Lunch seminar – How AI is influencing photography – 28 November 2024

Dear communicators,

We are pleased to announce our next in-person lunchtime seminar of 2024 on an exciting and very timely topic: How AI is Influencing Photography: The Future of Image Creation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the world of photography, from image capture to editing and beyond. It enhances camera capabilities, improves image quality, and speeds up editing through advanced algorithms. AI can also curate and organize vast photo libraries, and even generate entirely synthetic images, pushing the boundaries of traditional photography. However, these advancements raise ethical questions regarding authenticity and copyright. This presentation dives into AI’s role across different stages of the photographic process, showcasing practical applications and open-source platforms reshaping the art of image creation.

Francesco Arese Visconti is the Media Studies program head at Webster Geneva Campus, where he is also the Deputy Academic Director. He has a PhD in Photography and is a member of SIYU (photographie professionelle suisse) and SPECTRUM – Photography in Switzerland. He is interested in photography and its evolution as a means of communication in all its forms. His research focuses on migration processes in Switzerland and Italy, with a future publication on contemporary Italian migration in Switzerland soon to be published by Palgrave Macmillan.

The presentation will be followed by a standing lunch, to provide an opportunity for you to network with the speaker and fellow GCN members.

Date: Thursday 28 November 2024

Time: 12h30 to 14h00

The Swiss Press Club, Domaine de Penthes, Chem. de l’Impératrice 18, 1292, Pregny-Chambésy, Geneva

Fee: CHF 35.- per person includes drinks and snacks

 Please register online >>

By | November 7th, 2024|GCN lunch events|0 Comments

Lunchtime seminar – 2 May 2024 – Harnessing AI in Communications

Dear communicators,

We are pleased to announce our first in-person lunchtime seminar of 2024 on an exciting and very timely topic: Harnessing AI in Communication. 

Our speaker, Marco Barber has worked as an AI trainer for various organizations and private companies in Geneva. He combines UX (user experience) and AI (artificial intelligence) expertise for strategies focused on connecting user behavior with algorithm behavior. He demystifies AI, making new technologies accessible and optimizing their use. He has been responsible for digital marketing, communication, e-commerce, and CRM programs for multinationals. He has founded his own company www.digitalcuts.ch. With a master’s degree in service design, a bachelor’s in management and IT, and certifications in psychology and digital marketing, he aims to leverage his expertise in AI and adult education to train and inspire, focusing on educational innovation and adaptability to learners’ needs.

Marco’s presentation will explore the transformative role of AI in today’s professional landscape and promises to redefine your understanding of AI—not as complex code, but as a natural language tool that can be managed through critical soft skills, which are more vital now than ever before.

Key Highlights:

1.   AI and Communications: Discover how AI is managed with natural language. This shift makes AI accessible to all, empowering all to leverage technology with ease.

2.   The Rise of Soft Skills: Learn why soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, adaptability, and continuous learning, are essential in effectively managing and maximizing AI technologies to reach key audiences.

3.   Interactive Experience: Be prepared to engage in a dynamic session where you can see AI in action. Bring your challenges and ideas, and let’s explore together how AI can be tailored to address them.

The presentation will be followed by a standing lunch, to provide an opportunity for you to network with the speaker and fellow GCN members.

 Date: Thursday 2 May 2024

Time: 12h30 to 14h00

The Swiss Press Club, Domaine de Penthes, Chem. de l’Impératrice 18, 1292, Pregny-Chambésy, Geneva 

Fee: CHF 35.- per person includes drinks and snacks

Please register online >>

By | April 19th, 2024|GCN lunch events|0 Comments

Lunch event – in-person – 8 December 2023

From static publications to interactive content: the experience of the International Trade Centre

How do organisations make the leap from static publications content to dynamic content online? Natalie Domeisen will explain how the International Trade Centre has created engaging content on trade and development integrating text, video, animations and more. Natalie will share her experiences, focusing on opportunities and challenges for people looking to expand their organization’s multimedia capacity and impact.

The presentation will be followed by working groups to discuss challenges and opportunities. Please feel free to send examples of multimedia publications in advance (genevacom@gmail.com) – we’ll be happy to compile them for those attending the lunchtime presentation.

Date: Friday 8 December 2023
Time: 12h30 to 14h00
The Swiss Press Club, Domaine de Penthes, Chem. de l’Impératrice 18, 1292 Pregny-Chambésy, Geneva
Fee: CHF 30.- per person includes drinks and snacks

Please register online

About the speaker: Natalie Domeisen is the Head of Corporate Events and Publishing Programmes at the International Trade Centre. Natalie has extensive experience as a public affairs and communications professional in the international trade and development sectors, working across a range of areas including strategic communications, community outreach, publishing, pitch training and media relations.

