All Small Grants
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Ce projet de Small Grant a été développé grâce à une collaboration entre le Département de sociologie de l’Unige, l’Unité psychosociale et d’intégration culturelle de l’OIM et la Section migrations internationales et politiques multiculturelles de l’UNESCO. Il se propose d’accompagner les initiatives de ces deux organisations internationales en matière d’éducation, de sensibilisation à la multiculturalité et de négociations internationales au travers de la réalisation d’une recherche audiovisuelle...
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L'année 2006 reste marquée par un important flux migratoire irrégulier en provenance de l'Afrique Subsaharienne, notamment de la Mauritanie et du Sénégal via le Maghreb et les îles Canaries. Que ce soit à travers le désert des pays du Maghreb ou par le biais des pirogues au départ des côtes mauritaniennes ou sénégalaises, des milliers d'africains utilisent des réseaux de trafiquants humains ou passeurs mettant ainsi en danger leurs vie. La situation actuelle de cette émigration clandestine de...
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Ce projet a pour ambition principale l'amélioration de la gestion des situations d'"urgences complexes". L'"urgence complexe" correspond à des situations de crises humanitaires où des populations ont fui leurs lieux de vie (village, région ou pays) en raison d'événements politiques, sociaux ou encore naturels, comme un tremblement de terre ou un tsunami. Ce projet a comme but plus spécifique la prise en compte des facteurs spatiaux dans la gestion des actions humanitaires et sociales menées au sein...
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Le projet " RUIG" devrait permettre de traiter une quinzaine de concepts statistiques qui couvrent notamment l'aide au développement, le marché du travail et l'agriculture, d'identifier et de traiter un certain nombre d'indicateurs composites du développement socio-économique, et de sensibiliser, par l'intermédiaire d'un colloque, les producteurs de statistiques des organisations internationales à la qualité de la présentation et de la diffusion de leurs statistiques.
Le projet vise au...
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Quels sont les défis posés à nos systèmes d'éducation et de formation par la diversité des cultures et des langues? Quelles sont les recherches réalisées en Suisse sur des questions liées à l'éducation et à l'interculturalité? Quels résultats et quelles propositions concrètes amènent-elles? Quels sont les impacts de ces propositions sur le terrain? Quel regard des chercheurs venant d'autres pays, ainsi que des praticiens, portent-ils sur la recherche réalisée en Suisse?
Telles sont les...
The overall lack of an articulated and universal legal foundation related to non-State actors (NSAs) has meant that the international community's relations with NSAs have primarily been concentrated on cease-fire agreements and peace treaties, which in many cases were the only interaction possible. However, the need for engaging NSAs has been increasingly addressed, mainly by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) using methods which are less tied to traditional frameworks. The example of Geneva Call shows that such engagements are possible...
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Malgré les efforts déployés depuis plus de trois décennies et à différents niveaux -- international, national, dans les organisations de base, les ONG, les mouvements de femmes -- force est de constater que les inégalités entre hommes et femmes persistent. Celles-ci sont éthiquement inacceptables, et entravent par ailleurs un développement équitable et soutenable.
Un nouveau champ de savoir interdisciplinaire "femmes/genre et développement", s'est construit, depuis les années 70....
There has recently been a surge of interest in the role of humiliation and its impact in terms of violence and low collective self-esteem amongst populations in conflict zones. Humanitarian workers are becoming increasingly aware of these issues as they encounter growing resistance and rejection, misunderstanding and hostility at a time when rampant 'anti-Western' feeling is being re-kindled. This lack of communication can lead to aggressive behaviour towards humanitarian organisations, perceived as agents of the social crisis and therefore...
Role of SMEs in African Economies and Challenges faced by them: SME sector is one of the principal driving forces for economic growth and job creation not only in developed but also in developing and least developed economies. This is particularly true for many countries in Africa, where SMEs and the informal sector represent over 90% of businesses, contribute to over 50% of GDP, and account for about 63% of employment in low income countries (UNECA 2005). Despite, SMEs in Africa face many obstacles including corrupt governance structures,...
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Les Facultés de droit, des lettres et de médecine de l'Université de Genève et le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) se sont associés pour organiser un colloque consacré à "Katyn et la Suisse : experts et expertises médicales dans les crises humanitaires". Durant 4 jours, du 18 au 20 avril, la Fondation Louis-Jeantet de médecine accueillera à Genève, historiens, chercheurs et experts du monde entier pour s'interroger sur la question du devoir des humanitaires de dénoncer les crimes de...
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Dans le cadre de leur mission sur des terrains difficiles (pays en guerre, afflux de réfugiés dans des camps de fortune, interventions d'urgence suite à des catastrophes naturelles, lutte contre des pandémies et des famines meurtrières, etc.), les acteurs humanitaires de nombreuses organisations internationales et les membres d'équipes d'entraide spécialisées, sont fréquemment confrontés à des situations dramatiques. Au-delà du choc initial face à la réalité de ces crises et de l'engagement dans...
