Our fundraising campaign

The Institute is currently involved in a fundraising campaign to garner support for its institutional development projects. The objective of this campaign, as announced at the March 2008 session of the Foundation Board, is to raise 50 million Swiss francs by 2012. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of a dynamic team and the support of our Patronage Committee, this objective will be achieved earlier than originally foreseen.

Why are we involved in this campaign? The Institute aims to become a centre of excellence and one of the foremost institutions in its chosen field. If it is to fulfil this ambition, it will need to recruit the most talented professors and students, develop research programmes commensurate with the expertise required in a world faced with major challenges, and position the Institute as an intellectual crossroads where together visitors from all over the world will contribute towards enriching one another’s experiences.

This also means that the Institute needs to equip itself with buildings and infrastructure commensurate with its future ambitions. This is the raison d’être of our “Campus de la Paix” project. Stretching from the Place des Nations to the banks of the lake, this campus will include new buildings, whose design is inspired by sustainable development needs, and historical villas, which will be renovated over the next few years. This will allow us to attract the best minds and nurture expertise from all over the world.  

Early results of our campaign are most encouraging and bear witness to the high level of faith that has been placed in the development of the Institute. These results are evidence of a widespread belief that the Institute represents an opportunity for Geneva and Switzerland, and that it can and must contribute towards solving the challenges of tomorrow. Today, after the patrons, we are going to focus our efforts on several foundations and corporations. We will also focus our efforts on galvanising members of our alumni community and friends throughout the world, whose support, both moral and financial, big or small, is very important to us (see following pages). We appeal to all of you to help us continue along our chosen path.

Philippe Burrin, director