Caux conferences 2012 report

International Caux Conferences

REPORT 2012

www.caux.ch

Conferences     

Learning to live in a multicultural world Caux Forum for Human Security Trust and integrity in a global economy The vital link between the personal and the global The dynamics of being a ‘change-maker’

CONTENTS Conferences are organized by CAUX-Initiatives of Change and Initiatives of Change International every year in Caux, above Montreux, Switzerland. CAUX-Initiatives of Change, a charitable Swiss foundation, owns and runs the Caux conference centre. It is a founder Member of IofC International. The 2012 programme consisted of a series of conferences and workshops, each covered in this report. More information, including the full texts of many talks, podcasts, videos and photos can be found at www.caux.ch/2012

Editorial A season of inspiration

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Learning to live in a multicultural world Learning to live with ‘the other’ The ‘new we’ needs a ‘new me’ Youth as civil society actors Council of Europe dialogue toolkit

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5th Caux Forum for Human Security Can memory be healed?

Restoring land, restoring lives Australia’s ‘stolen generations’ apology Redirecting society

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Trust and integrity in the global economy ‘Competition and beyond: can we change?’

Margaret Heffernan on competition in business Restoring trust in banking Lady Susan Rice talks about shifting values in finance Integrity and profitability – an Indian model

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Exploring the vital link between personal and global change Change individuals’ motives and behaviour Interview with Khalil El-Masry

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The dynamics of being a change-maker Training by Initiatives of Change An intercultural week Motivations of an organizer

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Official Day of the Caux Foundation

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Caux Scholars Program

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Caux conferences and beyond Behind the scenes: volunteers and interns Interview with three volunteers

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Some facts & figures about the 2012 Caux conferences

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Communications from Initiatives of Change International

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Caux 2013

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Publisher: CAUX-Initiatives of Change foundation Texts: Adriana Borra, Marion Bouvier, Chris Breitenberg, Juerg Eberlé, Dorothea Endres, Louisa Meury, Andrew Stallybrass and others.

Photos: A. Borra, M. Bouvier, Paul Briggs, D. Endres, Hiroshi Ishida, Mbindyo Kimanthi, L. Meury, Pierre-Yves Moret, Dmitriy Pritulenko, Charlotte Sawyer Design and Print: Brunner AG, Druck und Medien, 6110 Kriens, Switzerland, October 2012

EDITORIAL

A season of inspiration When former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd left the IofC centre this summer, he remarked, ‘I think the spirit of Caux is alive and well as I see it in the faces and the lives of the people who are here. What I see is this constant thematic of personal change to bring about social and global change – easy to say, hard to do. But unless we are refreshed in that mission by coming to oases capable of providing that water then we lose sight of both the spirit and the power of that mission.’

Each summer Caux offers the world an oasis that refreshes those who aim to build that vital link between personal and global change.

It offers a unique combination of space for personal reflection, service in community, discussion of pressing global issues in a diverse setting, skill development for sustainable solutions and intercultural networking.

This summer, Caux was flooded with stories of personal change leading to wider change. Many of these stories are included within this report.

But Caux isn’t just about being inspired by the remarkable stories of ‘change-makers’, the experience of multicultural community or the idyllic setting of the Swiss Alps. Like IofC, Caux aims to inspire, but also to equip and connect people to address world needs, starting with themselves.

In Caux, I found a group of women developing skills as peacebuilders to bring tools of dialogue and storytelling to their home communities, European bankers and alternative economic developers sharing new ideas for sustainable growth, a South Sudanese delegation forging plans for good governance in their young democracy and an intergenerational team refining tools to take personal change global.

This couldn’t be done without creative partnerships – both new and old – that include the Swiss Government, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, industrial enterprises in India and universities in the UK and US. Nor could it be done without many

more: participants, volunteers, encouragers, donors. And we look forward to welcoming you to become part of this adventure.

