Alumni Reunion - 60th Birthday

CDL has been on an exciting journey in the last six decades. It’s been our community that made our school what it is today!
As we never really had a chance to say Happy 60th Birthday to CDL in 2020, we would like to thank our students, alumni, parents, and staff who have made our school an exceptional place of learning, and will continue to be in the future.

Reflecting on the past 60 years, Inge & Francis Clivaz shared a message with the community, that you will find here below. Further down, you will also find a short summary of the memorable Alumni Reunion that happened in early June 2023, as well as a very emotion video of the event.

A message from Inge & Francis Clivaz, founders of CDL in 1960

"When Inge and I arrived in Versoix, on a beautiful spring day in April 1960, we didn't think, BUT REALLY NOT, that 60 years later, we would find ourselves in this magnificent campus of nearly 2,000 students which has become one of the jewels of Swiss private education. The worldwide reputation of the Collège du Léman is such that it has inspired and served as a model for the creation of several campuses around the world: Brussels, Cheng Du in China, Dubai, Kigali in Rwanda and Manhattan in New York.

Sixty years ago we opened the doors of the CDL to receive our very first students: Hala, Zeena from Baghdad and Carine from Tel Aviv. These young girls were followed day after day by students from all over the world! Since the first day, we have lived together in perfect harmony.

We learned from our differences and respected them!
Your origins, your social background, and your diverse religions were a source of constant enrichment and gave rise to magnificent exchanges. Your wellbeing and academic performance were always at the centre of our concerns.

Your Deans and Professors came from all over the world. Think of Mr. Marchi (Italy), Mr. Nawar (Egypt), Mr. Salamin (Switzerland), Mr. Boschert (USA), and Mr. Gale (England), not forgetting Chief Robert (Holland) who all contributed greatly to the cultural diversity of the campus.

During your years at the CDL, you have forged bonds of deep friendship for life.

You were like our children! You are forever part of this wonderful family at the CDL. We are always happy with your family, social and professional successes and are so proud to see you put into practice daily what we have taught you all these years: respect for others!

We would like to remind you again of the college's motto which is: "Educate and teach in a spirit of openness and tolerance so that its students become citizens and leaders of a world respectful of differences".

Celebrating the Collège du Léman Alumni community with a fantastic Reunion

In early June, we welcomed our Alumni community on campus to celebrate the long-awaited Alumni Reunion. It was amazing to see our Panthers cafe terrasse buzzing with exchanges of joyful embraces as our returning Alumni recognised each other and shared memories and stories from their time together. Catching up with old friends over cocktails and great music kicked off the reunion weekend in the most perfect way. The cocktail evening was full of magical moments and laughter, resonating throughout our Concha garden. 

It was a pleasure to welcome everyone back on campus, and we look forward to organising more gatherings as such in the future. In the meantime, we'd like to share some of the highlights of the weekend, with a very emotional video that captures what a wonderful Alumni community we have!