From 6 -8 March the Graduate Institute invited alumni and other interested parties to come and talk to a number of potential employers. With more than 30 presentations, participants had a rich variety of organisations to choose from and most sectors were present. There were people representing the philanthropy sector, from the profit sector as well as the non-profit sector. Of course, the UN had made itself available and through its skilled presenters participants could acquire information from e.g. ITU, ILO, UNICEF and UNDP.
One of the 'younger' organisations attending the forum was the Global Footprint Network which was founded in 2003 and has only recently set up an office in Geneva. The Network advocates sustainable production and has developed a standard called the Ecological Footprint. This is a resource accounting tool that measures "how much nature we have, how much we use and who uses what". Altogether it collects data on about 6 000 different indicators.
Another alternative organisation was the group called 'Symbiotics'. It works in the field of microfinance in several sectors such as food and energy. The organisation is staffed by 15 people who work in offices in Geneva, Cape Town, Mexico City and Singapore. They have originated more than USD 1 billion in investments for more than 25 specialized funds and institutional mandates and more than 150 financial institutions in over 40 emerging economies.
According to The Graduate Institute factsheet, it is host to 777 students from more than 100 countries with the largest group being European and the second largest group being from Asia.