As I look back in gratitude on another summer in Caux, I’m also encouraged to look ahead with the vision of the early Swiss pioneers who gave their possessions to buy the former Caux-Palace and create a space for Europe and the world to reconcile after World War II. May Caux always live up to their vision and sacrifice, building on the work that has gone before and of those pioneers. I hope to see you in Caux next year.

Dr. Omnia Marzouk President Initiatives of Change International

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LEARNING TO LIVE IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD

Learning to live with ‘the other’ The ‘Learning to live in a multicultural world’ conference focused on four priority areas, which are an outgrowth of the previous conferences: ‘rethinking our personal attitudes and motivations’, ‘challenging and transforming power imbalances’, ‘exploring the transformative role of education and learning’, and ‘strengthening and expanding relationships between communities’.

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anuja Thurairajah (Switzerland/Sri Lanka) spoke of the lack of trust amongst the some 47,000 Tamils that live in Switzerland today, and her project to create a unifying narrative through stories.

Angelo Barampama (Burundi/Switzerland), a lecturer at the University of Geneva, talked about the history of thousands of years of migration within Southern and Central Africa, and the experience of identifying as both African and Swiss.

‘First of all we need to turn to the other,

recognize that they exist and talk to them.

Only then we can maintain multiculturalism,’ he said.

Pascale Steiner spoke of the different projects set in motion by the Swiss Federal Commission on Migration Issues aimed at helping the integration of immigrants, in particular the Speak Out, Nice Communes project, and the creation of a Forum for the Integration of Migrants (FIMM). Corinne Ziegler, President of the Swiss Federation of UNESCO Clubs,

spoke about the different grassroots initiatives supported by her organization. Projects such as Quartiersacademy and Mixvox which she herself was involved in were aimed at promoting social, cultural, professional and political participation in civil society. Saliou Gueye, responsible for integration questions in the German town of Ludwigsburg, said, ‘Migrants need to play an active role in this process, so that other migrants can identify with them and follow their example.’

The ‘new we’ needs a ‘new me’ ‘Combatting the black and white picture of migration, creating a calm and constructive multicultural dialogue.’

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ohamed Sini is Vice President of NOV (Association for Dutch Organizations on Volunteering), and President of Algebra, a network community of Moroccan Senior Professionals in the Netherlands. Arriving in the Netherlands as an immigrant, he had been faced with an intense conflict between Turkish and Moroccan migrant workers and the host community. Globalization, he saw, had led to an even more suspicious and conservative attitude towards immigrants.

Sini emphasized the need to develop a sense of responsibility, to learn Dutch, to help his community overcome language barriers, but also on the part of the government to concentrate on better education for migrants, a key issue of integration. But, most importantly, the responsibility of civil society was ‘to combat a black and white picture of migration,’ to keep the multicultural dialogue effective, constructive, and calm, to approach the fear of the unknown by concentrating on developing mutual understanding.

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Above: Mohamed Sini Left: Denzil Nurse

The conference in brief Denzil Nurse, a British citizen of WestIndian origin who works with IofC UK in the Hope in the Cities programme, criticized the role of media. They often spread stereotypes, he said, building walls instead of connecting cultures: ‘“Muslim” is not a synonym for “terrorist”, and not all asylum seekers are begging for state aid.’ We need to research personally the detailed circumstances of incidents, and not adopt the media’s information as fact, he suggested. ‘What you have to say matters, no matter how insignificant you feel. Step out of your comfort zone and grow,’ he concluded.

The conference Learning to live in a multicultural world: tapping civil society’s potential was held between 1 and 6 July. It was the fourth session of this conference cycle which builds on the rich experience of Initiatives of Change in the fields of relationship transformation, dialogue facilitation and trust-building, with particular emphasis on diaspora communities’ contribution to peacemaking. The conference looked at current challenges through presentations and training modules.

Youth as civil society actors This year’s conference provided an opportunity for some 20 young people representing the cultural diversity in Europe to take part in a workshop for their generation.

