Three Regions, Three Languages, and Three Weeks in Geneva:   In January, Executive Education welcomed 36 participants from across 3 Regions, a group of current participants in the Executive Master in Development Policies and Practices (DPP).  The three cohorts, which includes representation from about 25 countries in total, come from Latin America, Francophone Africa and Central Asia.  They completed the first phases of the Executive Master through modular studies in DPP regional (partner) hubs in Peru, Burkina Faso, and Kazakhstan, respectively, and arrived in Switzerland for the final module of their degree.

Delivered at the Institute's lakeside Villa Barton location in Geneva, this 3-week module will run as a "tri-lingual" module, with simultaneous translation between French, English and Spanish--making it more accessible, due to the unique learning model of the DPP.  The Geneva module includes substantive training on development themes, exposure to actors from across International Geneva, and cross-training, where participants learn from each other (from across regions) about best practices. 

Since the programme is formatted for working professionals in-region (in the field), participants have already begun to apply learning at work, through professional research projects on behalf of their employers (or chosen organisations) during the previous modules "in-region".  The range of expertise among the participants is nearly as diverse as the group itself--including fields such as humanitarian action, healthcare and development, gender and human rights, rural development, education policy, and international cooperation--just to name a few. 

At the end of the degree, all of the professional research projects are published in an online directory (by regions and by themes), which becomes an ongoing resource for all alumni of the programme.

A Culture Night allowed participants from each region to share and exchange insights from their home cultures, as the three groups become one larger cohort (see photos, below).

Citizenships of represented in the module include (in no particular order): 

The cohort that began in Francophone Africa included:  Burundi, Bénin, Mali, Haïti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Switzerland, and Burkina Faso

From the cohort that began in Latin America:  El Salvador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Honduras, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Switzerland

From the cohort that began in Central Asia:  Tadjikistan, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan, also joined by a participant from Ukraine.
 

The Executive Master in Development Policies and Practices also includes cohorts in Southeast Asia, Anglophone Africa and a customised cohort in Afghanistan for its Ministry of Finance.  Participants from those cohorts will have a parallel experience in February 2015 in Geneva.

The programme operates with the significant and generous support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Canton of Geneva, Avina Foundation and other private foundations.
 

Applications are open through 31 March for the 2015-16 cohorts, which begin in their respective regions in late July/early August.

For more information (or to apply), visit the Executive Master DPP website, which also has direct links for French and Spanish versions of the website.