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Les connaissances médicales sont produites en grande majorité dans les pays développés, et leur application dans d'autres contextes peut poser des difficultés, tant en terme de pertinence que de possibilité économique, logistique ou d'acceptation socioculturelle. Hors, c'est par la formation continue et l'accès à des informations utilisables que l'on peut renforcer les capacités des professionnels de la santé, en particulier ceux qui se trouvent en dehors des circuits habituels de formation que...
This project examines how, in the context of the recent “shift to the left” and the less-than-perfect track record of the "Washington Consensus" in the region, Latin American countries are attempting to negotiate alternative trade regimes, which represent, at the same time, different strategies of regional integration: namely, the Free Trade Areas (e.g., the Free Trade Area of the Americas – ALCA, and the Central American Free Trade Agreement – CAFTA), the Common Southern Market (MERCOSUR), and the Bolivarian Alternative for the...
This project aims to identify interdisciplinary issues (most specifically legal and economic issues) which may prevent or hinder the cross-border exchange of intellectual assets between China, Japan and Switzerland. In view of the extremely high variety and number of intellectual assets which exist and could thus potentially be analysed, the project will focus on two types of intellectual assets (i.e. music content and trade secrets) which are considered to cover diverse and representative aspects of human creativity (the cultural aspect...
In early 2006 the GCSP, with the financial support of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, launched a project entitled "The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission and International Geneva". The main objective of this project was to assess the implications of the new United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) for international Geneva. In particular, it sought to explore how best Geneva-based stakeholders could add value to the work of the PBC, in terms of country-specific operations, norms and standards setting, lessons...
Although a recent policy tool, Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are considered by some to be "the most promising innovation since Rio 1992". While PES schemes are flourishing in many countries around the world - ranging from watershed to 'bioprospecting' deals - it appears as though the model has a limited applicability at the global level (the existing market for carbon credits stands out as an exception). Biodiversity loss is an international problem comparable to that of climate change in the scale of global change and the urgency...
Risks due to natural hazards and exposed populations are increasing, especially in coastal areas, and mountainous regions, where more people continue to live. Natural disasters create humanitarian crises and seriously impact poverty alleviation goals. Earthquakes and tsunamis continue to cause the highest number of deaths but more common hazards, especially flooding, landslides and debris flow – affect great numbers of people and their livelihoods. Nonetheless, natural resources management and natural barriers are often not included...
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Cette conférence porte sur les questions d’internationalisation économique, de développement humain et de gouvernance en Asie ; le cas du Vietnam sert de référence au débat. Cet évènement a eu lieu au mois de Décembre 2006, date anniversaire de la proclamation par le gouvernement vietnamien, il y a vingt ans, d’une orientation économique nouvelle, le Doi Moi, ou Renouveau. Depuis, ce pays est devenu un modèle, de transition progressive réussie vers l’économie de marché, de croissance économique...
War and conflict know no linguistic boundaries. Language specialists often play an essential role in intelligence gathering before and during a conflict. Ending a conflict and delivering emergency and humanitarian aid across language barriers represents a major challenge, for which few of the organizations entrusted with operations in the field are linguistically well equipped. This problem is compounded by a chronic shortage of interpreters in zones of crisis and war willing to work in the line of fire or in areas of natural disaster....
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Genève internationale est une mine d’or d’informations... souvent invisibles. Elle pourrait cependant servir d’observatoire des changements planétaires: en devenant un terrain privilégié pour exercer, en situation réelle, des journalistes du monde entier (du Sud comme du Nord) à la couverture des enjeux globaux. Cette démarche aurait plusieurs impacts : 1) large diffusion de ces enjeux ; 2) visibilité internationale de Genève et de ses acteurs; 3) réseau mondial de journalistes sensibilisés aux...
Public health research is carried out in increasingly complex and challenging environments. Such research while having the potential to benefit communities and populations also has the possibility of harming individuals who take part in this research. The responsibility for protection of research participants lies not only with the ethics review committees and the sponsors of research, but also with the investigators and all those who are part of the research team. Numerous guidance documents exist, but there is limited experience and...
Over the last four years, WFUNA has organised a series of Seminars aimed at demystifying the Human Rights Commission. Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, WFUNA has considered the defence and promotion of human rights as an intrinsic part of its mission. March 2006 witnessed the replacing of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights with a standing Human Rights Council, indicating a major step forward for the advancement and protection of human rights worldwide. WFUNA therefore decided to collaborate...
During the last twenty years, the growing environmental awareness worldwide has resulted in the development of a number of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). Today’s MEA’s cover many dimensions of sustainable development, including oceans, endangered species, biodiversity, climate change, ozone layer, chemicals and hazardous wastes.
Even though this impressive “body” of environmental law has been signed and ratified by a large number of countries, it remains far from fully enforced, due to the lack of adequate...
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Depuis plus de vingt ans, le monde connaît de profonds bouleversements économiques, politiques et sociaux. Si la mondialisation a eu un impact non négligeable sur l’expansion des marchés, des services et des capitaux, il est également reconnu que ces développements ont accru dans de nombreux cas les disparités sociales, à la fois entre pays et au sein des pays, et ainsi engendré de nouvelles formes d’exclusion.
