International Geneva took part in the vibrant Alternatiba Léman festival over the weekend of 18 September, giving visitors of all ages a rare chance to learn about global environmental issues they may not normally be familiar with.

Some 35 000 people attended the Alternatiba event, which took place around Plainpalais in Geneva and saw some 250 companies and associations highlight various local climate initiatives taking place in the region.

The Geneva Environment Network (GEN) secretariat coordinated the International Geneva stand at the festival and represented over one hundred organisations, including local NGOs and non-profits.

The stand included a variety of publications on climate change and sustainable development, as well as more specific issues such as water scarcity, climate displacement and the poaching of endangered species. This diversity allowed for passers-by to truly explore their topics of interest as well as learn about new areas of interest.

GEN also organised a roundtable discussion on climate migrations and displacements at the Maison Internationale des Associations – one of the 100 conferences taking place during the festival.

The panel was moderated by GEN’s Diana Rizzolio and included Mariam Traore Chazanoel from the International Organisation for Migration; Alexandra Bilak, Head of Policy and Research at the IDMC; Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions and former Minister of Environment of Seychelles and Ousmane Dianor, Directeur of the Association for Access to Education and Training and member of Geneva Federation for Cooperation and Development. A full summary of the event can be read here.

International Geneva furthermore organised a children’s table which included comic books on the ozone layer for younger children and an interactive CD for older ones. The children also produced drawings of how they saw climate change, which will be used in upcoming UN conferences to show how they will be the ones paying the price for damage to the planet we don’t remedy today.

For more information click here
or contact diana.rizzolio@unep.org.