It was founded in Geneva on Friday 14 August 1989 by Sergio Alberto Chaves [fr] (Argentina), Leonor Sampaio (Brazil) and Alfred de Zayas (United States, Switzerland).
On occasion we have held summer or autumn events in the garden, e.g. to celebrate the 20th and 25th anniversaries of Ex Tempore or to commemorate the passing away of Mahmoud Darwish, a dear poet.
Our literary venture was accompanied by the conviction that UN staffers had a vocation to promote peace through understanding, to build bridges between peoples and cultures.
We felt inspired by the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter, notably the promotion of human rights for all, and the commitment to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
48-49)After 15 years as president of the UN Society of Writers, Alfred de Zayas retired in December 2005, but remains as editor of the literary journal.
Volume 24 covers the bicentennials of Verdi and Wagner, the trans-frontier exhibition "art en campagne", cows, swans, the environment—and love.
UN Special N° 680 Janvier · January • UN / ONU DIVA International, a Geneva quarterly, published in its number 2/2010 the article by Johannes van Aggelen "Celebrating Cultural Diversity - Ex Tempore at 20", pp. 32–33.
The WHO publication "New Special", with a circulation of 10,500 copies, published a two-page article "Happy Anniversary" to mark 30 years UNSW (pages 40–41).
[citation needed] Volume 31 of Ex Tempore was published in December 2020 and it contains essays, short stories and poetry concerning Coronavirus, confinement, lockdown and the saving grace of literature.
[citation needed] volume 34 was issued in December 2023 (154 pages) On 27 January 2023 the annual Ex Tempore Salon was held with contributions by 25 UNSW members.
Charles Aznavour would have turned 100 on 22 May, and his song "Que c'est Triste Venise" was read out, as well as a poem on the absurdity of the mega cruise ships in the Lagoon.
The 35th volume of Ex Tempore comprises 160 pages in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Greek, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese, written by 44 UN staffers.