L’unité de recherche TECFA (Université de Genève) et le programme STEP...
The AFRICA@home project aims to provide worldwide distributed computing resources for the benefit of computer modelling of malaria epidemiology. This interdisciplinary project is a partnership between the University of Geneva (UniGe), the Swiss Tropical Institute (STI), two Geneva-based NGOs, a Geneva-based international organisation (ICVolunteers), CERN and the Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) in Dakar, Senegal.
Malaria causes about 500 million clinical attacks each year, and over a million deaths, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa....
The objective of the project is develop a cost guide with user interface to assist Parties to the UN/ECE Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) with its implementation and to offer an analysis of possible cost-saving options. The guide would also aid countries considering accession to the Protocol to rapidly evaluate the costs of their potential obligations thereby potentially speeding up the take-up and diffusion of PRTR systems around the world.
The use of emission inventories was mandated by Agenda 21 (Chs....
The overarching goal of this project is to analyse links between poverty, health, and the environment, and provide policy makers with research results to advance the Millenium Development Goals and World Summit of Sustainable Development Implementation Plan. The project aims to contribute critical input to deliberations at the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) to be held in Bangkok, Thailand between 17-25 November 2004. The Congress will attract more than 3,000 participants (scientists, policy makers, practitioners, politicians,...
Increasing the coverage in the supply of water and sanitation facilities in developing countries is essential in overcoming poverty and in reducing water-related diseases. The positive health impacts vary considerably depending on the quality of the water and sanitation services. It is also clear that the costs of different alternatives vary widely according to local conditions. Therefore, knowledge of the costs regarding water supply and sanitation, in addition to knowledge concerning environmental, institutional, social and political...
This study of field-based practice in humanitarian negotiations analyses the factors that prevent and enable successful humanitarian negotiations ongoing in four countries, all facing humanitarian emergencies. It aims to establish common understanding and good practice for future policy-making and capacity-building in humanitarian negotiations.
A comparative typology of humanitarian negotiations that also draws distinctions between humanitarian and other forms of negotiations will serve to develop questionnaires and interviews. The...
Access, use and sharing of information and knowledge are keywords of the Declaration of Principles and the Plan of Action adopted at the World Summit on the Information Society in December 2003 in Geneva (WSIS Phase I). WSIS Phase II in November 2005 in Tunis is recognized to be the platform for the development of concrete measures for the implementation of the WSIS Geneva 2003 Plan of Action.
Following the WSIS call for the development of pilot projects in education and capacity building, the proposed project aims to develop a...
This project aims at finding practical solutions for expanding social security coverage in Africa. The objectives of the project are: to analyse on a comparative basis public efforts and community-based social protection systems; to identify and carry out a typology of the various mechanisms used in this area, to provide an overview of ways in which social protection could be extended, based on a combination of public and private efforts; to promote the research results in countries where the existence of community-based social protection...
The conference brought together scholars and practitioners to discuss, from the standpoint of developing countries, selected issues of the negotiation process itself, in multilateral bodies and in bilateral dispute settlement. It took place on November 6 and 7, 2003 in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Building.
The 18th conference "Enviro Info" will be held in Geneva from 21 to 23 October 2004 and will cover a wide range of topics relating to environmental information systems. This conference focuses on information exchange among scientists, public administrations, private and public companies involved in environmental information processing, as well as environmental informatics end-users. For more information, please consult the French version or the website of the conference: http://www.enviroinfo2004.org. The GIAN will sponsor the development...
This project aims at providing ministries of health in the least developed countries of WHO's EURO area (Balkans, Caucasus, Central Asia, Eastern Europe) a model for using the "HealthMapper", a tool for decision-making as regards public health. HealthMapper is a geographical information system developed by the WHO that collects and analyses information on diseases and possibilities for treatment according to criteria such as geographical site, medical coverage, accessibility to care centres, environment and climatic factors. For more...
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Geneva International Academic Network (GIAN) organized information briefings targeting prospective members of the peace-building and humanitarian missions in Afghanistan, as well as other persons who had a professional interest in the current developments in Afghanistan. The principal objective of the sessions was to provide practical information to prospective mission members on the cultural context in Afghanistan.
The following sessions took place:
Session...
The project consisted of a specialised course on trade negotiation, including a trade negotiation simulation, used both for immediate training purposes and for data collection purposes in a research perspective. The course was intended for government representatives who were likely to be involved in trade negotiations. Representatives of the academic community and of the World Trade Organisation Secretariat functioned as trainers/facilitators. Researchers from the academic community were offered the possibility to observe the trade...
The objectives of this conference were to: establish a link between reconstruction activities and measures for disaster prevention in the medium- and long-term; initiate methods for the development of knowledge and tools at the municipality level; and establish a constructive dialogue between leaders, researchers, NGOs and donors in Latin America and Switzerland. Policy recommendations for disaster prevention were made. For more information, please consult the French version.