#shapersacm Media Team 2015

This week, from 13 to 17 August 2015, over 450 curators will gather together in Geneva for the Global Shapers Annual Curators Meeting (ACM), hosted and organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Every year, the ACM aims to energize and strengthen the Global Shapers community. The curators of each city hub in the network have the opportunity to exchange project ideas, interact with WEF staff on pressing global issues, and strengthen cross-hub links.

For the Geneva Hub, this will be an important week, and this year more so, given the exceptional supporting role that it will be playing. In fact, the Geneva Shapers are proud to announce that, for the first time, they have been tasked to assist the Forum in its Media activity during the ACM. More specifically, the hub established an ACM Media Team, composed by about 20 of its shapers and structured in the following way:

This team will focus its work on three main areas:

• Production of an informative, fun, and easy to read daily ACM Magazine

• Organization of social events for the curators, to get to know each other better and let them discover Geneva

• Social media action, to engage shapers at home and inspire those outside the community

The daily ACM Magazine will provide curators with a recap of the previous day, in-depth interviews with some Young Global Leaders (who will be also in Geneva from 10 to 14 August for the YGL Annual Summit), interviews with other fellow curators, information on upcoming events, what to do in Geneva, and much more.

In order to prepare for this special week, the Geneva Hub organized an intensive weekend retreat at the Maison de la Paix, thanks to the continued hospitality of Interpeace. Everyone in the team put a lot of energy and passion in the different preparation activities: from writing articles, to graphic design, video training, social media, and interviews scheduling, just to mention a few.

The Geneva Hub Media Team is very excited to welcome all the amazing curators attending the ACM and is looking forward to continue shaping the world together.

For updates on the ACM 2015 follow the Geneva hub on Twitter @GenevaShapers and Facebook at Geneva Hub, in addition to the official Global Shapers social media accounts.Use the official hashtag #ShapersACM. Other hashtags include #ACM2015 & #ShapeTheWorld.

Photo credit: Geneva Hub

It's time for peace!

“It’s time for peace!” is the very appropriate theme of this year’s Geneva Peace Talks in light of daily news about rising levels of conflict and violence in many parts of the world. The Geneva hub of the Global Shapers is again partnering with the Geneva Peace Talks to inspire people from all walks of life to take action for peace.

Many of today’s crises do not only require holistic solutions, but also point to the need for greater efforts to prevent the eruption of violent conflict in the first place. To that end, fostering the inclusion of all different social groups in a society is an important endeavour. Making sure everyone has access to economic opportunities, political participation, social connections and feels a sense of belonging is not only a moral imperative, but a prerequisite for everyone to enjoy peace.

At the same time, the prevailing sense of gloom also blinds us to the strengths that reside in many societies which experience conflict. As one of Interpeace’s local Somali peacebuilders once said “A failed state does not mean a failed people”.

Co-organized by the United Nations at Geneva, Interpeace, and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, the Geneva Peace Talks expands the space for dialogue about building peace and resolving conflict. Through individual Peace Talks, speakers from different sectors and countries share their personal stories, ideas and practical solutions to resolve and prevent conflict.

The Geneva Peace Talks also illustrate that everyone of us has a role to play for peace to take root in our societies. Peace is not only a task of governments, the international community, and NGOs. Peace is not only something conflict-affected countries strive for. Peace is everyone’s business, no matter where you live and what you do.

In this vein, the Geneva hub of the Global Shapers is engaging with local organisations in Geneva who support marginalised communities and try to foster their integration into society, such as l’Espace Solidaire de Paquis, La Roseraie etc.

Have you thought of reaching out to someone in your environment who is experiencing any form of exclusion? It’s time for peace! Get inspired by the Geneva Peace Talks.

This year’s Geneva Peace Talks take place at the Palais des Nations on 18 September from 16.30h to 18.00h. Registration is required and will open on 17 August. The event is also live webcast. For more information or to tune in, go to http://peacetalks.net/peace_talks/geneva-peace-talks-2015/

Photo credit: Interpeace

Geneva hub hosts its Annual Workshop

On a beautiful, sunny (and very hot!) Sunday, 12 July, in Geneva, the Geneva hub hosted its Annual Workshop. Thanks to the hospitality of Interpeace, the Shapers were able to run a day-long workshop in their beautiful office in the Maison de la Paix, a brand new building part of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies located at the heart of International Geneva.