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akan Tosuner (Germany), Asma Soltani (France/Tunisia) and Joël Hakizimana (Burundi/Switzerland) were the three facilitators of the workshop. The workshop discussed the conference themes from the angle of their generation: power, participation in citizenship and identity.

Each day the participants were able to exchange about the activities of their associations and their experiences as members of civil society. The members of JUMA (Jung Muslimisch Aktiv) spoke about the role their association plays in the interreligious and intercultural dialogue in Berlin and in the German media. Members of the Swiss section of the ADYNE network (African Diaspora Youth Network Europe) presented a project to encourage the participation and integration of young people of African origin in Switzerland.

One conclusion after this experience was to plan for further such workshops and continue their cooperation through the new youth platform created in Caux.

Council of Europe dialogue toolkit

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enzil Nurse, UK, and Christoph Spreng, Switzerland, presented a new Toolkit for Conducting Intercultural Dialogue. Produced and launched by the Council of Europe’s Conference of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGO), Nurse and Spreng, IofC representatives at the Council of Europe, were two of the toolkit’s authors.

The aim of the Dialogue Toolkit is ‘to provide a hands-on and user-friendly manual’. It strives to ‘build social cohesion and a human-rights based approach to diversity issues’ in the face of increasing xenophobia. The toolkit contains two crucial elements. It describes a methodology for establishing dialogue and also provides a long list of references and resources to enable further research on the topic.

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CAUX FORUM FOR HUMAN SECURITY

Can memory be healed?

This question ran through the ‘Caux Forum for Human Security’. Jackie Huggins, Daphrose Barampama and Janet Jerulo discussed the healing of memory with a particular focus on forgiveness during a morning plenary.

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emory is notoriously unreliable,’ said Australian Aboriginal leader Jackie Huggins. In her opinion, we all have collective memories, some that are remembered happily and others that show our shared sense of loss and redemption.

But memory is always related to the pre-

sent, and therefore is always changing. To understand where we are going, we first must look behind. Thus, if a government apologizes as the Australian Government and Parliament did in 2008 to the Stolen Generations, the act of recognition, justice and healing ‘was very important for our

people, but also for all Australians’. ‘Once people own the truths within their hearts, we can have the real conversations,’ she said.

Daphrose Barampama, originally from Burundi and now Switzerland, emphasized the fact that forgiveness is a process.

For her, ‘peace circles’ that brought together victims and aggressors to dialogue, provided a tool to overcome the dividing hatred and anger. As one participant in a peace circle once told her: ‘I am so relieved to know that you will come back and help to free us from what lies so heavy on our hearts.’

According to Janet Jerulo, a Human Rights lawyer who was involved in the post-electoral tumult in Kenya in 2007-8, forgiveness is important in the process of healing. ‘Only if you forgive do you see the other person as equal.’ She believed that an apology, like the one in Australia, would have made a huge difference in Kenya. ‘An apology can change a society,’ she noted.

The conference in brief Janet Jerulo and Daphrose Barampama

A discussion group 6 CAUX REPORT 2012

The fifth annual ‘Caux Forum for Human Security’ brought together 300 people active in human security from all continents from 8–15 July.

They included politicians, diplomats, scientists and NGO leaders. Its goal was to create a learning environment focused on answering basic human needs, to build trust by giving attention to historical wounds, and to encourage collaboration between civil society, multilateral institutions and governments. Attention was given to the interconnectedness between the five aspects of human security highlighted by the Forum: healing memory, just governance, sustainable living, inclusive economics and intercultural dialogue.

Restoring land, restoring lives Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification spoke at a day on ‘Restoring Land, Restoring Lives’. ‘By 2030 we will need to increase food production by 50%,’ he said. He saw only one possible solution: ‘Over two billion hectares of degraded land can be restored. We can do it if we invest in people, especially in the world’s drylands.’

‘Land degradation is about life degradation, so land restoration is about life restoration,’ Gnacadja said. ‘We are the planet’s skin disease,’ he concluded, ‘man is the desert-making species.’

