Geneva Peace Week, 31st October – 4th November

By Samuel Pennifold and Abby Sickles

After two years of absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic, The Geneva Peace Week is back at the Maison de la Paix. As this week-long event falls right in between the NYC UNGA meetings and COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, people will gather from across Geneva and the world to take part in this annual “festival of peace” to discuss peace within the contexts of different fields of study and work. 

Geneva Peace Week (GPW) will offer students a number of exciting opportunities to interact with professionals from different backgrounds including diplomatic services, international organisations, and non-governmental organisations across a range of 40+ in-person and online events. 

Starting in 2014, GPW is a partnership between several organisations including 125 partners to bring together a range of people and voices around one central theme – peace is possible.

“Peace is possible” is both a reflection of the current trying times around the world, and a continuation of the work of various other Geneva Peace Weeks. Across the week, this will be addressed through four themes: rights, inequalities and peace; moving beyond securitisation with risk management and new horizons for peacebuilding; digital peace; environmental challenges and opportunities. High-level talks, panels, and workshops will be held throughout the week by various organisations to both discuss their work, but also seek solutions to these four different issue areas. 

TGP had the chance to sit down with Dany Digo, Project Lead, and Dr Annyssa Bellal, Executive Coordinator of Geneva Peace Week. They have clearly worked tirelessly to prepare for this week and are positive that the week will be a great opportunity for students. Offering both formal and informal opportunities, students will be given the opportunity to interact with a range of professionals to enrich our experience at the Institute. When we asked Dr Bellal what a successful Geneva Peace Week would look like for her, she said, “where students participate”. As the future generations of leaders in peace, not all our education will happen in the classroom, and Geneva Peace Week will be a great opportunity to learn about the real world from those who are working in it every day.

On Tuesday, November 1st and Thursday, November 3rd, GPW will host two career fairs at IHEID for students and young professionals looking to break into peace-related work. These networking events will provide opportunities to meet with a wide range of international and non-governmental organisations working across various sectors (security, environment, technology, etc.) to build a more peaceful world. 

Registration for many of the events has now closed, but the opening and closing ceremonies are open to attend on campus for anyone. Follow Geneva Peace Week online to keep track of the upcoming events and for other opportunities after GPW has come to a close!

“peace dove” by Jeff Attaway is licensed under CC BY 2.0.