SWITZERLAND
SCHWEIZ
- SUISSE - SVIZZERA - SUIZA
In addition to my international travels, I am trying to get to know
more and more of my country of adoption, Switzerland. The omnipresent
mountains give it a three-dimensionality and beauty that is hard to
match.
Switzerland is also a country of amazing diversity that is culturally
very enriching, not only with its German, French, Italian and Romanch
national components, but also with people from around the world. I was
amazed to learn that it is the second country of Europe for its level
of immigration (after Luxembourg), well ahead of many countries where
this has become a political issue. 23% of the people living in
Switzerland were born somewhere else, and half of the foreigners in
Switzerland are second generation immigrants born here. Assimilation
has in general worked well. Geneva is really an international city, and
its population has been about 30% immigrants for four hundred years. My
own commune of Vernier is about half foreigners, another quarter Swiss
from other cantons, and only a quarter Genevois. You can literally feel
the diversity during the European football cup. When the Portuguese
make a goal, a roar rises in my neighborhood and flags appear; then an
Italian goal brings another roar, etc. It is easy to feel at home here.
With its quais lining the end of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman), with the Alps and
Jura mountains as a backdrop, Geneva is a beautiful city, rated at the
top of world cities for its quality of life.
With my work with the
United Nations and the international community, it is the perfect place
to be.
The Jet d'Eau in the lake has become a symbol of Geneva.
The city is wrapped around the end of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman)
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The
Palais Wilson on the lakeside, was the first seat of the League of
Nations. It is now the Human Rights House occupied by the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. There had been plans to
make it the Environment House where I should have had my office, but
with the move of the Climate Change Convention to Bonn and the
Biodiversity Convention to Montreal, the Secretary General decided to
use if for human rights, and the Swiss Government purchase our present
International Environment House in Chatelaine.
Geneva is a city of parks and gardens, often very large for an urban
area
Clock in the English Park
The lake empties into the Rhone River, which divides the city in two,
with some islands such as Rousseau Island, named for the philosopher
who was from Geneva.
Rousseau Island in the Rhone River - Ile Rousseau dans le Rhone
The Rue de Rhone is a main shopping street
Rue du Rhone
The old town, up on a hill and formerly surrounded by walls, is
dominated by the cathedral of St.Peter. There are also the main
government buildings like the old Armory
Cathedral 
Armory
The original building of the University is in the Bastions Park, where people often come to play chess
University 
In 2009 I took my Dutch intern Lieuwe Vinkhuyzen sightseeing in Geneva and up Mount Saleve
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In the 19th century, many beautiful homes were build along the lake
shore, set in magnificent gardens. Today many of these homes have other
functions as centres for international studies or the Museum of Science.
Museum of Science
View from the museum across
the lake
The lake is known for its swans, which nest along the shore
The lake is an important transport artery, with both paddlewheel
steamers from a century ago, and modern boats for public transport
La Savoie
The Palais des Nations, built to be the seat of the League of Nations,
helps make Geneva the most important world centre for intergovernmental
conferences.
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Palais from Place des Nations
Place des
Nations
Palais
des Nations facade towards the lake
The Palais
is set in beautiful gardens overlooking the lake and the Alps. On a
clear day you can see Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe, in
the distance.
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General Assembly Hall
The Secretariat
Salle des Pas Perdues
Corridors to the conference
rooms
There
are many conference rooms
The Council
Chamber is used for the most important diplomatic events. All the walls
and even the ceiling are covered by murals symbolic of the roles of
international diplomacy.
One conference room was recently renovated by the Spanish government with a dramatic ceiling
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Geneva is dominated on the south-east by Mount Saleve, a favourite
place for day outings. There is a telepherique (cable way) to the
summit, with spectacular views over Geneva and its lake, and the Alps.
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telepherique
Views of Geneva and the lake are spectacular
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View southwest
View northeast
golf course
The
Rhone River below Geneva
The lake empties into the Rhone River which flows through France to the
Mediterranean. The dam at Verbois is an important source of
hydroelectricity for Geneva, which obtains 86% of its electricity from
renewable sources. The river is also used to bring wastes to the big
incinerator where it is burned to the highest environmental standards
to produce electricity. At the same time, the natural ecology of the
river is respected and habitats for wildlife are being restored. Fish
are able to migrate up a fish ladder around the dam.
Natural habitats
like reed beds are being restored along the shores to provide nesting
places for birds. Rafts have been added to give the sterns a safe place
to nest away from predators. Shallow basins have been added to provide
a haven for fish when the dam below has to be emptied of its
accumulated sediment.
The waste incinerator is just above the dam
Verbois Dam and hydroelectric plant
Fish
ladder below the dam
The electric utility is developing solar power. Renewable
energy sources provide 86% of the canton's electricity.
The Chateau de Bossey in the countryside north of Geneva above the lake
is now an Ecumenical Centre belonging to the World Council of Churches
and the University of Geneva. The courses in Environmental Diplomacy
that I coordinate are held in this beautiful setting.
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Environmental Diplomacy course 2009
The
Chateau
is set in beautiful gardens with a view over the lake to the Alps
beyond, including Mont Blanc
Below the
chateau is a traditional Swiss farm producing milk and wine.
Cows are after all
a symbol of Switzerland, which has maintained its rural traditions in
harmony with its advanced state of development.
Belle Ferme
August
1 Swiss National Holiday
August 1 is the national holiday, commemorating more than 700 years of
the Swiss nation. It is a time to listen to speaches, blow alp horns,
toss flags, parade with cow bells, light bonfires, and celebrate all
things Swiss.
The celibration ends with a
traditional bonfire and fireworks displays
I was invited to the alpine village of Grindelwald to speak at an
AIESEC national seminar in June 2006. It was the perfect time of year
to appreciate alpine meadows, farms and lakes nestled between the
mountain peaks.
In June
2006, I
spoke at an International Peace Education Seminar at Walenstadt on the
Walensee, another alpine area in eastern Switzerland near
Liechtenstein, with mountains surrounding a beautiful lake.
view in different light 