By | November 20th, 2023|GCN lunch events|0 Comments

Lunch event – in-person – 28 April 2023

The Geneva Communicators Network is pleased to announce our first in-person lunchtime seminar for 2023!

The communications industry is full of great, creative, forward thinking and influential minds. Your skills have the power to change the narrative on sustainability and make lasting change. But the industry is awash with green claims, misleading messaging and exaggerated language… if you work in PR and comms, there’s no way you haven’t come across this type of disinformation and spin. Do you verify the claims you are being asked to communicate? Are you using your talents responsibly? Are these questions uncomfortable? This interactive and reflective workshop will use humour and out of the box thinking to explore purpose and help you identify how you can be part of the solution.
Date: Friday 28 April 2023
Time: 12h30 to 14h00
The Swiss Press Club, Domaine de Penthes, Chem. de l’Impératrice 18, 1292 Pregny-Chambésy, Geneva

Fee: CHF 30.- per person includes drinks and snacks

About the speaker: Alice Richard is a sustainability catalyst, designing and leading learning experiences that help bring sustainability to life. A Scottish national living in Switzerland, Alice’s career has bridged private and non-profit sectors and has been built around products and collaborations that drive positive change. A former United Nations staff member, she worked for UNICEF for 14 years before founding her sustainability training company Co-CREATE ImpACT. Today, Alice provides services to a wide range of educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and corporations; and is regular expert for UNITAR on the Sustainable Development Goals and the European Commission on gamifying sustainability. Alice brings together genuine passion for making the world a better place with her 20+ years of experience and expertise helping organisations ‘think out of the box’, to advance sustainability with inclusive, energising and thought-provoking training.
By | April 2nd, 2023|GCN lunch events|0 Comments

Lunch event – in-person – 1 December 2022

The Geneva Communicators Network is pleased to announce our first post-COVID-19 in-person lunchtime seminar!

Pressure is mounting on companies and organisations to prove that they’re taking concrete, meaningful steps to achieve sustainability and ESG. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, for example, is pushing for new rules to require greater transparency in a company’s environmental- and social-impact reports. NGOs and UN agencies are increasingly aiming to showcase how they are contributing to achieve the SDGs. For communicators, sustainability storytelling is a solution as our speaker, Michael Jordan, will explain in the seminar.

Date: Thursday 1 December 2022
Time: 12h30 to 14h00
*NEW location*: The Swiss Press Club, Domaine de Penthes, Chem. de l’Impératrice 18, 1292 Pregny-Chambésy, Geneva
Fee: CHF 30.- per person includes drinks and snacks
About the speaker: Michael J. Jordan is currently a Lausanne-based Specialist in Global Communications, Media Relations, Staff Training & Executive Writing. He has lived on four continents, working across three industries. As a Foreign Correspondent, he’s a former UN correspondent who’s also reported from 30 countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Southern Africa, for major media like Foreign Policy, French news agency AFP, the Christian Science Monitor and South Africa’s Mail & Guardian. As a Visiting Professor, he’s taught International Journalism from New York to Prague to Hong Kong; most recently, at top Chinese universities in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. As a Global Communications Consultant, he’s shared his toolkit of skills, strategies and storytelling with both for-profit and non-profit clients, with Consultancies ranging from HIV orphans, maternal health and domestic violence in Africa, to environmental protection, worker’s rights and telecommunications in China. As an independent Consultant today, he serves in a variety of roles, including as Executive Writer for the Mekong River Commission in Laos; and as an Ambassador and Trainer for the Geneva-based NGO, ConnectAID. He recently delivered online trainings for NGO activists world-wide on how to generate storytelling that illuminates their organization’s impact and persuades skeptical donors; and a two-day workshop in Geneva for the Communications team of Medicines for Malaria Venture, on how to craft Impact Stories.
By | November 16th, 2022|GCN lunch events|0 Comments

Next online event – 9 February 2022, 12h00-13h00

Our first event for 2022, hosted jointly with the Basel Communicators Network:

Stephen Welch, FRSA and Director of Archetypical Ltd. will introduce us to the three key elements of Trust, using the “Trust Equation”. This 1-hour session will be a modified version of a workshop he has developed for senior executive teams, to help them build trust and improve organizational effectiveness. By attending this session, you will learn the approach and be able to apply it to create your own success.

