Vision and Mission

Rivers unite communities. Groundwater is a healthy source of sustenance and a buffer against extremes in climate. Drinking water is distributed without discrimination. Water for agriculture and industry is managed intelligently, sustainably and equitably. This is a world where water’s nourishing qualities can be channelled to transform political and social tensions. And this is exactly what the Geneva Water Hub works towards on its Mission through to 2035: to advance the use of water for peace in humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding efforts.

Anchored in the University of Geneva and the Geneva Graduate Institute, the Geneva Water Hub is firmly situated at the interface of science and policy. We are a committed team of professionals who operate according to strict principles and a unique way of working.  

Principles

• Respect for the existential qualities that water can elicit from society: dignity, equality, and life.

• Moral commitment to the principles of international law and solidarity. The Geneva Water Hub is not neutral on all issues; it fights for peace and social justice.  

• Ethical commitment to partners, riding-out trends and changes in context as it nourish processes and relations.  

• Intellectual commitment to critical thinking, and avoiding over-simplification of complex issues even as we integrate these into less expert audiences.

Modus operandi

The way we operate is key to fulfilling our mission. We base all our activities on research and science, knowing this helps side-step political quagmires and be more effective. With an appreciation that the context within which we works changes frequently (and sometimes fundamentally), the Geneva Water Hub adapts to the changes that the world throws at it, avoids risks early-on and seizes opportunities that present themselves (or that we create). We play the long game, knowing that accomplishments come through processes and relationships that take years to unfold. Our thinking and action are thus based on future outputs, not immediate gratification. We evaluate and learn. We assess the effectiveness of our activities regularly, questioning even the assumptions upon which our activities are based. Finally, we work with partners who share the same principles and ways of working, and are just as committed as we are to crystallizing water for peace. It is our partners that help us maintain flexibility and crystallize impact far beyond Geneva.  

The Geneva Water Hub was established in 2014 by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the University of Geneva. Contributing to and fuelled by SDC’s Blue Peace programmes, the Geneva Water Hub established the High Level Panel on Water and Peace in 2017. The resulting report, A Matter of Survival, established the Hub’s trajectory ever since. By 2023 the Geneva Water Hub was also established as a joint Centre between the University of Geneva and the Geneva Graduate Institute. The Hub is now supported by the SDC (50%) for its fourth phase (2023-2027), with an institutional arrangement through to 2035.