12-13 June, Plaine de Plainpalais – 11.30-20.00, 13 June: 10.00-19.00
Geneva’s sustainable development fair
Sofie H. Flensborg, UNEP
For colleagues familiar the with UN’s efforts to promote sustainable
development around the world, Geneva’s upcoming Sustainable Development
Fair will offer an opportunity to explore how we can each put this concept
into practice in our own daily lives right here in Switzerland.
The Fair will be held for the third year running at the Plaine de Plainpalais during the weekend of 12-13 June. Conceived through a partnership between the Canton and the Town of Geneva and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), it will feature more than 50 institutions, associations and enterprises whose stands and presentations will explore all aspects of the sustainable development challenge.
The Fair’s main objective is to inform and sensitise the population of the Geneva area. Consider: if each individual on the globe consumed as much as an average person living in Switzerland does, it would take no less than three planets to fulfil these demands. The Fair will present many practical solutions to our environmentally unsustainable lifestyles, from choosing fluorescent bulbs to reducing our production of household waste and recycling the remainder to consuming fresh locally grown food.
Three big tents will host dozens of stands set up by the participating organizations. The stands will explore specific ways in which individuals, local communities, enterprises and organizations can contribute to sustainable development. Thus, it will be possible to meet a Geneva wine-maker who relies on solar energy and rainwater harvesting, to learn about how one municipality promotes citizen participation in the preparation of its local Agenda 21, and to explore how to ensure greater road safety for children with the help of “soft mobility”.
All around the tents, original performances, various animations for children and adults, free concerts and food stands with organic and exotic foods will invite you to relax and spend an enjoyable moment. Worth highlighting are Saturday evening’s concert by Gnawa Diffusion (inspired by the songs of the former black slaves in the southern Maghreb, or Gnawa) and Sunday’s salsa concert by Cuba’s Ambos Mundos.
On Saturday at 14.00, Geneva State Council President Robert Cramer will announce the winners of the Cantonal Grant and Prize for Sustainable Development. Visitors can also participate in public discussions in one of the roundtables being organized during the two days in the Forum area; one of these will feature the Mayor of Geneva, Mr Christian Ferrazino. Finally, there will be plenty of opportunities for the youngest generation to have a good time while participating in the construction of a giant plastic man, playing giant music instruments or enjoy a piece of theatre.