The Geneva Graduate Institute is immensely privileged by its proximity to some of the key institutions of global governance. Being based at the IHEID, we at the Geneva Trade Platform consider it our duty to give back by providing as many opportunities as we can for students to engage with, participate and be part of the rich ecosystem of missions, international organizations, private sector thought leaders and NGOs that make up our community. From events delivery to report writing and up on the main stage of the World Trade Organization during the Public Forum, students have made invaluable contributions to our work, and gained experiences, connections and exposure we know they’ll find useful.
Our experience relying on the excellence of IHEID students goes all the way back to our inception in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic upended or imperiled much of what we had previously taken for granted - as simply gathering together became a logistical nightmare and a medical risk. Things were so dire that the WTO Public Forum, trade’s flagship annual gathering, was cancelled - leaving a significant void. The Geneva Trade Platform launched Geneva Trade Week (GTW) to try to salvage some of that human connection at a time when multilateralism was under strain, travel and in-person diplomacy were on hold, and the trade community faced an urgent need for connection. A gigantic endeavor, the first Geneva Trade Week consisted of over 70 online and hybrid sessions over a week, with sometimes as many as four running in tandem.
Our small team of three staff could simply not have delivered without the invaluable assistance of a coterie of students. At a time when no one yet knew how webinars worked and with the world in chaos, over a dozen brilliant IHEID students worked tirelessly in shifts to deliver an event ultimately watched by more than 10,000 people.
Five years later, both the Platform and Geneva Trade Week continue to rely on talented students from the Graduate Institute, and increasingly look for opportunities to put them in front of the camera as well as behind it. Our partnership with the Geneva Debate put IHEID students on the podium in front of hundreds of delegates and policymakers at the WTO Public Forum. Successive policy Hackathons have seen IHEID teams collaborate, innovate present (and win), most recently by developing proposals for concrete actions on food security at an event judged by five Ambassadors and keynoted by the WTO Director-General. At GTP organized speeches by Ministers like the USTR and the New Zealand Trade Minister, students helped deliver the event and spent time engaging directly with these leaders for candid conversations thereafter.
Geneva debate 2024
At the most recent WTO Public Forum, a team of student rapporteurs served as the eyes and ears of those who couldn’t make it to Geneva, selecting and attending sessions at the Public Forum and reporting the key takeaways and outcomes. More often than not conference attendees wish to attend 2-3 sessions which may be happening at the same time. The rapporteurs at the Public Forum provided timely and concise write ups of the sessions they attended in the form of LinkedIn articles. These pieces which recorded a high number of impressions on LinkedIn also served as a reminder of the outstanding capabilities of the future young trade leaders.
WTO-GTP-CropLife International student Agrifood policy hackathon final round at WTO
These and other efforts are just a sampling of how the Geneva Trade Platform seeks to serve as a living classroom for IHEID’s future leaders of multilateralism. Each new student cohort brings curiosity, critique, and creativity—qualities that have renewed perspectives on the dwindling momentum of multilateral cooperation in today’s geopolitics. We look forward to continuing to be inspired by the energy, passion and creativity of IHEID students and are open to any ideas, big and small, for how we can open doors and provide opportunities.
Join the Geneva Trade Platform's Beyond Trade Network and become part of our student pool to engage in interactive online sessions, connect with our community and stay up to date with any upcoming events.
Geneva Trade Week 2025 team with student rapporteurs