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Q: As president of SPAN, could you “SPAN can help ease challenges up with an idea to create a network
tell us about the organisation? of colleagues to be able to meet with
SPAN is a Geneva-based network facing its members by putting them each other and get together. And in
connecting secretaries and personal this regard, I want to say “hat’s off” to
assistants, as well as administrative in contact with others all our predecessor Committees for
assistants working in the building the network from scratch
international sector in Geneva. The and sharing information on and keeping it going and evolving.
network currently has 230 members, Geneva administrative authorities
representing more than 175 countries Q: What are the main goals of the
and 30 international organizations. and local businesses, such as association?
In other words, SPAN is a one-of-a- First of all, it is about interaction
kind association of secretaries and hotels and the like.” and socializing with colleagues. You
personal assistants of international see, what happens often times is that
Geneva’s big shots – ambassadors to the United Nations Office you may know some colleagues for years over the phone and
in Geneva and the World Trade Organisation and heads of recognise their voices immediately (LAUGHING), but may
international organisations and United Nations institutional not ever have a chance to meet them. The idea here is to get out
bodies. there and meet each other. So, SPAN’s primary goal from the
It is a platform that allows its members to interact with each very beginning has been to allow colleagues to be acquainted
other either in professional or social settings. SPAN can with each other through interaction thanks to social and
help ease challenges facing its members by putting them cultural events that its Committee helps to organise; to assist
in contact with others and sharing information on Geneva each other in matters of an administrative, professional or
administrative authorities and local businesses, such as hotels personal character. And I would say that, thanks to SPAN
and the like. and its Committees, this goal has been achieved, and our
SPAN would not exist without its Committee, or as I call it members are not so alienated or isolated as they used to be
“SPANCOM”, which today consists of myself, the capacity before 2008.
of president, Ms. So Mei Hou, personal assistant to the
ambassador of Norway to the World Trade Organisaion in Q: Secretaries and personal assistants tend to be women.
the capacity of coordinator of liaison with sponsors, and Are there any male members?
Ms. Lourdes Pereira, personal assistant to the ambassador Absolutely! Even though the number of female secretaries and
of Uruguay to the United Nations Office in Geneva in the personal assistants largely surpasses that of male colleagues,
capacity of treasurer and interim secretary. we have some colleagues of the opposite gender.

Q: You mentioned that the network runs with the help of its Q: If people would like to join, what can they do?
managing body – the SPAN Committee. What are the main We welcome new members and are happy to accept them on
functions of the Committee and what does it do? a regular basis. The membership is free of charge and they
The SPAN Committee functions on a voluntary basis and can send a request to span.gva@gmail.com.
it is the steering engine of the network. It organizes, as
mentioned above, events of a professional and social nature. Q: What are future plans of the SPAN Committee in terms
To give an example of a professional event, in October 2019 of development of the network? Can you share with your
we organised an event in collaboration with the Geneva office insights as to where the SPAN is heading?
of the Federal Customs Administration, Section on Tariff I cannot talk big, and that would not be realistic, but I think
and Customs Regimes of Switzerland, entitled “Information that, if we look into any functioning institution, they all
Session on Swiss Diplomatic Franchises” to allow SPAN started from an idea to bring together like-minded people to
members to get professional or educational training in the share common interests. So far, this has been fulfilled.
field of Swiss customs which they have to deal with in their To move further, as a first step, our SPAN Committee is
work at diplomatic representations. As for events of a cultural working on a project to create a web-site, allowing members
and recreational character, we organise cultural and festive to more easily share experiences and find information
events, for example to celebrate New Year’s as well as our relevant to their daily work. I cannot give more details as of
annual International Secretaries and Personal Assistants now, but we are very optimistic about the feasibility of our
Day parties, celebrated in April each year. We also organise project for the first half of the next year.
various events around Swiss cultural and historical festivities, That being said, our current objective is to not only keep the
cinema, picnics, hotel visits, after-work events, to name only SPAN functioning, but to make sure it evolves into a network
a few. that is recognised in various circles of international and local
Geneva.
Q: How did the whole idea to gather secretaries, to cite your
own words, “of international Geneva’s big shots”, start?
We celebrated our 10 anniversary in 2018, so it all goes
th
back to 2008 when a group of like-minded colleagues came

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