This content was published on
August 5, 2026 – 15:00
Dear reader,
it is still summer holiday season in Switzerland which means not much is happening. Many journalists – including me – take the opportunity to do some research, look at neglected topics or send out inquiries.
But we still have something new to announce: my colleague Dorian Burkhalter will join me in writing this newsletter. Dorian and I will take turns writing every week – he will share his insights from Geneva and I will continue to do the same from Bern.
Swissinfo is headquartered in Bern but also has an office in the Palais des Nations, the UN headquarters in Geneva. We are one of the very few Swiss media still holding on to an office there. Over the years, the presence of European media in Geneva has gradually declined.
This has to do with the media funding crisis. But also with the crisis of multilateralism. Dorian and the other colleagues on the ground are constantly writing about the challenges that International Geneva has faced in recent years. Here in the newsletter we will offer a behind-the-scenes look at what is happening in Geneva and provide anecdotes from the International Geneva bubble.
We have decided to expand the newsletter’s footprint to Geneva because we are at a critical time for the UN, multilateralism and international organisations in general. Shedding light on this is an obvious task for an international media outlet based in Switzerland. In addition, the local authorities are mobilising large financial and diplomatic resources to maintain the position of International Geneva.
Small countries like Switzerland are dependent on universally applicable, internationally observed rules. The fact that Bern and Geneva are so close – just two hours by train – has always been an advantage for Switzerland. Let’s see how this closeness will develop.
In any case, Bern and Geneva will move closer together in this newsletter.
Are there specific topics that interest you – and that you want us to explore? As always, you can write to me on giannis.mavris@swissinfo.ch
Best regards,
Giannis Mavris
P.S. If you find the newsletter useful, please feel free to forward it to others – you can subscribe here.
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