The GIAN Approves Eleven Research Projects – 19.09.06
The Geneva International Academic Network (RUIG-GIAN) has approved, in the framework of its sixth annual tendering procedure, eleven projects presented by multidisciplinary research teams. Researchers include academics from the University of Geneva, the Graduate Institute of International Studies (GIIS), the Graduate Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) and other universities, in collaboration with one or several international organisations. A total funding package of SFr 2 million is available for these projects.
The GIAN pursues its objective - to reinforce cooperation among institutions of higher education and international organisations - by financing and supporting research and training projects.
Each project approved by the GIAN, following appraisal by its Scientific Committee, falls within the purview of at least one of five thematic areas: sustainable development; social equity; globalisation and international commerce; intercultural relations and dialogue; humanitarian law and human rights.
The projects approved in 2006 concern the following topics:
- A Swiss Network of Scientific Diasporas to Enforce the Role of Highly Skilled Migrants as Partners in Development;
- Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Reconstruction: Development of a Common Language to Improve the Response to Needs;
- Trade and Global Economic Governance;
- Tracking Environmental Impacts of Consumption: Linking OECD and Developing Countries for Risk Analysis;
- Participation, Conservation and Livelihoods: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Participatory Approaches in Protected Areas;
- Obtaining Reliable Medical Information Online: A Study Focusing on Francophone Africa;
- UNHCR and the Global Cold War 1971-1984;
- Crisis and Risk Reduction: Mobilising, Collecting and Sharing Information in Crisis or Risk Situations;
- Africa@home: Volunteer Computing for Africa;
- Technology Transfer, Trade, and the Environment: Promoting Synergy for Sustainable Development among the World Trade Organisation and Multilateral Environmental Agreements;
- The Global Detention Project: Mapping the Rise of Migrant Detention in a Globalising World.
The GIAN is pleased to note the participation of numerous international organisations and NGOs in the aforementioned projects (CERN, ICTSD, ILO, IOM, IUCN, South Centre, UNCTAD, UNECE, UNEP, UNESCO, UNHCR, UN/ISDR, UNOG, WHO and WWF, among others). Several research institutions and private-sector partners from throughout the world are also implicated in GIAN-supported research projects.