What was your first contact with Open Geneva?

"The first contact between UNITAR and Open Geneva was made through Thomas Maillart, who at that time supervised a Master’s student, Afroditi Anastasaki, who ended up working with UNITAR. Thomas has been a great partner to help us understand how to approach new audiences through hackathons. Through Open Geneva we have also connected to many new partners in the cantons of Geneva and Vaud."

What were your institutional and/or personal motivations to start your collaboration with Open Geneva?

"There are many reasons why we at UNITAR decided to start collaborating with Open Geneva. Based on trust and belief that we need to try out new approaches, we started collaborating with Open Geneva in the practice of open innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs provide a comprehensive and universal framework for sustainable development, and innovative thinking is critical to achieving them. Open innovation can help us tap into new ideas and perspectives from a wide range of people and organizations. It also allows us to work more efficiently by sharing resources and knowledge. We believe that our collaboration with Open Geneva will help us achieve the SDGs faster and more effectively."

How would you describe the partnership between UNITAR and Open Geneva?

"The partnership between UNITAR and Open Geneva has opened up new possibilities for research & development of training activities. Our joined activities have focused on a diverse set of topics, for example inclusiveness and disabilities in the Asian contact or combating modern slavery. The partnership has also created new opportunities for training, capacity building and knowledge sharing on these topics. We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with Open Geneva and learning more about their work in the future."