The Amity Foundation opened its Geneva office on March 9, becoming the first Chinese NGO to have international offices in both Europe and Africa. Over 100 guests attended the opening ceremony, including the ambassador Fu Cong of the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland. Qiu Zhonghui, the vice president/secretary general of the Amity Foundation, stated that the foundation, which possesses Consultative Status with ECOSOC (the UN Economic and Social Council), strives to advance exchange and communication with other NGOs and contribute to the international community as a Chinese civil society organization.
Geneva is a carefully chosen location for the foundation’s second international office. It hosts a variety of international organizations such as the UN office, WHO and the WTO. Its deeply engrained humanitarian tradition is well known around the world, something which fits in with the Amity Foundation’s goals and missions. The Foundation also has tight connections with the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, and the Globethics.net Foundation, whose headquarters are in Geneva.
