On Thursday 26 September, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies officially launched the new academic year with an opening lecture by Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General and Institute alumnus.

The lecture, on Africa’s booming mining industry, equity and development, was the first public event at the Institute’s new state-of-the-art campus in the Maison de la paix, just a few steps away from the UN’s Geneva headquarters.

In his speech, Kofi Annan also added some personal comments on his time at the Institute in the 1960s. “We, all of us here in this room and in Geneva, should be proud of Geneva’s Graduate Institute.” He added that the Institute has become an impressive intellectual hub for international law, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance.

The event drew an enormous crowd, including senior officials from the Geneva and Swiss governments, diplomats, staff from the UN international organisations and NGOs, and of course many hundreds of students, professors and staff from the Institute.

The event took place in the newly opened Ivan Pictet auditorium, with more than 800 people in attendance, while the conference was also broadcast to other parts of the Institute.

Charles Beer, President of the Geneva State Council and Mauro Dell’Ambrogio, Swiss State Secretary of Education, Research and Innovation, also spoke of the new campus opening, along with Jacques Forster, Chairman of the Institute’s Foundation Board and Director Philippe Burrin.

The opening of new campus is a milestone in the Graduate Institute’s long history. The Institute, previously housed in many buildings in Geneva, now brings together under one roof all students and staff, a beautiful library, and seven research centres focusing on finance, environment, trade, health, migration, governance, peacebuilding and gender.

More on Kofi Annan, the opening lecture of the academic year and the Maison de la paix is available at graduateinstitute.ch/kofiannan