International Geneva

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Alongside New York, Geneva is the main centre of international governance. It is the European headquarters of the United Nations and the most active location in the world in multilateral diplomacy. Today it hosts 30 international organisations, 250 international non-governmental organisations and 172 states represented by a permanent mission. The international sector in Geneva employs some 28,330 people.

The issues focused on in Geneva cover the world’s principal sectors and the major challenges of global governance: humanitarian action, trade, human rights, the environment and sustainable development, training and education, peacekeeping and security, intellectual property, nuclear research, health, telecommunications and labour.

Also active near International Geneva are an important number of multinational companies, financial and commodity trading companies as well as a high concentration of other corporations with international reach.
 

The Institute and International Geneva


The Institute shares strong ties with International Geneva ever since its creation at the time of the League of Nations in the wake of World War I.

Located in the heart of the international district, it collaborates with over one hundred international, non-governmental and private organisations in the Geneva area, such as UNOG, UN Environment, WHO, WTO, WIPO, UNHCR, OHCHR, UNFAO, ICRC, ITC, IPCC, UNDP, UNITAR, IPU, ICTSD, The Global Fund, World Vision and HD Centre, and has signed 30 memoranda of agreement providing for a wide range of collaborative endeavours.

Our research centres cooperate on many levels with experts from international institutions. The Institute supports and collaborates with the United Nations Geneva Perception Change Project launched in 2014 and the SDG Lab set up in 2017 by the Director-General of UNOG.

The Institute regularly welcomes heads of international governmental and non-governmental organisations and representatives of the private sector to speak at its public events or private meetings. Some have become distinguished fellows. The Institute also partners with many of these organisations as well as permanent missions in Geneva in joint events at Maison de la paix. Such events support the professional development of our students, contribute to our policy-relevant research and significantly increase our outreach; they also provide our partners with independent expertise in a neutral multistakeholder forum.

Thanks to these collaborations, the Institute’s students benefit from numerous internship, job and networking opportunities, as well as capstone projects, which allow them to make useful contacts and gain hands-on professional experience for their international careers.

Finally, the Institute has a privileged relationship with the organisations headquartered in Maison de la paix which are active in the fields of peace, international affairs and sustainable development.