The workshop served as a great opportunity to discuss the values of the hub and how they relate to the broader mission of the Global Shapers Community. Following an interactive group exercise, three main values were identified: Impact (Our projects are driven by the real needs of our community); Connector (Being based in Geneva we have a special responsibility in bringing the other hubs and shapers together); Growth (We learn from each other to become better leaders.

Through this workshop, the Geneva hub was also able to welcome and get to know some of the new shapers that have just been recruited. Moreover, having a couple of teambuilding activities in the fantastic Perle du Lac parc served as a perfect way to strengthen ties between shapers.

Finally, on this occasion shapers had the opportunity to discuss how to scale up existing projects, as well as to propose new ones for the upcoming months. Some of the most popular project areas suggested were education, innovation, technology and food.

In addition, shapers discussed their engagement in the upcoming Annual Curators Meeting, held in Geneva from 13 to 17 Geneva. Over 400 curators will be attending this important meeting and we are looking forward to welcoming all them.

Overall, the workshop was very successful and the hub decided to host it every six month, as a way to ensure coordination and share information on our activities. All the shapers who participated were very happy with the outcome and felt even more motivated to contribute to the activities of the hub for a positive impact in our local community and beyond.

Women in leadership

On May 8th the Geneva Shapers met with two leaders of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): Helen Alderson - Director of financial resources and logistics - and Carla Mardini – Head of External Resources.

Over the past months, growing humanitarian needs (Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Israel and the Occupied Territories, South Sudan, Central African Republic, just to name a few) have led the ICRC to set operational objectives of an unprecedented magnitude. The ICRC faces operational challenges in conducting humanitarian action that it cannot address on its own. It must look across sectors to tackle some of these crucial issues, particularly in the corporate, entrepreneurship and innovation communities. At the heart of these rapid changes are two women, Helen Alderson and Carla Mardini, who are leading the institution in uncharted waters. Geneva Shapers, together with visiting shapers from Jeddah and Erbil hubs, discussed how to better #ShapeTheWorld with these two inspiring leaders. As Helen Alderson suggested “We need more young people to lead and take important decisions”.

We also took the opportunity to conduct a short interview (transcript below) with them on taking up leadership positions, their role models, and advice they would give to the younger generations.

What advice would you give to someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

Helen Alderson: “When you take up a leadership role for the first time my advice is to spend most of your time listening to be able to diagnose the situation. The first 90 days (Sic. Reference to the best-seller ‘The First 90 days’, on transitions into leadership positions by Harvard professor Michael Watkins) in your new position are crucial and will very much determine your overall success. You need to understand what type of leadership role you are taking, are you in a startup situation, a turnaround, or is it about sustaining success?  Based on that assessment you need to identify a few clear measures that have to be taken.”

Carla Mardini: “Based on my own professional experience having led teams of 25 to 40 people, one of the key issues is knowing who is “on the bus”, i.e., who is on your team. Before you embark on setting out a strategy and making a plan of action, the people you have on your team should be your first priority. Choosing the right people and having people on your team who have competencies you don’t have is crucial.”

Who has inspired you the most and why?

Helen Alderson: “I didn’t have a professional role model until late, but on a personal level it was my father. He was very successful in his professional life as an executive, but also very present in the family as a father. He managed this balance very well and had a great level of integrity in the way he conducted his work. He was also very inspiring to us. On the professional level my first role model was my boss at the World Heart Federation. She was also someone who balanced her personal and professional life very well, managing dual careers and her family. She was also a great motivator and very inspiring to her team. Moreover, she always brought her team, rather than herself, to the front giving them the credit for achievements.”

Carla Mardini: “I have discovered Sheryl Sandberg (sic: COO Facebook), quite late, but am very impressed by her. She has done so much for the younger generation. Her book ‘Lean In’ and the simple things she explains in there are crucial. Women should dare stay in the workforce and not drop out before the question really poses itself. Nowadays women are leaving before they reach the top because they have difficulties managing work life imbalance: we need to make sure they stay longer!”

What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?

Helen Alderson: “I would do a lot of the things I did, I have very few regrets luckily. However, I would be more aware of the choices I am making and decision I am taking. I would also be more deliberate into taking a stand rather than getting pushed into situations.”

