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Sommaire Editorial

international In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity

6 Les nouvelles initiatives de 42 Future Cities Need to (Einstein)
l’Ouzbékistan dans le domaine be Circular, and
des droits de l’homme Circularity Requires We should never give up. We should never
Strong Urban Design lose belief in the light ahead, despite what we

9 New initiatives of Uzbekistan have been experiencing for over a year.
on Human Rights So, what has been happening in our heads and lockdown. Or some people may have done

hearts over this year? A year ago, it was as if none of these things, and just taken a break
12 Interview with life stopped or got “locked”. For many people from their life, which can be just as valuable.
Ms Tatiana Valovaya culture the year turned out to be tragic – lost ones
Director General, United were mourned, people got seriously ill, and Historically, the great Russian poet Pushkin
everyone lost something. This includes many wrote a great cycle of poems as well as finishing
Nations Office at Geneva 45 Artistic Self of things we had taken for granted, like our his epic ‘Yevgeny Onegin’ while in quarantine
Marit Fosse
freedoms: freedom of movement, freedom to from cholera in the small town of Boldino.
19 Interview avec gather, freedom to be part of an audience. It Many of the late great works of Shakepeare
Abdallah Chatila 50 Interview de could be shocking and traumatising, but as we were written when London was quarantined
Jean-Michel Wissmer saw more and more tragedies around us, we by plague (e.g. ‘King Lear’, ‘Macbeth’, ‘Anthony
were forced to step back from our emotions and Cleopatra’). Furthermore, Newton’s annus
22 Rencontre avec and realise that our loss of freedoms saved mirabilis, when he discovered the laws which
Mme Mariatou Yap 52 Interview de lives. We had to limit ourselves to help essential are the basis of most applied physics, was also
Anne-Sophie workers provide care and save lives. a year of enforced contemplation caused by
24 Questions to Bongain-Decosne plague lockdown.
His Excellency Ambassador We do not have to see this as a lost year. We
have learned a lot about how to do things On our UNOG level, lockdown has led to
Tenzin Rondel Wangchuk differently. To continue essential work, we us discovering new talents in our colleagues.
learned teleconferencing: how to remotely This issue contains interviews with our
32 Climate change: conduct meetings and negotiate agreements. Director-General Tatyana Valovaya, who was

what can make a Titan fragile Our achievements in ‘online diplomacy’ open revealed as a superb photographer through
and vulnerable up future possibilities, though at the time we her black-and-white exhibition, and with
were only doing what was necessary in the Diva International Diplomat Editor-in-Chief
only way we could. Or, almost the only way. Marit Fosse, who turns out to be a talented

38 Future Cities: Even through the worst times it was clear that artist. Marit, as EiC, has often interviewed
Let’s all remember Babylon important negotiations must be in person, others but been too modest to speak about
such as the Syria or Libya talks, or meetings herself. This magazine, however, features her
among state leaders. However, the potential talents not only for writing history, but also as
for online diplomacy is huge, and it was a gifted painter, often invited to international
something the pandemic taught us. exhibitions.
The views expressed are the Mailing address: Editor: Marit Fosse
responsibility of the authors and DIVA International Diplomat Deputy editor: Evelina Rioukhina It also taught us resourcefulness – turning The pandemic is not yet over but it too shall
do not necessarily reflect the views p/a Salle de Presse 1 obstacles into opportunities. As the saying pass, and we can already see the light after
of DIVA Palais des Nations Graphic Design: Iris Hariz goes, “a stone can be an obstacle, or it can be a the darkness. Maybe it is a little faint at the
© www.divainternational.ch 1211 Geneva 10 ® step”, and for some people this lockdown was moment, but we are ready for a new day armed
Tel: +41 22 917 43 01 Contributing to DIVA: opportunity for deeper reflection. It could also with new knowledge and experience. We
DIVA International is a publication Marc Ferre, Oleksandr Svirchevskyy, be used to do jobs which had been postponed have taken a break, rethought the way we live,
of Graficim Media Ltd E-mail: Ekaterina Pinchevskaya, Marit Fosse, and think of better ways to do them after written new things, explored new issues and
29 Linconl’s Inn Field, Holborn, diva.international@gmail.com Ita Marguet, Christian David, recognised how much we all need each other.
WC2A3EE, England Robert J. Parsons, Celhia de Lavarene, I wish you happiness, safety, creativity and to
Pierre Virot never lose belief in the bright light ahead!
ISSN: 1660-1934 Evelina Rioukhina

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