The day saw a host of speakers sharing their experiences: politicians, scientists, farmers, representatives of UN bodies and NGO, activists from every continent.

Activists from every continent

Australia’s ‘stolen generations’ apology Kevin Rudd, MP, former Prime Minister of Australia, and two leading Aboriginals spoke about the processes of healing, springing from Rudd’s public apology presented at the opening of parliament in 2008 to the ‘stolen generations’ of children, forcibly removed from their families. ‘There comes a time in the life of people or a culture when telling the truth is not a bad strategy,’ Rudd said. Referring to the history of other healing processes in which Caux had played an active part, he pointed out that ‘Everything is possible if we have the heart to do it. We should be inspired by this place. Never underestimate your power as civil society.

You can knock down walls over time.’

Daryle Rigney, Dean of Indigenous Strategy and Engagement at Flinders University, Jackie Huggins, who served as Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia, and Kevin Rudd MP (left to right).

Redirecting society Mohamed Sahnoun, founder and Chair of the Caux Forum for Human Security: ‘A distinctive contribution of the Caux Forum is the concept of a “coalition of conscience”. It can bring together people of integrity and compassion in partnership to overcome the corrupting impact of greed and the struggle for power, and is capable of redirecting a society towards creative policies.’

Mohamed Sahnoun CAUX REPORT 2012 7

TRUST AND INTEGRITY IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

‘Competition and beyond: can we change?’

‘Can we change? Given that we are all gathered together here under the aegis of Initiatives for Change, it won’t be giving much away to say “Yes we can!” After all – if we didn’t all believe in change, we wouldn’t be here,’ said Heffernan.

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argaret Heffernan, well-known entrepreneur and author, opened the conference with ‘a tremendous sense of urgency’. She called for ‘building a parallel universe whose creativity, honesty, energy and wholesomeness are so compelling that it exerts a gravitational pull on everything else’.

Money has the potential to sever the social contract, she warned. ‘When we care about people, we care less about money – and when we care about money, we care less about people.’ Then she turned to power.

Too much power damages both those who hold it – and those in thrall to it. ‘Structures that concentrate vast amounts of power and wealth at the tops of organizations create conditions in which everyone looks up – and few look around,’ she said.

Margaret Heffernan with a Japanese participant

Heffernan noted that ‘competition interferes with our sense of interdependency and connectedness. Hyper-competition creates the conditions in which fraud flourishes and cooperation fails … If the benchmark of a sound institution is the

provision for and celebration of truth tellers, much can and will change. The critical sign of health may be no more than the quality of dissent an organization provokes and supports.’

She continued, ‘We need to think about how we bring out the best in others – not to fix them, not to make ourselves feel virtuous, but to repair our world. The problem isn’t ignorance but wilful blindness.’

The conference in brief The core objective of Trust and integrity in the global economy TIGE (17–23 July) is restructuring the economy to focus on ethics and values rather than profit. The conference explored these themes in a variety of ways, sharing first-hand examples of values-based business initiatives and exploring the application of individual values. Speakers emphasized the need for personal responsibility, ethics, and transparency to create a more sustainable and equitable world.

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Restoring trust in banking ‘We lost sight of our values – with an “s” – in the rigorous focus on financial value,’ said Lady Susan Rice, Managing Director of Lloyds Banking Group in Scotland. Rice is the first woman in Britain to head a national clearing bank, the largest within the UK.

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ccording to Rice, the future of banking lies in recapturing trust, integrity and probity.

The Chartered Banker Institute in Scotland, the oldest institute of bankers in the world, had recently conceived and promoted a ‘Professional Standards Board’ initiative (PSB), which Rice chairs. In early July, they launched their ‘Foundation Standard for Professional Bankers’, which sets out ‘basic values, attitudes and behavior, as well as skills and knowledge that we expect anyone working in a bank to embody’. According to Rice, this was ‘an important signal of intent, from the very top, about the changes we know need to take place’ in order to restore confidence, trust and pride in the industry.

