How did you hear about the Open Geneva?

"For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about building bridges between cultures and disciplines, about exploring new worlds, whether geographical or intellectual, and about creative and inclusive resolution of conflicts between people as well as those between humankind and the environment on which it depends. I have had the extraordinary privilege of cultivating and developing this fervent enthusiasm over the years, particularly in the service of the Res Publica, at the international, national and now regional levels.

Because the power of action requires asking the right questions upstream and since collective intelligence and open innovation in the service of the common good are generally most promising and impactful, the potential of collaborations with the once young Open Geneva Association seemed immediately obvious to me. As a whole series of high-impact ecosystem initiatives were launched in Geneva, these intuitions were superbly materialized. The result is a new Esprit de Genève of Innovation, and its echo now goes far beyond the perimeter of the City of Calvin, Rousseau and Dunant."

What were your professional and/or personal motivations to collaborate with the association for the implementation of the 1st Sustainable Finance Hack?

"Aligning finance and sustainability, making finance a lever for the generation of positive externalities and positioning Geneva and Switzerland as forward-looking ecosystems in terms of generating high-impact solutions for the planet and humanity; these were some of the main goals when the Building Bridges Movement was initiated, following the arrival in Geneva of the Global Network of Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S). Co-constructing between actors from the private sector, civil society and governance, whether regional, national or global, was an imperative in this context. This was an immense opportunity to break out of silos and embrace a more holistic approach.

Such a dynamic also required a rethinking of the ways of operating and creating value. To create a link between all the actors involved, so that the bridge created can allow to talk the walk and especially to walk the talk! The partnership with Open Geneva was in this context one of the highlights of the Building Bridges week. Taking part, with actors from all the stakeholders involved in this Movement, in this innovation sprint around very concrete challenges to accelerate the transition towards regenerative finance, was a revelation for all the people involved."

What is your personal point of view on the development of the hackathon and more widely of the association since the 1st edition in 2019?

"In a rapidly changing world facing many systemic risks, collaboration and coopetition are no longer "nice to have" options. They are imperatives because no single stakeholder has the capacity to transform existential challenges into opportunities alone. In this context, the creation of commons (and digital commons!), the importance of which has been highlighted by Nobel Prize winner Elinor Ostrom, seems to me to be particularly promising. Notably because the seed of Open Geneva was planted in this spirit, and thanks to the great vision and the formidable commitment of its leadership and driving forces, the Association, its output and reputation has grown very robustly since then.

I am confident Open Geneva will not stop there. Far from it! Indeed, while it is urgent to rethink the acquisition of skills in the context of both training and continuing education, hackathons have an immense potential that is still largely under-exploited. Similarly, while the Association's innovation sprints are part of a long-term dynamic, the innovative projects that emerge from them gain in impact potential. Last but not least, as Open Geneva now generates seedlings that grow locally as well as abroad, the potential of the association is simply impressive. Open innovation at the service of the planet, people and prosperity? A most attractive Geneva trademark, which is also becoming a fast growing export product!"