Carla Mardini: “One of the things I would advise is to learn several languages when you are young. I recently hired someone who told me that if you don’t speak 3 or 4 languages, it is hard to survive in the world we live in today. I am Lebanese and we often speak several languages, but I should have learned Chinese when I was younger. Now that I am 39 years old, it is a little late. Languages open up opportunities that are invaluable, and also give you access to a new culture, a new world and that in-itself is very enriching.”

Thanks a lot to Helen and Carla for inspiring the Shapers at the Geneva Hub and beyond. Special thanks to our Shapers Alessandra La Vaccara and Yannick Heiniger for organizing this great #MeetTheLeaders event.

A new Hub is part of the community: the Lyon Hub!

“With great power comes great responsibility”

I have always considered this quote, from a well-known hero of our times, as a guiding one for me and my life. This applies to the Global Shapers Community as well: it is the root of our existence and the leading engine of our actions.

I believe that, in this case, “power” means experience, knowledge, passion, while “responsibility” means giving back. For example, mentoring projects - as the Geneva hub’s one - or in general Shapers supporting and assisting other hubs in their path toward growth and success are great ways of giving back to our local and global Community.T

hat is exactly why I had no hesitations in going to Lyon when Laurent Javaudin, the Founding Curator, invited me to attend their official inauguration.

It was an absolute honor to represent Geneva and Turin and to be part of this historical moment for France, as the newborn hub has already become an official association according to the French law and a couple of projects are already in the pipeline. Four highly motivated people, Zoé, Jimmy, Alexandre and Laurent, are ready to shape their city and make it a reference model for this great nation. And I am sure they will do a great job!

Headquartered in one of the most problematic districts in the city that happens to also be one of its most innovative coworking spaces, the new hub is in the perfect location to concentrate impact and deliver results that can positively affect the community. The proposed hub projects are focused on educational and social issues, both original to the hub and imported from other hubs.

On that beautiful evening, the topics discussed ranged from the entire Shapers Community to the local problems of Lyon such as youth unemployment and integration. We also talked about structuring and creating the foundation of the new hub. In particular, we were able to take into account best practices - and errors - from other cities and accordingly tailor the rules regarding recruitment, projects, activities as well as team building events and general hub life.

Personally, it was a highly enriching experience and I am grateful to Laurent and the Lyon hub for having hosted me and made me part of their new family. Merci beaucoup Mes Amis ! Un grand futur vous attend !

An important day at the Swiss Parliament

On Tuesday, 16 June, a group of Shapers from Geneva, Zurich and Bern had the great opportunity to visit the Swiss Parliament, also known as Federal Palace, in Bern. The purpose of this event was to provide shapers with a better understanding of the Swiss parliamentary system and to foster interactions between Swiss hubs and local politicians.

This special visit was organized by four Swiss Young Global Leaders (YGLs): Congresswoman Christa Markwalder from the Canton of Berne (YGL 2011), Congressman Guillaume Barazzone from the Canton of Geneva (YGL 2015), Senator Pascale Bruderer Wyss from the Canton of Aargau (YGL 2009) and Congressman Thomas Aeschi from the Canton of Zurich (YGL 2014), all of whom are involved in politics and are affiliated with four different parties. This visit, which represents the first YGL event of the year in Switzerland, was also attended by other YGL alumni, including Christoph Sutter (YGL 2009), Samuel Elia (YGL 2012), and Georges Kern (YGL 2005).

Two exceptional guides, Pascale and Christa, accompanied Shapers and YGLs. In addition to explaining how the Parliament works and describing the beautiful art of the palace, they were also happy to talk about the reasons why they chose this career and share interesting insights about their personal experiences in politics.

Pascale is a member of the Social Democratic Party and has been a Member of the Parliament of Switzerland since 2002. She started her career in politics motivated by the need to secure equal rights for people with disabilities. Her main focus lies on energy policy, social services and education.

Christa started her political career as a Member of the Municipal Council of Burgdorf and the Parliament of the Canton of Berne. In 2003, she was elected Member of the National Council, the House of Representatives in the Swiss Parliament, for the Liberal Democratic Party. She currently co-chairs various parliamentary groups on renewable energy, ecologically sustainable economies, relations with Eastern Europe and promotion of voluntary work.

