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  • Conflict and humanitarian situation in the Middle East

    Dear GAC-EPA Members,

    The ‘Groupement des Anciens du CERN et de l’ESO’ cannot remain insensitive to the conflict and humanitarian situation in the Middle East.

    Like many around the world, the GAC-EPA is observing with growing concern the humanitarian consequences of this conflict, with millions of civilians, the majority of whom are children, deprived of water, healthcare and food and exposed to extreme violence.

    Unable to remain silent in the light of these conditions, the Staff Association sent a letter to the Director-General and the President of the Council, which was published in Echo 459 on 2 October 2025 (https://staff-association.web.cern.ch/sites/default/files/Echo/2025/459.pdf).

    Our Group naturally supports and endorses the Association’s approach and emphasises in particular CERN’s primary objective, which is science in the service of peace and humanity.

    For its part, the GAC-EPA recalls that, in its resolution CERN/3626 of 8 March 2022, the CERN Council stated that ‘the aggression of one country by another is contrary to the values that the Organisation defends’. We believe it is legitimate to apply this same requirement for consistency to any situation involving flagrant violations of international humanitarian law.

    Yours sincerely,

    Catherine Laverrière, Chair of the GAC-EPA

  • New CERN Community Support Center in the Main Building

    Dear Colleagues,

    As announced in the last Bulletin, a new CERN Community Support Centre (CCSC) branch will open in the Main Building on Wednesday 1 October.

    Set in the former Travel agency’s premises next to UBS desk, this new, modern and functional facility will offer the following services to any member of the CERN community holding an access card:

    • First-line support for all CERN services
    • Access card renewal
    • Visitor access card management
    • Vehicle registration         
    • Contractor and Temporary personnel information maintenance   
    • Network and connectivity (e.g Wi-Fi, etc.)
    • Computing accounts management and 2-factor authentication
    • YubiKey Management (Requests & Settings)
    • Telecom Services: SIM/eSIM, mobiles, IP phones, etc.      
    • Eduroam: registration, certificate renewal            
    • Hardware drop-off, setup, repair request              
    • Software licences (e.g Office, PDF, etc.)  
    • Material: borrow or purchase material (e.g chargers, cables, etc.)
    • General questions about IT services or software

    The Service Desk, the IT-SOS and Telecom services and the Uniqa desk have already moved into these new premises.

  • October activities for Seniors – Senior Citizen’s Guide – Geneva

    Find out more about activities for seniors link

  • Ageing Well in the Pays de Gex: test your health, 25 September, Espace Vaise in Segny

    The Local Information and Coordination Centre (CLIC) invites you to take part in a forum entitled ‘Ageing Well in the Pays de Gex: test your health’, which will be held on 25 September at the Espace Vaise in Segny.

    This free forum is open to all.

    The CLIC team looks forward to welcoming you from 10 a.m. onwards.

    More informations: https://www.paysdegexagglo.fr/9300-bien-vieillir.htm

  • Tribute to Thérèse Bracke – Duffié d’Anglemont de Tassigny – 1943 – 2025

    At the beginning of the year Thérèse has left us. She struggled with remarkable courage against the illness that undermined her condition since years.

    We knew her since many years and we regret that she is no longer with us. Her enthusiasm, her capacity to organize, her friendship, we miss it everyday more and more.

    We have met her at CERN in the group of the ‘Cernoises’ club. The Soviet Union had just collapsed and a Russian lady, whose husband worked at CERN, had started a language course in her mother tongue. Everything had to be invented: we needed to find the manual that was adapted to us for this difficult learning and a modern way to familiarize with the Russian culture. It was all done with success.


    We formed a multi cultural group: there was an American lady, an Italian one, a French one, an Egyptian one, a Czechian one, a Hungarian one and a Russian one. Our cultural differences might have created distance between one and another and yet exactly the contrary happened because of Thérèse’s dedication to friendship and gift of her time and joy of living to reinforce the group’s cohesion. E.g. she prepared for us delicious meals, served on refined dishes, on a table that was decorated with great care, every time differently, decorated with flowers or the season’s greenery. It is for the greater part thanks to her that our friendship continues to exist today.

    A music lover she was, she played the piano and the pipe organ. We learned and sung together nice Russian melodies and we went listening at the Satigny temple, where she improvised for us little concerts. She was
    very warmhearted and her simplicity made we forgot her vast culture and her aristocratic origins.

    She also was very religious, always she had a little word of hope for everyone of us. Her favorite motto was: “You ought to be like the proton: always positive!”

