Geneva needs a Comms Strategy
The geopolitical earthquake shaking Washington’s aid sector is rippling into Geneva.
Across Geneva’s unique ecosystem of UN agencies, IOs, and NGOs, a palpable anxiety is disrupting an already frantic work rhythm—driven by multiple overlapping crises: Gaza, HIV, Sudan, to name just a few.
Despite the growing number of emergencies, the funding crisis means that entire agencies and NGOs are at risk of disappearing—not in five years, but now.
Solidarity is out of fashion. Governments are slashing development funding, and voters largely support it.
Our sector isn’t blameless. We’ve failed to convince leaders and the public that this work isn’t just charity—it’s enlightened self-interest.
In an interdependent world, problems without passports, as Kofi Annan called them, demand cooperation.
Preaching cooperation is fine. Practising it is better. Silos and competition for funding and attention have weakened our reach, our value proposition, and our storytelling.
So this week, many of us in communications across Geneva’s multilateral scene got organised under the banner of the Coms Network.
I’m grateful to the 70+ purpose-driven communicators who showed up in person—and the 100+ who’ve joined our digital space. Welcome!
The shared appetite to collaborate and do better across fields and organisations was unmistakable. Our many Geneva-based organisations don't just need better comms strategies, Geneva, the home of cooperation and multilateralism itself, needs a comms strategy.
Our first event was funded by The Hepatitis Fund—thank you for helping us lift off!