Given the international nature of the Geneva Hub, this visit was particularly helpful to get Geneva Shapers closer to the Swiss community and have a better impact through our projects locally. It also represented a fantastic opportunity to strengthen ties between YGLs and Shapers across Switzerland.  To continue along this path, the Geneva Hub is excited to host Shapers from Bern and Zurich on 11 July to work together and gather new ideas on how to improve our own communities.

We have summarized a few interesting facts about the Parliamentary system in Switzerland. Enjoy the read!

• The Federal Assembly is bicameral, composed of the National Council and the Council of States. The houses have identical powers.

• The National Council has 200 members elected in their canton of residence for a four-year term. The number of seats allocated to each canton is based on their relative populations.

• The Council of States has 46 members elected for a four-year term according to cantonal rules. Each canton has two seats, with the exception of Obwalden, Nidwalden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Appenzell-Innerrhoden and Appenzell-Ausserrhoden, which have one seat each.

• The Federal Assembly possesses the federal government's legislative power, along with the separate constitutional right of citizen's initiative. For a bill to become law, it must be passed by both houses.

• The Federal Assembly normally convenes in Bern four times a year, in spring, summer, autumn and winter. These ordinary sessions last for three weeks and are open to the public.

• On average, members of both chambers devote around 60% of their working hours to their parliamentary duties; most of them have a career not related to the Parliament.

• Switzerland's National Day is Open Day at the Parliament Building. On 1 August, the presidents of the two chambers of the Federal Assembly traditionally address the public and answer their questions.

The Reading for Change Blueprint

rfc-logo_2

Reading for Change (www.readingforchange.ch) is a project by the Geneva hub to help improve integration, foster employability and give access to education to vulnerable groups of our local community.

More specifically, we do this by collecting second-hand technologies such as ebook readers, laptops, MP3-players, mobiles phones and more, uploading them with educational content, and eventually distribute these pre-loaded devices to our partner organizations so that they can use them for specific trainings and courses. This way, we make sure that the devices are put to use in the most effective way. As the devices are donated to us and the educational content is taken from free creative commons licensed sources, our incremental cost for each new device is virtually zero. This means that we can scale up our impact very quickly!

That's why, after the initial success in our local community, we are now scaling Reading for Change globally by partnering with other hubs of the Global Shapers Community.  Since our hub has already set up all the IT infrastructure and processes, we want to provide an easy, concise and yet comprehensive blueprint for reapplying the project in all our fellow hubs. We are certain that this combination of rapid local execution and seamless global reproduction can help improve the lives of millions of people around the world. If you'd like to request a copy of the Reading for Change Blueprint or any futher information about this project, please contact us at info@readingforchange.ch  We hope your hub will find this tool useful to start a great project to help your local community!

Reading for Change

The Geneva Shapers are proud to launch their latest project, Reading for Change, which aims to expand access to education for those who need it the most. The idea is simple, but effective: provide the most marginalized communities with digital devices filled with useful educational content. To this end, the Geneva Hub is collecting used digital devices – such as laptops, cell phones, mp3 players – that are considered obsolete and giving them a new, more meaningful life.

On Sunday, 15 March 2015, the Geneva Shapers launched the first phase of the project and delivered IT equipment and other digital devices to EspaceSolidairePaquis (ESP), a leading community-based organization that offers shelter and meaningful skills training for migrants, homeless people and other vulnerable individuals. Through the contribution of Procter & Gamble Geneva and several private donations, the Shapers were able to provide ESP with over 20 devices, including laptops, cell phones, mp3 players and e-readers. All of them were filled with French language courses, both for beginners and more advanced speakers.

Thanks to these devices, ESP will increase its language and IT course offering and provide more services to the over 15,000 beneficiaries.

But this is not just a one-off event. The Geneva Hub hopes to scale up Reading for Change and reach more people in need with better access to education. We are planning to bring Reading for Change in developing countries and to establish new partnerships.

Here is where we need your help: please visit our website (http://www.readingforchange.ch/) and find out how you can contribute.With your support, we CAN make this happen!

