Political and Economic Globality in a World in Transition

Title: 

Political and Economic Globality in a World in Transition  

Speakers Name: 

Dr. Ismaïl Serageldin, former Vice-President of World Bank

Dr. David A. Chikvaidze, Chief de Cabinet of the Director-General United Nations Office at Geneva  

Location: 

Château d'Aïre

Campus SWISS UMEF UNIVERSITY

185-187 Route d'Aïre 

1219 Aïre, Geneva, CH    

About the Speaker:

Ismail Serageldin, Founding Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), the new Library of Alexandria, inaugurated in 2002, is currently, Emeritus Librarian, and member of the Board of Trustees of the Library of Alexandria.  He serves as Chair and Member of a number of advisory committees for academic, research, scientific and international institutions, including as co-Chair of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC), and serves as Patron of the International Science Council (ISC).

He has held many international positions including as Vice President of the World Bank (1993–2000). He also co-chaired the African Union’s high level panel for Biotechnology (2006) and again for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in 2012-2013, and was a member of the ICANN Panel for the review of the internet future (2013).

Dr. Serageldin has received many awards including: First recipient of Grameen Foundation (USA) Award for a lifetime commitment to combating poverty, (1999); Pablo Neruda Medal of Honor, awarded by the Government of Chile (2004); The Bajaj Award for promoting Ghandian values outside India (2006); Order of the Rising Sun – Gold and Silver Star awarded by the Emperor of Japan (2008); Champion of Youth Award by the World Youth Congress, Quebec (2008); Knight of the French Legion of Honor awarded by the President of France (2008); Africa Millennium Excellence Award for Lifetime Achievement Prize, Ghana (2010); The Public Welfare Medal, by the National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC (2011); Commander of the Order of Arts & Letters awarded by the government of France (2011);   and the presidential medals from the republics of Azerbaijan (2015), Montenegro (2016); Albania (2017) and Macedonia (2019).

He has lectured widely all over the world including delivering the Mandela Lecture (Johannesburg, 2011), the Nexus Lecture (Netherlands, 2011), the Keynote Address to the First International Summit of the Book (Washington DC, 2012). He was distinguished professor at Wageningen University and at the College de France.

He has published over 100 books and monographs and over 500 papers on a variety of topics including biotechnology, rural development, sustainability, and the value of science to society. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Cairo University and Master’s degree and a PhD from Harvard University and has received 40 honorary doctorates. 

source http://www.serageldin.com/Home/Page.aspx?id=21

Chef de Cabinet, Office of the Director-General

David A. Chikvaidze is Chef de Cabinet to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG). He occupied this position before, from 2006 to 2011.

Mr. Chikvaidze has worked for over thirty-four years in the foreign service, in government and in the international civil service. In 2011-2013, he was Director of the UN Library at Geneva and Chairman of the UNOG Cultural Activities Committee. In 2003-2005, D. Chikvaidze was Senior Adviser to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Chief of the Communications and NGO Partnerships Section in Geneva, as well as spokesman for the 61st session of the Commission on Human Rights, and Human Rights Treaty Bodies.

He has performed tasks additional to his line duties, including: substantive support to three Directors-General in their function as Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament and Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General to the Conference; substantive support to the Director-General in his capacity as Acting Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe.

Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr. Chikvaidze served as deputy Chief of Office and scheduler for President Gorbachev and as presidential protocol officer for President Yeltsin. A diplomat by training, he spent five years in Washington, D.C. (1985-1990), where, as special assistant to the Soviet Ambassador and Chief of Protocol of the Embassy, he worked with the White House, the Department of State, and other Executive Departments, on US-Soviet Summits and Ministerial meetings.

Mr. Chikvaidze holds a Ph.D. (1984) in political science. He is vice president of the Swiss Forum for International Affairs (first non-Swiss); vice president of the Geneva Diplomatic Club; Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science; member of Rotary International and founding member of the Georgian Association of Switzerland and of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation. He was Adviser to the Georgian Association of the USA (until 2003).

Born in Tbilisi, he is a citizen of Georgia. He is married and has one son and three grandsons.

Source: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/director-general/senior-management-team