sujet traité. Tatiana Valovaya, directrice générale de l'Office européen des Nations Unies, rappelle dans...
Advocating labour standards in the neoliberal era
I worked for the International Labour Organization (ILO) from 1986 to 2001. I started at the ILO’s International Institute for Social Studies in charge of a research programme called “Labour Institutions and New Industrial Organization”. A major focus of the work was...
Lynn Nottage, playwright and screenwriter
Lynn Nottage writes about those left behind and is the first and only female playwright and a screenwriter to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama ….twice! What do you see as the root causes of racism in today societies, in particular in the USA, and the reasons of...
Why tobacco control is important during COVID‑19 pandemic ?
Tobacco should be considered a pandemic – a slow-motion pandemic – that adds its lethal features to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.The harmful effects of tobacco on human health have been well documented, but people are not often aware of the extent of that harm. It is...