‘We believe that trust is best restored through individuals, not simply through structural change,’ she concluded.

Lady Susan Rice

Integrity and profitability – an Indian model Suresh Vazirani builds a business on principle-based decision-making. ‘Honest business in India is possible,’ he declared.

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uresh Vazirani grew up in a refugee camp, after the partition of Pakistan and India. After university studies and working for a time with Moral Re-Armament (MRA), the predecessor of Initiatives of Change, he established Transasia, one of India’s leading medical technology firms. He began with 250 Rupees ($4), which was only enough to register the name of the company. But, since then, Transasia has set a standard for other Indian companies. There are no strict recall rules in India, but Vazirani recalled a faulty Transasia product despite the cost.

Customers have shown their trust over 20 years, rewarding this principle-based decision-making.

His philosophy is also reflected in the way Transasia treats employees, providing healthcare for all the employees’ family members, including parents, and interestfree student loans for employees’ children, to help overcome the Indian caste-system.

Vazirani aims to live by Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of ‘simple living and high thinking’; businessmen should see themselves as trustees of the wealth of society rather than owners, he believes. His mission is to provide affordable healthcare for all Indians. Affording European-produced technology is impossible, but Transasia can produce technology with lower labour costs and product simplification. ‘This won’t

happen in my lifetime,’ Vazirani says, ‘Honest business in India is possible. I have full faith, that one day we will succeed in overcoming corruption.’

Suresh Vazirani CAUX REPORT 2012 9

EXPLORING THE VITAL LINK BETWEEN THE PERSONAL AND THE

Change individuals’ motives and behaviour For over 70 years, a core belief of Initiatives of Change (IofC) is that one essential ingredient for global change is a change in each individual’s motives and behaviour. Participants at Exploring the vital link between personal and global change examined what this means in today’s society and how it can be implemented for a sustainable future.

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ach morning, individuals offered their snapshot of a personal moment that inspired them to take some local action for global change. An Egyptian father shared how he felt empowered to protest in Tahrir Square because he shed his fear of politics following a legal battle for custody of his son. A young Canadian woman told her story of how forgiving an abusive ex-boyfriend liberated her to follow her passion, fair trade which she is now actively promoting in Nepal. The experiences shared showed how individuals were able to ‘break fear barriers’ and ‘turn judgment into curiosity’.

The intimacy of these workshops allowed participants to explore deeply personal topics. During the closing plenary, a young Rwandan woman spoke about the shame she experienced before coming to the conference because she could not for-

give God and her fellow Rwandans for the 1994 genocide that fractured her country. Thanks to the dialogue, the opportunity to hear and be heard, she found the power to forgive.

At the beginning of the week, participants learned about the history of Caux and various phases of IofC in workshops and dialogues, which switched to smaller group discussions of individual projects in the afternoons. Part of what made the conference unique was its flexible format.

Workshops covered a wide variety of subjects, from music, to affluence and the state of the economy, to homophobia and prejudice.

The conference in brief The first Exploring the vital link between personal and global change conference took place between 25 and 31 July. An intergenerational and international team took the participants on a journey of discovery, exploring the processes and practices of transformation – within the lives of individuals, their communities, workplaces and societies. The conference drew on the past and present of Initiatives of Change and featured personal reflection, daily plenaries, storytelling, discussion groups and participant-led workshops.

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GLOBAL

A journey of transformation Why did you choose to attend this conference?

It was so important for me to get to know more about the basics of IofC’s approach and style of work and influence.

Khalil El-Masry, from Egypt, came for the third time to Caux. During a snapshot session in the Vital Link conference, he shared about his battle for better visitation rights of his son.

You shared your personal story. Why was it important to you?

I shared my story because I feel that it’s inspiring to others when they hear how traumas and what might be perceived as bad things can turn out to be the best thing that have happened in your life! It was also important because it allowed others to see me deeper, building better relationships, which made me feel part of the IofC network.

What is your vision of the link between personal and global change?

