Behind the scenes in Geneva
Under-secretaries, trainees, ambassadors, nutritionists, security guards and many, many more: around 8,500 people work for the United Nations family in Geneva. The UN's European headquarters represents the largest concentration of UN personnel in the world.
Over the past two years photographers Christian Lutz and Mark Henley have become well-known figures in the corridors and meeting rooms of the Palais des Nations complex.
Together they take a behind the scenes look at some of the 2,700 international conferences and other gatherings held every year in Geneva. This work is being carried out in the context of the Geneva cantonal website on International Geneva.
Lutz was born in Geneva where he now lives. He studied photography at the “Le 75” arts school in Brussels. His work has been exhibited and published in Switzerland and abroad. His two photo essays ‘Protokoll’ and ‘Tropical Gift’, won several awards.
Mark Henley born in Oxford, now lives in Geneva, having previously been based in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing and Zurich. His work from more than fifty countries has been widely published in the Swiss and international press, as well as by many international organisations like the UN, the World Bank, the Ford Foundation and Amnesty International. His recent project ‘Bank on Us’, on the crisis in the Swiss banking industry, has won several prizes, including the Swiss Press Photo Award for 2012.
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