Geneva Mayors Forum

Geneva, Switzerland, April 13, 2012 --(PR.com)-- From April 12-13, city mayors from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe will gather in Geneva for a forum and series of workshops concentrating on the increasing importance of cities as innovators in managing global issues from climate change and growing inequalities, to migration, health and safety. Organised by Pierre Maudet, Mayor of the City of Geneva, and the Graduate Institute, the event will highlight the key role of cities in the international arena and will bring together mayors who are paving the way forward in creative ways.

The two-day invitation only event will take place on the Graduate Institute’s campus and numerous figures from international organisations and the private sector will also be present. Faculty members from the Graduate Institute will moderate the event’s workshops and panels.

The forum will be accompanied by a public conference and debate around the theme of “Cities and global governance” at 6:30pm on April 12. Pierre Maudet, Mayor of the City of Geneva, Peter Schatzer, Chief of Staff, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Rufus Yerxa, Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Winston Griffin, Vice-President, Finance & Accounting, Global Operations, Procter & Gamble (P&G), will engage in a panel, moderated by Professor Elisabeth Prügl of the Graduate Institute, to debate the challenges international entities face when working at the city level.

In addition, on April 12 at 5:30pm, to commemorate the tsunami that devastated the north of Japan one year ago, Pierre Maudet with Mitsushige Yamanaka, Mayor of Matsusaka, Japan, will plant a cherry tree on the Graduate Institute campus in the presence of Philippe Burrin, Director of the Institute and the Ambassador and Chief of the Japanese Consulate, Kenichi Saganuma.