    Peggy, Laura, Névine, Gabriella, Maria, Nina, Lioudmila, Macha et Natacha

  • Move more, eat better: essential steps to workplace wellbeing – 16 September 2025

    Adopting healthy habits not only benefits your personal well-being, but it’s also an effective way to boost your performance at work. Improving your health doesn’t require radical changes; it just requires regular, conscious action. By moving more and eating better, you’re investing in a more balanced, fulfilling, and efficient professional life.

    Further information available: https://hse.cern/content/move-more-eat-better

  • Herwig Schopper 1924-2025

    The Director-General has just announced the sad passing of Herwig Schopper, Director-General of the Organisation from January 1981 to December 1988.

    We, the retirees who knew and perhaps worked with Herwig Schopper, echo the tributes paid by the Organisation and the scientific community and express our sincere condolences to his family.

    The full text of the Director-General’s message is below:

    Dear colleagues,

    It was with great sadness that we learned that Herwig Schopper passed away yesterday at the age of 101. He was Director-General of CERN from January 1981 to December 1988.

    Herwig Schopper played a central role in shaping CERN into the prestigious laboratory that it is today. Involved in CERN’s research since the 1960s, he held several key decision-making roles from the 1970s onwards, including Chair of the ISR Committee from 1973 to 1976 and member of the Scientific Policy Committee from 1978 to 1980. 

    During his term as Director-General, his scientific vision and diplomatic skills played an essential role in securing the approval of the Large Electron–Positron Collider (LEP) project, and then in successfully leading the construction of this accelerator, the largest ever built. He contributed to CERN’s global expansion and was one of the architects of the international cooperation model for the LEP experiments, which paved the way for today’s large experimental collaborations. His mandate was also marked by the discovery of the W and Z bosons by the UA1 and UA2 experiments at the SPS proton-antiproton collider in 1983, which was recognised by the Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Carlo Rubbia and Simon van der Meer the following year.

    In the years that followed, Herwig Schopper took on major responsibilities, serving on the scientific councils of several laboratories and presiding over the German Physical Society and later the European Physical Society. One of his greatest achievements was SESAME, the international centre for Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East, of which he was a co-founder and the first President of the Council.

    We have lost a brilliant scientist and one of the greatest contributors to CERN and to our field, who really embodied the core values of our Laboratory. We have also lost a cherished friend who was admired for his insight, his dedication and his warmth. CERN was at the heart of his life and, until his very last moments, he cared deeply about the Laboratory. 

    On a more personal note, Herwig was a true source of inspiration for me. Throughout my two mandates as CERN Director-General, he provided me with his strong, unwavering support, sharing his wisdom, advice, vision and extensive experience, for which I will always be deeply grateful.

    He will forever remain in our memories.

    Obituaries will be published in the CERN Bulletin and the CERN Courier shortly.

    Kind regards,

    Fabiola Gianotti

    The funeral will take place at 2.00 p.m. on Wednesday, 27 August, in Hamburg, Germany:

    Friedhofskapelle – Rupertistraße 37 – 22609 Nienstedten, Hamburg

  • Pension fund: beneficiary questionnaire

    Dear GAC-EPA members,

    The CERN Pension Fund recently sent you a short questionnaire by e-mail. They have asked us to pass on this information; here is the Fund’s message:

    ‘This survey is designed to help us to get to know you better and improve how we communicate with you.

    Your input will guide us in making our content and services clearer, more relevant, and better suited to your needs.

    We rely on your feedback to keep improving.

    This is your chance to tell us what’s working well and where we could do better.

    👉 You’ll find the questionnaire in your inbox or can access it directly by clicking here.

    Please feel free to share this link with other members or beneficiaries.

    Thank you very much for your participation and valuable input.

    The CERN Pension Fund‘

  • Recording of Staff Association seminar on the Pension Fund

    The recording of the Staff Association seminar of June 24th on the Pension Fund can be found at https://cds.cern.ch/record/2936600

    The slides are also available following this link.

  • STELLAR: A Voyage Across the Universe, 19 July 2025 from 4 pm to midnight at the Science Gateway

    STELLAR will bring together world-renowned scientists and Nobel Laureates, including Samuel Ting, Barry Barish, Takaaki Kajita, and Michel Mayor, alongside astronauts such as Chris Cassidy, Meganne Christian, Matthias Maurer, Paolo Nespoli, and Luca Parmitano.

    Talks – Meet the astronauts – Music under the stars, etc..

    Activities and concerts are free and open to everyone. Registration is strongly recommended to attend the talks onsite. You can find full programme details and register here: https://indico.cern.ch/e/stellar 

    If you’re unable to join us in Geneva, you can still follow the talks via the live webcast on YouTube