Welcome to EssentialGeneva.com | EssentialGeneva.com

Jokhar Tsanaev and the Boston Marathon
The following piece was contributed by Montana-based journalist and writer, Thomas Goltz, a Caucasus and Central Asian region specialist, and contributing editor to The Essential Edge. It offers some exceptional background and insight as to who the Chechens are and what might have motivated the Boston Marathon bombers. Livingston, Montana, April 20, 2013 -- When a local newspaper here in Montana called for my views on a 19 year-old wrestler named Jokhar Tsarnaev with the confusing pedigree of being a Chechen from Dagestan who was born in Kyrgyzstan who had also spent some time in Moscow, and

Paris to the Pyrenees: A Skeptic Pilgrim Walks the Way of Saint James. By David Downie
Travel-writing legend Jan Morris called David Downie's 2011 collection of essays about Paris "Perhaps the most evocative American book about Paris since A Moveable Feast." Now Downie with his wife, photographer Alison Harris, has journeyed beyond the Ci

Chinese Film Festival at the Palais des Nations
An exhibition of 108 years of Chinese cinema posters is currently on display at the UN's Palais des Nations, highlighting a 5-day film festival offered by China’s mission to the UN in honor of China's national Language Day. Start

KOFI ANNAN - A Spokesperson's Memoir
Kofi Annan was regarded by many of his colleagues and peers as one of the greatest secretary generals at the United Nations since Dag Hammerskjold. After a last ditch trip Baghdad in a vain attempt to prevent the war in Iraq, the exhausted but indefatiga

The 2013 edition of the International Oriental Film Festival in Geneva
The 2013 edition of the International Oriental Film Festival in Geneva (FIFOG) will be held April 12-21 at Grütli cinemas in Geneva, and in Versoix, Lausanne, and the French-Swiss border region. The festival selection includes over 100 films produced in

Corruption Chronicles Involving French Mayors
Foreigners living in France, paticularly from more transparent countries such as Germany or the Netherlands, are often horrified by how much leeway French mayors have in deciding who gets which contracts or which planning gets shoved through without prope

Children’s Eyes on Earth
A Letter from Reza - Profession Photographe (and Humanist) on the Children's Eyes on Earth photo contest. At age of 14, I received my first camera. It was a gift from my uncle. I would often run my eyes over everyhting around me, seeking to visually free

Heavyweights Go Toe-to-Toe in Cyprus
The following comment was written by E. Wayne Merry and published by US News. The financial crisis in Cyprus is, among other things, a stress test in relations between Europe and Russia. Thus far, neither has performed very well. Relations between Washi

??Move??

Movers & Shakers

??Top Headline??

??Other Headlines??

Geneva - When Newsweek stopped publishing its print edition last December after 80 years of production, it basically abandoned its two million readers, maintains Patrick de St Exupery, editor of the French print-only magazines, XXI and Six Mois. "Rather than seeking to adapt to what its audiences really want, the publishers decided to impose digital format. It's...

As part of Webster University’s annual initiative, the Psychology and Counseling Lecture Series 2011, it will hold a special address: The relevance of HIV/AIDS counselling in an age of biomedical miracles on Tuesday, February 22nd. by Dr. David Miller, one of the world’s leading specialists on HIV/AIDS counselling. Read More...

Geneva -- Nicolas Hayek, who died of heart failure at the age of 82 on June 28, is generally credited with saving the Swiss Watch industry. To anyone who knows the business, that is something of an understatement.

??Move??

Peripatetic Epicurean

??Top Headline??

??Other Headlines??

The Lake Geneva region is not known for great cuisine. To be fair, compared to the 1990s when Chinese, Indian or Ethiopian restaurants were about as rare as the European Lynx (slowly making a comeback), you've got a greater choice today, but most of it lacks inspiration. Want to spend CHF 25 for a bowl of spaghetti with a bit of butter, an enemic slice of pizza, or a half dozen lake perch...

Anyone staying in any of the hotels near the United Nations in Geneva is always stuck for a congenial place to go for a drink (maybe a nice wine) or dinner with friends and colleagues. You want the food to be good, but not outrageously expensive. When one of our friends staying, as with many of the international aid crowd, at the Hotel Mon Repos called to meet for a Saturday evening drink, we scouted...

As with many of us living in the Lake Geneva region, finding a decent but affordable restaurant where they take cuisine seriously is a challenge. Many of the Swiss-side restaurants are often mediocre with steep prices and quite frankly, not worth what you pay. It is always a pleasure - albeit an all too rare one - to find a place that you can rave about as "good to excellent" and that will not destroy...

??Move??

The Plaindealer

??Top Headline??

??Other Headlines??

This blog was first posted on the Peace and Conflict Development Network (PCDN) site with useful hints on how to operate abroad. A little over a year ago, I was frantically packing all my belongings into a storage unit in SE DC, preparing to spend a year in Nigeria on a Boren Fellowship to study Yoruba...

(Art for Peace graphic/PCDN). For anyone - UN or NGO aid worker, policy analyst, researcher, journalist, donor, private sector - serious about being effective, the Peace and Collaborative Development Network (PCDN) is more than just an information tool. It is a resource site that has come a far way to bringing together different groups and...

The Rio+20 sustainability summit may be looking more and more like a big bust but greenies have not given up on it yet.

??Move??

Rhythm & Cool

??Top Headline??

??Other Headlines??

Travel-writing legend Jan Morris called David Downie's 2011 collection of essays about Paris "Perhaps the most evocative American book about Paris since A Moveable Feast." Now Downie with his wife, photographer Alison Harris, has journeyed beyond the City of...

Kofi Annan was regarded by many of his colleagues and peers as one of the greatest secretary generals at the United Nations since Dag Hammerskjold. After a last ditch trip Baghdad in a vain attempt to prevent the war in Iraq, the exhausted but indefatigable secretary...

A Letter from Reza - Profession Photographe (and Humanist) on the Children's Eyes on Earth photo contest.
At age of 14, I received my first camera. It was a gift...

??Move??

Kids

??Top Headline??

??Other Headlines??

Not sure what to do with the kids over Easter? The Lake Geneva Regional Tourism Office is highlighting a number of places which are organizing special Easter Egg hunts for children.

The Lake Geneva Region has an excellent reputation for private and state schools with an international emphasis. Nevertheless, there are both advantages and disadvantages with what they have to offer. There are well over 100 private pre-school, primary and secondary schools plus local or regional public institutions on both sides of the Swiss and French frontier. They welcome children and pupils from...