GSO

Geneva Social Observatory

The Geneva Social Observatory is an international organization founded in Geneva, Switzerland in April 2004. The direction of Hagen Resources International was instrumental in the founding of the organization, and HRI officers continue to serve on the GSO committee that provides oversight. Katherine Hagen, HRI's Chief Executive Officer serves as GSO's Executive Director. Ralph Doggett, who is HRI's Chief Operating Officer, serves as the Treasurer of GSO. HRI also provides considerable support both in terms of staff time and in kind.

The mission of the GSO is to initiate dialogue on social issues in order to encourage leaders to engage in a broadened search for solutions and policy coherence. This service is based on a participatory process in a neutral space that brings all interested parties together across national boundaries to identify solutions and policies that are coherent. These solutions can then contribute to policy-making at the governmental and intergovernmental levels.

Why is the GSO needed? Social issues are increasingly global in their impact, and existing forums are inadequate to address these issues in a comprehensive way. While the intergovernmental system is at the center of the international policy-making arena, both the issues and the parties to these issues are increasingly transnational in their initiatives, networks and collaboration.

The Geneva Social Observatory believes that the social challenges faced by the world community need to be addressed through innovative processes of dialogue that are impartial and all-inclusive. Parties who have an interest in such issues need to share different points of view in a neutral setting in order to seek out solutions that are fair and just.

GSO Workshop on Diabetes in the Workplace, Abant, Turkey. June 2009

The GSO Agenda: Promoting policy coherence on contemporary social issues

· Creating a neutral space for dialogue

· Facilitating a broadened search for solutions and good practices

· Establishing an information exchange, including a regular newsletter and Website, on social issues that are cross-cutting, global and needing policy coherence

· Providing a clearinghouse for existing and new research on social issues

· Promoting action and partnership building

· Helping to disseminate the possible solutions that emanate from the participatory processes of the Observatory

· Monitoring and evaluating the outcome of specific initiatives

The GSO Committee

President	Martin Watson	Representative for Trade and Development, Quaker UN Office
Executive Director	Katherine Hagen	CEO of Hagen Resources International and former Deputy Director-General of the ILO
Treasurer	Ralph Doggett	Chief Operating Officer and Senior Economist at Hagen Resources International
Members	Susan Crowley	Senior Director, International Organization Relations, MSD (Europe), Inc.
	Brewster Grace	Former Director and Representative for Trade and Development, Quaker UN Office
	Bernice Lee	Formerly at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
	Lorraine Ruffing	Senior Advisor to World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises; formerly with UNCTAD
	Deborah Vorhies	Managing Director, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development

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A Dedicated Source in Geneva Switzerland

Copyright © 2007 Hagen Resources International

Last modified: September 27, 2009