GSD promotes a philosophy rooted in the School’s motto: “Serviendo Guberno – To Govern is to Serve”. At GSD, we emphasize the vital importance of translating classroom knowledge into practical action. We firmly advocate a learning philosophy centered around hands-on experience and application,believing in the power of learning by doing.
As a result, GSD created the Humanitarian Initiative Programme (HIP).
No school of diplomacy is complete without a humanitarian heart and this heart is one we aim keep beating for years to come. GSD adheres to the sustainable development goals (SDG) and uses them as a compass in its decision-making processes.
GSD’s Humanitarian Initiative Programme (HIP) has been active since 2016. The programme has supported projects all over the world, from Lesbos, Greece – bringing warm clothes and basics to migrants, to Zanzibar, Tanzania – sponsoring a water well for a community of a minimum of 500 people and ensuring local deaf children’s access to education.
The programme aims to provide our students with the opportunity to take part in real projects for real people all over the world and to provide students with a skill set for their future.
The programme operates on several levels:
In order to keep the heart of this programme beating, we need your help. Any gift, whether large or small, is of vital importance to our mission. If you have any questions regarding the HIP Programme or how to make a donation, please email info@genevadiplomacy.com.
Account’s holder: GSD HUMANITARIAN FUND (Geneva School of Diplomacy)
Address: Chemin du Pavillon 2, 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex, Geneva
Name of the bank: UBS SA
Address of the bank: 8098 ZURICH / SWITZERLAND Account#: 0228-558164.02Y Swift
BIC: UBSWCHZH80A
IBAN: CH400022822855816402Y Reference: Humanitarian Initiative Program (HIP)
GSD’s Humanitarian Initiative Programme (HIP), active since 2016. The programme has officially supported projects all over the world, from Lesbos, Greece – bringing warm clothes and basics to migrants; to Zanzibar, Tanzania – sponsoring a water well for a community of a minimum of 500 people and making sure deaf children can go to school.
The programme aims to provide our students with the opportunity to take part in real projects for real people all over the world and to provide students with a skill set for their future. No school of diplomacy is complete without a humanitarian heart and this heart is one we wish to keep beating for years to come.
1) The Academic, which offers courses of a humanitarian nature, and which includes field work and hands-on assignments. Under this umbrella also falls our scholarship programmes, such as the ‘Florian & Wolfgang Ischinger’ scholarship, which offers a refugee full scholarship to either complete or start a degree programme with us. Please click here to read the story of Melash Zeleke, who has been awarded with the Florian & Wolfgang Ischinger Scholarship’ in 2018. We also offer our students the opportunity to fulfill their internships being a volunteer. Please read the experience of one of our BA students, Ms. Viktoriia Savitska, who spent her summer helping out the Zanzibar Outreach Programme (ZOP).
2) Fundraising events, which are organised with the help of our student ambassadors and are fully funded by donations from the student body and/or outside sponsors and are a lot of fun too!
3) Services, which aim to bring immediate hands-on help to local bodies and provide material help on a punctual basis, depending on the need.
So dear people, help us keep the HIP heart beating and get involved!
Lesvos is Greece’s third biggest island and is situated in the Northern Aegean Sea, which itself lies at the easternmost fringe of the European Union. The island’s shores have been welcoming refugees for a considerable length of time and today is no exception. In fact, the island is known to have welcomed the largest number of refugees and has more recently seen the biggest population development in Europe since the second World War.
In October 2015, the European Union built up a screening and enlistment camp in Moria and was closely followed, a week later, by the opening of an enrollment site for Syrians in Kara Tepe – both ended up as refugee camps. Around 5000 refugees were arriving on Lesvos Island daily, by sea, during the peak of the crisis. It did not take a long time for the crisis to reach a state of emergency. It was at this point that the Geneva School of Diplomacy stepped in.
The Zanzibar Outreach Program [ZOP] was founded in 2006 and runs 11 major projects. Today, ZOP is one of the most respected nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) on the islands due to its ongoing and lasting commitment to the development of the island. ZOP, which relies on private local donations and collaborations with other NGOs both in Tanzania and overseas, is dedicated to improving the community’s access to health care, clean water and education. GSD currently supports the ‘ZOP Community Water Supply Program’.
Many parts of Zanzibar do not have access to clear water and without access to safe and reliable water, these remote communities drink water from precarious sources such as unprotected surface boreholes and/or rivers. ZOP Community Water Supply program is focused on providing community water units to protect the communities from waterborne diseases such as Cholera, diarrhea, typhoid fever and Bilharzia.
In 2017, one of our students, Viktoriia Sawitska, made the first visit by a GSD student to Zanzibar. Others followed in her footsteps. Read their stories here:
Shanti Bhavan is a residential school exclusively for children born into India’s lowest socioeconomic class. It provides high-quality education from pre-kindergarten through to 12th grade to help break the cycle of poverty.
GSD raised money to help several children pursue their dreams through its regular talent show ticket sales and by auctioning a painting by one of our students, thereby helping their families and generations to come.
GSD’s ‘Water for Life’ fundraiser – in support of Green Cross International’s ‘Smart Water for Green Schools’ (SWGS).
The fundraiser was attended by Director-General of the United Nations Michael Møller and several ambassadors and foreign affairs ministers.
The mission of Green Cross International is to respond to the combined challenges of security, poverty and environmental degradation to ensure a sustainable and secure future. Green Cross works to prevent and resolve conflicts arising from environmental degradation and the growing demand for increasingly scarce natural resources with a focus on addressing the global water and energy challenges. The Smart Water for Green Schools (SWGS) project, which Green Cross started in 2010 to provide access to water and sanitation for communities in need around the world, contributes to international efforts to secure safe drinking water and sanitation for every human being. SWGS addresses children’s needs first, as they are more vulnerable to waterborne diseases, but does target entire communities.
Please visit their website for more detailed information about their projects.
This project raised funds to support newly-arrived Ukrainian refugees at the Polish-Ukranian border. A group of GSD students distributed clothes and food to these refugees.
The project collaborated with the Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH). PAH is a Polish non-governmental organisation operating since 1992. Their immediate humanitarian response to a crisis is their main priority, but equally important is seeking long-term solutions and preventing further catastrophes.