Reading for Change video: https://vimeo.com/122183076

Photo credits: Martina Zapf

#shapetheworld in Geneva

On 13 and 14 February, the Geneva Hub welcomed 40 Global Shapers from 15 different hubs for an event they dubbed #ShapeTheWorld. Bringing together Shapers from around the world – from Brussels to Lugano, from Ottawa to Jeddah, just to name a few – for two days offered the unique opportunity to reflect together on the importance of partnerships and intercultural solutions, as well as to develop synergies to expand ideas. In addition, it served as a great introductory meeting to all the new Shapers who recently joined the Geneva Hub.

The Valentine’s Day weekend kicked off with a meeting at the WEF on Friday evening. Following a brief team building session of the Geneva Hub, all the Global Shapers attending #ShapeTheWorld gathered together to discuss projects and objectives. Melih Nurluel, Associate Director Europe, Global Shapers, also attended the meeting and talked about the role of #ShapeTheWorld.

The Hubs had the possibility to present on their latest initiatives. Geneva gave a presentation on three projects, including the upcoming Reading for Change project, designed to share information and technology with those who need it the most (the project will be launched on 14 March, so stay tuned for more updates). The Venice Hub talked about solutions to tackle youth unemployment, whereas the Rabat Hub announced that Rabat will be hosting #ShapingAfrica 2015. Last but not the least, the Zurich Hub presented their exciting project focused on art and migration.

On Saturday, the Geneva Hub organized a visit to CERN, the largest particle physics laboratory in the world and a prime example of international collaboration, bringing together scientists of almost 100 nationalities. The day started off with an early breakfast at the newly open IdeaSquare, where new technologies and innovation are shaped. Then, the Shapers took part in the CERN guided tour and learned about the history and the groundbreaking research carried out by this leading institution. The Shapers also visited the Globe “Universe of Particles”, a permanent exhibition on key existential questions like “Where do we come from? What is the origin of the laws of Nature?” currently being explored by the CERN.

The day ended with a productive brainstorming between Geneva, Venice, Turin, Rome and other Hubs for an upcoming project (more info to come soon).

Following this great experience, we would like to invite every hub to use #ShapeTheWorld when collaborating with other Hubs on finding intercultural solutions to social problems.Let’s continue to #ShapeTheWorld together.

Photo credit: Giulia Zanzi, Geneva Hub.

21 September 2014: International Day of Peace!

The Geneva Hub is pleased to announce its new project to support the promotion of peace, through a partnership with the Geneva Peace Talks held on 19 September to celebrate the International Day of Peace

21 September 2014 marks the International Day of Peace, and falls as world leaders gather at the United Nations headquarters in New York for the 68th General Assembly. To commemorate this day, and shed light on some of the challenges and barriers to achieving global peace and security the Geneva Peace Talks will be held on 19 September at the Palais des Nations. The talks are open to the public (registration required) to improve understanding and accessibility, thereby reinforcing the notion that each and every person has a role to play in peace-building. Individual talks are also live streamed.

The Geneva Hub has partnered with the organizers of the event, Interpeace, the United Nations Office of Geneva (UNOG) and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform.

This year’s theme, Let’s Talk Peace, seeks to highlight the role of communication tools, techniques and channels in overcoming conflict, by nurturing dialogue and tolerance. During the talks, speakers from different sectors and industries will share their personal stories, ideas and practical solutions to resolving conflict. This year’s agenda features renowned political cartoonist Jean "Plantu" Plantereux, who created Cartooning for Peace in 2006, as well as Monica McWilliams, professor of Woman's Studies at the University of Ulster. Monica played a crucial role in the peace talks that lead to the Good Friday Agreement, facilitating the Northern Ireland peace process in the late 1990s.

With communication and information/experience sharing such vital tools in peace-building initiatives, another on-going goal of the talks is to create a world-wide community of citizens who are informed and empowered by the language of peace, and can employ it in local or grassroots settings. Future peace talks could see a distributed presence of nodes around the world, each hosting their own individual sessions, thereby contributing to a shared, global culture of peace and tolerance. 2014 is just the second instalment in the Peace Talks series, with events hosted in Geneva and Abidjan, and it is hoped that future instalments can spread to even more locations.

Are you in Geneva? 

Register to attend the Geneva Peace Talks at the Palais des Nations.See #Genevapeacetalks on Twitter or http://peacetalks.net/ for more info.