Date: Wednesday  9 February 2022
Time: 12h00-13h00
Register here>>

By | January 15th, 2022|GCN lunch events|0 Comments

3 December 2021 – search engine optimization

With growing online competition, search engine optimization (SEO) is necessary for businesses and organizations to gain a competitive edge, grow user intelligence and tap into traffic forecasts and industry trends.

 

Learning about SEO will enable you to understand how and where you appear online and how to control it. The more you “own” your presence, the greater this will directly impact the first impressions your potential clients will have. Nadia Mojahed will share how to define your SEO strategy, set your KPIs, and Implement the right processes to optimize and grow your digital presence on search engines.

 

Date: Friday 3 December 2021
Time: 12h30 to 13h30
Location: Online via Zoom
Cost: Free of charge

 

Speaker: Nadia Mojahed is a Digital SEO Consultant based in Geneva. She helps B2C and B2B businesses of start-ups, UN organizations, local and international brands grow their organic lead generation and sales. She has experience in strategic, technical, and content SEO and managing multi-lingual sites. She applies SEO as a business development tool and helps with in-house SEO training and strategy workshops. After being In the digital marketing field for more than 13 years, she founded her boutique SEO agency, seotransformer.com, in 2019.
By | November 25th, 2021|GCN lunch events|0 Comments

First event for 2021 – online simulation game – 21 January 2021

Welcome to our first event for 2021, an online simulation game for communicators!

Come and play Corporate Snakes and Career Ladders, an on-line simulation that helps you navigate the ambiguity between communication theory and practice as you encounter real-life scenarios.

When you play Corporate Snakes and Career Ladders, you will take on the role of Carmen Spinoza, Corporate Communications Director of a major international company. You will be presented with a series of communication challenges which you need to resolve as a team. Your challenge is to think strategically and position yourself (aka Carmen) as a strategic adviser to the senior leadership team. How will you get – and keep – a seat at the table? The on-line taster workshop is a mini version of training that has been delivered to communication professionals around the world and is now coming to the Geneva Communications Network.

When: 12h30-14h00 – Thursday 21 January 2021
Where: Online (via Zoom)
Cost: Free of charge

Register online for the event>>

Join us on 21 January for a fun, interactive session that will give you a chance to network with your peers from across the region … and beyond. Don’t forget to bring a sandwich!

You can find out more about the game at  www.corporatesnakes.org

 

By | December 22nd, 2020|GCN lunch events|0 Comments

Online Panel Discussion – 2 December 2020; 12h30-13h30

Communications in 2021 – how are organisations managing communications in the current uncertain environment?

Until we can resume our traditional networking events, we would like to invite you to our next online event, which will be held on 2 December from 12h30 to 13h30. We will be using the Zoom platform for the event.

COVID-19 has had an impact on many facets of society including how organisations communicate. What are the implications for organisations and individuals? How are they adapting or is it “business as usual”? Our panel drawn from the non-profit, private and consultancy sectors will discuss how in 2020 they have changed the way they and their organisations communicate and what this means for communications in the future.

Date: Wednesday 2 December 2020
Time: 12h30 to 13h30
Location: Online via Zoom
Cost: Free of charge

Register for the event>>

The panel:

  • Elizabeth Poll, Director of Communications, Medicines for Malaria Venture
  • Rachael Remaly Franco, Associate Director Public Affairs, Europe Region, Incyte
  • Robert Bartram, Writing and Editing Consultant, RBComms
  • Panel host: Melita Campbell, Business Coach for Female Entrepreneurs
By | November 24th, 2020|GCN lunch events|0 Comments

online presentation Friday 26 June 2020 – Beyond Coronavirus – new technologies, media and communications

Dear Communicators,

With current circumstances temporarily preventing any further networking lunches, we would like you to join us in our first event of a new series of online presentations:

Beyond Coronavirus: new technologies, media and communications
 

The Coronavirus pandemic has made us increasingly aware of the essential role technology has in our lives, both professional and personal. The coming decade will be the most ground-breaking in history, with revolutionary new technologies becoming increasingly integrated into humanity. As a communicator, it will be increasingly important to be aware of, understand, and manage these technologies. Dr Nicoletta Iacobacci has been working in media and technology for over 20 years. In this virtual GCN presentation, she will discuss key topics such as emerging media, including, transmedia, technologies and digital cultures such as virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and digital humans.

Date: Friday 26 June 2020
Time: 12h30 to 13h30
Location:  Online via Zoom
Cost: Free of charge
By | June 24th, 2020|GCN lunch events|0 Comments