Expatriates, whose spouses, partners or families, have come to the Lake Geneva Region for a job or other reasons, are often frustrated because they cannot find work or are unsure what to do. Both Switzerland and France, however, offer exceptional opportunities for further education and advance degrees, some of them top-level institutions with courses in English. Public universities, such as Geneva and Lausanne , are relatively inexpensive – 500 CHF a semester – while others, Webster University in Bellevue, IMD (recently ranked by The Economist as the world's leading business school) in Ouchy command similar tuition fees to their counterparts in the United States. The Graduate Institute of Geneva costs between 1,500 and 2,500 CHF per term depending on whether you are a resident or not at the time of application. Geneva also hosts regular tutorial and holiday sessions for Britain’s top-rated Open University, which now has a significant following in the area. One of our New York-based colleagues, Susan Adams, wrote this piece for Forbes.com exploring some of the options available for those considering going "back to school."
Who says that nothing ever happens in the Lake Geneva region? With the farmers’ revolt in Switzerland over unfair milk prices, French cows were putting in their bit to draw attention. This past weekend, while driving just before midnight in the Pays de Gex, your bovine correspondent encountered a herd of French heifers marching at a slow amble along the route departmentale between the villages of Bretigny and Segny. Either they were demonstrating in support of their Swiss sisters across the border, or they had broken loose from their paddock. Local sources believe it may have been the latter.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Europalia has embarked on a gargantuan task: welcoming giant China to Lilliputian Belgium.Beijing covers a geographic space that is roughly half the size of Belgium, and its city limits encompass about 14 million people.The entire population of Belgium is only 10 million. The official line from Belgium at the opening ceremony on October 8, 2009, emphasized Europalia's benefit for Belgium's economy,interests, and future. In contrast, Chinese vice-president, Xi Jinping, focused on the cultural platform that Europalia is givingChina in Europe.450 events, 50 exhibitions and 1,000 artists are focusing on four themes:Perennial China,Contemporary China, Colorful China, and China and the World.Visual arts, music, theater, cinema,dance and literature will blanket all Belgium until Chinese New Year's next February 14.
The business sector, particularly banks and companies in the Lake Geneva Region, can be more involved in financing the work of the social sector. Essential Edge contributor Arthur R. Wood, who has recently moved to the area, makes his case through the sanitation issue, a difficult one to put across but one which affects us all, whether in Europe, Africa, Asia or elsewhere. An estimated 1.8 million people, 90% of them children, die from rom poor sanitation every year. He also shares the plans of Ashoka , a global association for leading social entrepreneurs, for paving the way for more collaboration with the business sector for for dealing with some of the world's most urgent problems.
The decision by the 63rd UN General Assembly on 11 September to request and authorize the creation of a UN agency for women got lost in the other big news stories last month, including the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh and the High Level Summit on Climate Change being convened by Ban Ki-moon. But if handled adroitly, the new organization could have a big and profound impact, writes Essential Edge contributor Michael Keating, director of the Africa Progress Panel Foundation of former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in Geneva.
KABUL & GENEVA -- Ever since the collapse of the Taliban regime in the fall of 2001, Afghanistan's over-$20 billion recovery effort has been undermined by worsening security, corruption and mixed agendas by the international community. This, however, hasn't prevented a growing number of Afghan entrepreneurs from investing in ways that could be among the most effective tools for bringing peace to their country.
One of these is Hassina Syed, an outspoken 30-year-old former refugee and mother of two. Despite numerous obstacles, including threats by warlords, government officials and rival male interests who deeply resent a female in their presence, Hassina now ranks as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Afghanistan. Essential Edge co-editor Edward Girardet
recently interviewed Syed in Kabul for ForbesWoman, where they
discussed what it's like to be a female entrepreneur in a highly
traditional and male-dominated society.
Over the past few months, the French-based expat satellite company Bigdish Sat has exhibited at trade fairs in southwestern France where the writer is based. Here John Sidwell explains what he tries to show customers so that they can better understand how satellite television operates. Many of us do not, so here are some useful insights.
Too many decisions about what to do in Afghanistan are based on wishful thinking or a failure to connect with the realities on the ground. As history, including the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, has shown again and again, there are no military solutions. Nor is simply pouring in more aid going to make a difference, particularly if implemented by internationals with little or no understanding of the country's people and culture. If recovery is to succeed, the international community needs to wind-down drastically its top-heavy and costly presence plus place more emphasis on Afghans themselves. It also needs to adopt a clearly stated longterm commitment over at least two decades if Afghans - and the insurgents - are to take the West seriously. Finally, the international community needs to focus more on non-military initiatives, notably informed development and private investment, aimed at the countryside where nearly 80 percent of Afghans live.
Writing in his Coward in Kabul column on The Essential Edge, Edward Girardet, who has covered Afghanistan for 30 years, recently returned to see what experienced aid representatives, diplomats, journalists and others who have worked in Afghanistan since the 1980s, 90s and 2000s think has gone wrong, and what they believe needs to be done to make it right. This piece first appeared on Opednews.com
Expatriates, whose spouses, partners or families, have come to the Lake Geneva Region for a job or other reasons, are often frustrated because they cannot find work or are unsure what to do. Both Switzerland and France, however, offer exceptional opportunities for further education and advance degrees, some of them top-level institutions with courses in English. Public universities, such as 
The business sector, particularly banks and companies in the Lake Geneva Region, can be more involved in financing the work of the social sector. Essential Edge contributor Arthur R. Wood, who has recently moved to the area, makes his case through the sanitation issue, a difficult one to put across but one which affects us all, whether in Europe, Africa, Asia or elsewhere. An estimated 1.8 million people, 90% of them children, die from rom poor sanitation every year. He also shares the plans of 
KABUL & GENEVA -- Ever since the collapse of the Taliban regime in the fall of 2001, Afghanistan's over-$20 billion recovery effort has been undermined by worsening security, corruption and mixed agendas by the international community. This, however, hasn't prevented a growing number of Afghan entrepreneurs from investing in ways that could be among the most effective tools for bringing peace to their country.
One of these is Hassina Syed, an outspoken 30-year-old former refugee and mother of two. Despite numerous obstacles, including threats by warlords, government officials and rival male interests who deeply resent a female in their presence, Hassina now ranks as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Afghanistan. Essential Edge co-editor Edward Girardet
recently interviewed Syed in Kabul for ForbesWoman, where they
discussed what it's like to be a female entrepreneur in a highly
traditional and male-dominated society.
Over the past few months, the French-based expat satellite company 
Too many decisions about what to do in Afghanistan are based on wishful thinking or a failure to connect with the realities on the ground. As history, including the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, has shown again and again, there are no military solutions. Nor is simply pouring in more aid going to make a difference, particularly if implemented by internationals with little or no understanding of the country's people and culture. If recovery is to succeed, the international community needs to wind-down drastically its top-heavy and costly presence plus place more emphasis on Afghans themselves. It also needs to adopt a clearly stated longterm commitment over at least two decades if Afghans - and the insurgents - are to take the West seriously. Finally, the international community needs to focus more on non-military initiatives, notably informed development and private investment, aimed at the countryside where nearly 80 percent of Afghans live.
