On October 1, 2024, to celebrate the United Nations International Day of Older Persons, the Section of Former ILO Officials had decided to create an event a little out of the ordinary: instead of celebrating this day among “old people”, the idea was to try building communication’s bridges between the different generations of ILO staff.
For the small team at the Bureau, the project was ambitious, and the amount of work had naturally been underestimated. After many meetings with all the parties involved, plans, counter-orders and last-minute unforeseen events, the event went off without a hitch, with many members of the Section making the trip and a good number of active ILO officials taking part in our various activities. The Section was able to count on the unfailing support of the Union, as usual. The partnership with the Human Resources Department was very rewarding, and of course nothing could have been achieved without the invaluable support of essential departments such as DCOMM, INTSERV, RELMEETINGS and PRODOC.
The recreational stands set up in front of the cafeteria at R2 were a great success:
- Many tried their luck at the ILO QUIZZ and left delighted with their prize under their arm. The questions weren’t easy, but we really do have champions of all ages in the Organization.
- Others came to find out more about the Section (proudly presenting its new brochure) and promised, spit and swear, to become members!
- The “World Café” stands and their discussion topics, though less well attended, nevertheless enabled various colleagues, old and new, to get together and philosophize about the good old days spent within the walls.
At around 1pm, everyone headed for the brand-new cinema to attend the Round Table, the highlight of the event.
After a few words of welcome from the Section’s Executive Secretary,
F. Kientzler, and a short film recounting the history of the ILO and its main current challenges, three speakers, each representing a different generation of ILO officials (a young worker, J. P. Sauvageau, a more experienced one, C. Frassier, and a retired civil servant, C. Cornwell) were able to engage in a lively debate under the aegis of Guebray Berhane from DCOMM, a seasoned moderator. were able to engage in cordial debate under the aegis of DCOMM’s Guebray Berhane, a seasoned debate moderator. Their different experiences, their frankness and their motivation, which seems to have remained constant over the generations, suggest that the Organization still has a bright future ahead of it, thanks to a staff as enthusiastic as ever. Finally, a number of ideas were put forward to encourage greater synergy between these different generations of staff, all of course in the best interests of an even more efficient ILO. The task now is to turn this into a reality, in . The ball is in the camp of the Human Resources Department and the Section is ready to get involved, having been an active initiator of this intergenerational dialogue.
A cocktail party at the Gobelins then brought together all the speakers and participants, followed by the Vernissage of the Cercle d’Arts du BIT exhibition in the colonnades, where various artistic creations were on display.
CCT. 2.10.2024
Watch the video of the panel:
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The Section of Former Officials of the ILO
