International Geneva comes to CERN
To strengthen even more its links with the United Nations and the world of multilateral diplomacy, CERN is launching a new series of seminars aiming to introduce other international organisations to CERN’s internal audience. The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) will lead the way with a seminar on 20 February. You are all invited to take part.
Although everybody knows where the Palais des Nations is, not everybody has visited it and even fewer people know about the complex mechanisms that make the UN work. On 20 February, Mr Michael Møller, Acting Director-General of UNOG, will discuss the topics that the international organisation par excellence deals with every day, its relationship with the headquarters in New York and the challenges that lie ahead, as well as the cooperation between UNOG and CERN.
Since 2010, CERN has considerably strengthened its relationships with the other international organisations in Geneva and beyond. Cooperation Agreements have been signed with various agencies including, of course, those belonging to the UN system. In December 2012, CERN was granted Observer status at the UN General Assembly. “Despite the intense exchanges that have marked the recent history of the two organisations, this will be the first time that the Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva has come to meet with CERN people at large,” says Maurizio Bona, advisor to the Director-General of CERN and responsible for relations with international organisations. “The seminar will also be an opportunity to present the past, present, and future collaborations and exchanges between the two organisations.”
In addition to introducing UNOG to CERN people, Møller will reply to questions from the audience. The presence of CERN’s DG at the seminar will give those attending the opportunity - should they so wish - to discuss topics related to CERN/UN relations and “international Geneva” with both leaders in a unique and open exchange of views.
Put 20 February in your diary: the seminar will be held in the Main Auditorium and will start at 11.00 a.m. The event will be webcast and a recording will be made available shortly after the live event.
The second seminar of this series will take place on Thursday, 7 May 2015 and will feature Michel Jarraud, the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Later in the year it will be the turn of Mr Francis Gurry, Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Read also this week's DG Word: "Introducing International Geneva".
