What our faculty say about GSD
Please meet some of our faculty members and read what they say about GSD:
H.E. Mr. Yuri Nazarkin, former Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament, former Head of the Soviet and Russian Delegation to the Negotiations on Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START). His thoughts about teaching at GSD: ‘Providing deep academic knowledge, GSD supports it with giving basic understanding of practical aspects of diplomacy and international relations. It is a university with students from various countries of the globe. I had in my groups, students from European, African, Latin American, Asian, Eastern and others countries. The mixture of various civilizations creates a valuable possibility for them to associate and interact with people of different cultures, types of mentality, etc. To my mind, this is very important for everybody who wants to work in the field of international relations’.
Ambassador Benoit Girardin: Throughout his professional career and extended postings, he could feel and understand first-hand political cultures of countries from Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and Indian Ocean as well as political agency of post-communist, developing or fragile countries. Teaching graduate students, working five years in a slum upgrading project, partnered by international organisations as well as NGOs, representing his country Switzerland as ambassador, he is pleased to share such an inspiring wealth of contacts, arguments, cooperation and negotiation. His thoughts about teaching at GSD: ‘The cultural diversity of GSD students as well as the variety of their intellectual background is the most challenging and I do enjoy taking stock of Western, Asian, Islamic as well as African political philosophies to address the challenge. I feel encouraged by their interest in philosophical elaboration and debates about IR related political issues’.
Professor Eduardo Missoni. Now professor at several universities, he previously was an Advisor to the Directorate General for Development Cooperation in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and acted as the liaison officer with WHO and PAHO, represented Italy individually or participating in wider delegations at international meetings. Earlier on, he was a UNICEF officer in Mexico and a medical volunteer in Nicaragua. His thoughts about GSD: ‘It is not very common that diplomatic and international relations courses offer insights into governance and managerial issues, which instead are strictly related with the capacity of the international system to deliver. Similarly, although health represents an essential component of human development and population’s health is possibly the single most powerful indicator of a society’s advancement and well-being, the importance of health-related policies, actors and processes in the global development arena is seldom highlighted, or included in diplomatic studies. It has been exciting to contribute to GSD’s pioneering experience in these interrelated fields that constitute the core of my teaching’.
H.E. Dr. Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua, Judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (The Hague), former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Professor for International Law at the Geneva School of Diplomacy. His thoughts and experience as a teacher at our school: “GSD seeks to provide the world with world-class professionals in the field of International Relations. For years, it has been a pleasure for me to teach Public International Law and International Criminal Law at the GSD for understandable reasons. First, it is a place where I can meet colleagues and students from various parts of the world and where I can contribute to train students through both theoretical and practical approaches, in order to better prepare them for their professional life. Moreover, as a former Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, I enjoy sharing my experience, especially with younger generations, in order to produce university graduates with the best diplomatic skills. Finally, as a professional lawyer and judge of international criminal tribunals, apart from the legal training I can offer to my students, I enjoy transmitting to them my strong humanitarian commitment. Thus, with my students of various backgrounds and who come from all over the world with their respective experiences, we can try together to bring our contribution to build a lovely and safer world. Geneva is one of the best places in the world for such an endeavor.”
Mr. Stefan Ziegler has over 10 years of experience in the fields of research and advocacy related to humanitarian action. He currently works as the project manager for the Barrier Monitoring Unit, a research team for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in the West Bank. He has experience working in all levels of planning from Operations Support Officer for the U.N. to Strategic Planning Associate at the Irish Peace Institute. His years working for the ICRC have given him the opportunity to work with partners in promoting advocacy campaigns and to fundraise for projects no longer in the limelight. Mr. Ziegler about his experience at GSD: “It is this intimate learning environment which is most dear to me, it allows everybody, including me, to learn from each other.”