It is more of a journey which can start with one searching for personal interests, working to achieve personal changes and goals. Going through this crucial step of realization that personal and global dimensions are highly inter-connected, and ending by working for global change.

How did it evolve during the conference?

Mainly by getting to know more people who are on this discovery journey, and how each single story is inspiring and giving more strength to all of us in our different struggles.

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THE DYNAMICS OF BEING A CHANGE MAKER

Training by Initiatives of Change A week of workshops, drawing on IofC’s programs from around the world.

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his was perhaps the most multi-lingual period of the Caux season, with Spanish and Portuguese often spoken from the platform, and French-speaking Africa well represented. In the final variety evening, 18 Australians crowded the platform to sing a song together, before one of them, an Aboriginal, introduced his culture and music, with a traditional instrument. The planning team was made up of 12 people, from 11 countries, working over months via Skype, and never all meeting face-to-face until the last days before the start in Caux.

There were two ‘learning tracks’ on Creators of Peace, a global network of women working with ‘Peace Circles’, workshops,

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personal encounters, community building activities and conferences. The ‘Circles’ are a simple but effective tool to gather women together to look at their role in the perpetration and resolution of conflict in the home and community. A second ‘learning track’ trained facilitators from Australia, Burundi, Colombia, Israel, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden and Zimbabwe.

‘Connecting Communities through Trustbuilding’ drew on the internationally recognized trust building work of IofC and Hope in the Cities, starting in Richmond, Virginia, promoting ‘honest conversations on race, reconciliation and responsibility’. ‘The Heart of Effective Leader-

ship’ drew on the training being offered to senior business managers for over seven years at IofC India’s centre at Asia Plateau. ‘Foundations for Freedom’ drew on this Ukraine-based international NGO’s 18 years of promoting responsible leadership in the UK and Eastern Europe. The ‘Life Matters’ course has built a network of young change-makers across Asia and the Pacific over 15 years. Members of the international ‘Renewal Arts’ network explored how the arts can contribute to peacemaking and community building through creative workshops and conversations: and the trainers contributed music and sketches to the meetings.

An intercultural Week Motivations of an organizer Jose Carlos Leon Vargas from Mexico was the coordinator of the The dynamics of being a change-maker training week.

What were the highlights of this year’s training week?

It was one of the most intercultural periods of the summer. Thanks to a fabulous team of interpreters and encouraged by the organizers, the participants were able to use their own languages and share their ideas and experiences with more confidence and emotion.

The morning plenaries were outstanding.

The speakers had a long experience of facilitating change and fostering peace worldwide and were able to share with the audience some of the key elements of becoming a change-maker.

Are you satisfied with the participation and the outcomes?

Participants established links with other initiatives around the world. We had over

130 people at the conference from over 30 countries, from ages 20 to 93. In a world where inclusion and diversity is more and more contested, this was a real example of inter-generational, multifaith, multi-country conviviality.

What can people learn through such times of training?

They could learn the techniques, tools and methodologies used by IofC to promote conflict transformation, leadership and personal change, intercultural dialogue and ethics.

Is there a message you’d like to give to our readers?

I would like to encourage practitioners and activists in the field of peace building and development to come to the Caux Conferences in 2013. In Caux, they will be able to see a clearer connection between the personal and the global change, an element that is missing in many public and international policies nowadays.

Jose Carlos Leon Vargas

Any effort directed towards improving the quality of people’s lives should start by looking at the individual as the pillar of change. When we are able to instigate a change in people’s hearts and attitudes the road opens up towards sustainable development. In Caux, you find that qualitative complement that makes public policy, private endeavours and social projects more humane.

The conference in brief

Angela Starovoytova (Ukraine) and Anna Pozogina (Latvia), facilitators of the workshop given by ‘Foundations for Freedom’. It promotes responsible leadership and enhances social involvement of youth in the UK and Eastern Europe.

‘The dynamics of being a change-maker’ training week from 2–8 August offered workshops and plenaries, drawing on the best experience and trainers of the Initiatives of Change international network.

