How the Geneva Trialogue Works

The Geneva Trialogue brings together thought leaders from Academia, International Organizations and the Private Sector to shape actionable challenges that advance the cause of education for the SDGs. The theme of the 2024 edition is enhancing education with artificial intelligence has a focuses on applications of AI for the Model United Nations (MUN), a global youth network which trains nearly a million young people each year in how to organize debates on the most challenging issues of our times, modelled on how the UN debates such issues. 

This theme and focus are directly inspired by the outcomes of the last Geneva Trialogue, which took place at CERN in March 2023. One of the discussion tables was led by representatives of the UN Youth Associations, UNYA, and GIMUN, a Geneva-based MUN on “Raising the Impact of Model United Nations”. The outcomes of those discussions fed into a follow-up hackathon in June, called Hackathon Piaget, organized by UNESCO and the University of Geneva.

Results from that hackathon showed the potential for AI to transform the learning experience of MUN events. A prototype was developed based on these insights during the UN Datathon in November, by experts from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), academics from the Spanish National Research Council and University of Geneva, and two SMEs, AICrowd from Switzerland and MyMUN from Germany. The prototype was demonstrated at COP 28 in Dubai, and the result is now being integrated into the workflow for future COPs.

This chain of events would not have occurred without the initial seed of a well-formed challenge that emerged from the last Geneva Trialogue, and similarly impactful outcomes are expected from this year’s Geneva Trialogue. That’s why your organization should be at the table where innovation for education and the SDGs begins!

The Geneva Trialogue is organized by the UNITAR Division for Prosperity and the University of Geneva SDG Solution Space and will take place on Friday 31 May 2024 at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as part of the World Summit on the Information Society WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event, and in parallel with the AI for Good Summit, also taking place at ITU.

This date is the Youth Day of the WSIS+20 Forum and the Geneva Trialogue will also mark the public launch of the SDG Olympiad, a global competition that empowers students around the world to tackle environmental and health challenges related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. A special guest organizing partner of this year’s Geneva Trialogue is myMUN, a youth-led initiative that makes MUN Conferences accessible for delegates and easy to host for organizers.

To ensure discussions and outcomes are relevant to the needs of a wide range of stakeholders and continue beyond the event, organizations are invited to partner as Thought Leaders and Lead Partners. 

Thought Leaders bring a specific topic to one of the Geneva Trialogue co-creation tables, work with the organizers to invite other key stakeholders to join the discussion, and help ensure that challenges shaped during the event go on to have real-world impact. Confirmed Thought Leaders include companies and non-profits such as AICrowd, Swiss Learning Exchange and the Villars Institute.

Lead Partners are invited to speak and have prominent brand visibility at the event as well as be a Thought Leader at one of the co-creation tables, or support another organization in that role. The Direction des Affaires Internationales (DAI) of the Canton of Geneva is the first Lead Partner of the Geneva Trialogue, supporting La Fabrique de la Paix at Geneva’s Graduate Institute as Thought Leader.

The Geneva Trialogue is in-person at ITU’s Montbrillant building. Participation is by invitation only. For all enquiries, please contact  prosperity_directoroffice@unitar.org

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