The Council supports a large number of clubs and societies catering to the wide range of interests of its members. All clubs with at least 15 dues-paying Council members are eligible to receive annual grants from the Council. For more information about this, please see the attached guidelines.
Council Planning of sports rooms
Club activities during the COVID-19 situation
Club Santé et bien-être
Online Pilates sessions are being offered by the club Santé et bien-être four times a week, on Mondays (12 noon and 5.30 p.m.), Thursdays (12 noon and 1.15 p.m. stretching) and Fridays (12 noon). If you would like to know more or participate, please email gab.stevens23@gmail.com. There is a cost for participation, but you may try a session free-of-charge first to see if you enjoy it.
UN Dance Club
The UN Dance Club is proposing some of its activities online to help you stay healthy and have fun despite the confinement. The following sessions are taking place (time schedules subject to changes/adaptation):
- Stretching, muscle toning and fitness dance with Jacky: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 to 9 a.m.
- Dancing class with Antoine: Kuduro & salsa choreography. Tuesdays from 1 to 2 p.m.
- Zumba on Thursdays from 1 to 2 p.m.
For more details and other possible options, please contact the club president by email to undanceclub@gmail.com or phone 022 917 5651.
Spanish Book Club
Please note, book clubs in other languages also exist.
The Spanish Book Club (Club del Libro en Español de las Naciones Unidas en Ginebra) welcomes new members. If you’re a Spanish-speaking UNOG colleague and interested in getting involved, you can email clublibro@hotmail.com to find out more about becoming a member.
The club aims to promote the knowledge of the Spanish and Ibero-American literature, language and culture. It has a library of over 5000 books to lend to club members and organizes book presentations by authors, as well as other cultural events. These activities are not taking place at the current time, however you can stay in touch via the club Facebook page, where they publish items on relevant topics.
UN Geneva Toastmasters Club
If you would like to improve your public speaking and leadership skills, the UN Geneva Toastmasters club provides one avenue for you to do so. The club meets twice a month, currently virtually, on the second and fourth Wednesdays from 6.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The club organizers say you will find an open and welcoming bunch of people wanting to advance on the road of personal and professional growth. All interested colleagues are invited to the next virtual meeting on Wednesday 13 May. To do so, please email to guillermo.tothnagy@un.org to receive the link for the meeting. Attendance as a guest for up to three meetings is free.
UN Music Club
For your listening enjoyment, the UN Music Club’s classical section has been experimenting with virtual music making and they are pleased to share their latest work, ‘Seasons in the Time of Corona’. The piece was composed by Michael Wiener, for soprano, flute, violin and piano, and recorded entirely remotely.
Following this successful project, the Music Club will soon share the score for choir and instruments and welcome contributions by other colleagues. Those who would like to be involved will be able to record their part on their mobile phone and share it with the Club to be assembled into a virtual ensemble. Look out for more news about this on the Music Club website.
The Music Club choir in Geneva is also working on a virtual project together with the UN choir in New York, while other members of the club are continuing with exchanges and music-making with peers or other small groups. New members are welcome; please contact mwiener@ohchr.org or un.choir.geneva@gmail.com.
French Creative Writing Club
In these unusual times, do you want to put your thoughts, fears, hopes or adventures of confinement on paper? The Club d’écriture créative is offering three guided-writing sessions (in French) via Skype, which will be held on 12 May, 27 May and 15 June from 12.30pm to 2pm. During each session, you will write short texts based on two or three fun instructions and then share these with the group. The sessions are intended to be light hearted and humorous. If you would like to participate, please register by email to mjastre@hotmail.com. Note there is a limit of eight participants per session.