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Impact 4 – The Creative Spark
2019 Annual Report
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Transformative Journeys to Create a Safer World
Bruno Jochum, outgoing Director General of the Médecins Sans Frontières Operations Centre in Geneva (MSF Switzerland), joined the Global Fellowship Initiative (GFI) in the summer of 2018 in order to reflect on the lessons he had learned from his six-year mandate and to prepare for his next assignment. In addition to his extensive experience in the areas of humanitarian medical action and public health challenges, Bruno has always been interested in environmental issues. During his fellowship at the GCSP he took advantage of the Centre’s wide-ranging activities and attended courses to develop new skills and knowledge, share ideas and experiences with fellow colleagues, and benefit from the expertise of in-house and visiting experts. This resulted in the idea of creating a new initiative that would contribute to reversing global warming by targeting the middle segment of society, with the aim of halving carbon emissions by 2030. The Climate Action Accelerator (CAA) was thus created and incubated within the GCSP’s Creative Spark in early 2019. The incubation process facilitated by the GCSP offered Bruno fertile soil to convert his vision into an organic project: it provided the basis to build the necessary organisational structure, foster connections with other experts, and establish partnerships with potential funders. The Creative Spark also allowed the CAA to evolve in a unique risk-free space and test ideas by applying the CAA model to some of the Centre’s executive courses and training activities, thereby gathering feedback from experts with a wide range of perspectives and finding solutions to critical issues. In 2020 the CAA aims to be an acknowledged and independent institution in Switzerland operating in the domain of environmental protection and sustainability. The GCSP looks forward to being one of the first organisations to implement the CAA’s tools and methods to reverse climate change and thus have a tangible impact on global peace and security. In 2019 the GFI supported 151 fellows in transition. It encouraged them to reflect on their past experiences, share the lessons they had learned, and develop new skills and knowledge by attending our courses. The GFI also helped them to develop their networks and gain a more holistic view of how their fields of work relate to peace and security. Generally, when our fellows have an innovative idea that could contribute to generating sustainable peace and security in the world, we incubate it in our Creative Spark and help them to make it a reality.
Impact 5 – Syria Transition Challenges Project The Syria Transition Challenges Project is a multilateral dialogue and research project that aims to build common ground among the European, Russian, Turkish and US views on the issues of Reform, Refugee Return, and Reconstruction in Syria (the 3Rs). It started in March 2019 and will conclude in September 2020. In view of the current dynamics of the Syrian armed conflict, there is a need to generate innovative ideas and inputs for key actors. The Syria Transition Challenges Project aims to create an informal dialogue platform to discuss non-constitutional issues (3R issues) related to the conflict in Syria, with the objective of identifying possible common ground among major actors. Working with Syrian experts and influential and informed persons and institutions from key countries/groupings (the EU, Russia, Turkey and the United States), the project facilitates a dialogue to explore the various 3R issues and their linkages, as well as to identify and build common ground and confidence among participants. Outputs take the form of background documents, seminars and policy papers containing strategic conclusions that could be useful to decision-makers. When selecting participants, access to decision-makers is the key criterion. Outcomes from dialogue seminars in the form of short policy papers are shared informally with decision-makers in the countries concerned.