The conference explored the calling, character, capabilities, and commitment needed by change-makers if they are to bring the needed change, drawing on IofC’s long experience in developing networks across the world. It brought together in Caux the most experienced IofC trainers, and courses that have many years of successful experience.

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OFFICIAL DAY

A warm welcome for IofC’s guests Sunday 8 July, the Caux Foundation invited partners and friends to the traditional Official Day, with a number of remarkable personalities as speakers.

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r. Omnia Marzouk, President of Initiatives of Change International, welcomed the guests and visitors warmly.

She stated that ‘IofC is a worldwide movement of people of diverse cultures and backgrounds, who are committed to transformation of society through changes in human motives and behaviour, starting with their own.’ Antoine Jaulmes, President of the Caux Foundation, retraced shortly the history of the conference centre and the role Caux played in several reconciliation processes, be it in the past or more recently. He also described some initiatives that were born in Caux, and recalled that the efforts that are made by IofC and the people present could go far, and that Caux offers keys that lead to indispensable change.

The guests were then invited either to participate in a case study, to listen to a presentation of the Caux Forum for Human Security or to take a guided tour of the conference centre, the former Caux-Palace.

The second part of the day was introduced by Claude Altermatt, Ambassador, and Counsellor on behalf of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

His speech led into the opening of the Caux Forum for Human Security. Mr.

An appreciative audience 14 CAUX REPORT 2012

Former Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey (right) speaks with Myanmar participants

Altermatt thanked the Forum and IofC for the cooperation with his department which began in 2005 with a project in Burundi and has continued since then.

He described Caux as ‘a haven of peace and inspiration’ and saluted ‘the fruitful cooperation between his department, and the ‘interpersonal and grassroots approach’ of IofC. Professor Micheline Calmy-Rey, former President of the Swiss Confedera-

tion, then gave a lecture on ‘Dialogue at the service of human security’. Swiss diplomacy remained founded on dialogue in all its worldwide efforts, she said, and dialogue was indispensable in the search for the peaceful solution of conflicts.

‘Trust is a key factor,’ she concluded, ‘and with trust, I include interpersonal relations, discretion and tradition.’

Swiss Ambassador Claude Altermatt with a guest

CAUX SCHOLARS PROGRAM The current Academic Director of the CSP is Dr. Carl Stauffer, Assistant Professor of Development and Justice Studies at Eastern Mennonite University. He has worked in the field of restorative justice and reconciliation. He spent 16 years in Africa, working in 20 countries. Dr. Stauffer has also conducted training in Hungary, Israel, Palestine, Cyprus, The Netherlands, Philippines, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Why did you accept the challenge to become the academic director?

I returned from the field to teach because of a strong conviction and commitment to influence the minds and hearts of university-age students towards excellence in peace-building leadership. Discovering the Caux Scholars Program and IofC with their dedication to provide the space for personal as well as global transformation was an opportunity that I could hardly ignore.

How would you describe the role of personal transformation in peacebuilding?

Transformative learning can only occur when personal experience penetrates our inner being and our deepest desires, motivations and passions are ignited. This is what we aim to reinforce at CSP. Ultimately our peace-building practice will only be as strong as our personal vision and hope are kept alive. Without sustainable personal and spiritual fortitude, those

with the best intentions will burn-out and drop-out of this vital work. If we want to have a durable impact over multiple generations, we peace-builders need to stay resilient.

Are you satisfied with the development of the programme over the years?

The CSP has matured, grown and expanded its vision and mission. It has maintained a rich blend of bright, energetic, leadership level international students.

We have an amazing group of alumni who continue to be social entrepreneurs for transformation all across the globe.

What are the challenges of the programme?

Funding remains our greatest challenge.

This limits the variety and exposure that we would like to offer the scholars. It would also be extremely useful to be able to offer more scholarships to worthy students who otherwise could not afford to take part.

Carl Stauffer with an Indian Caux Scholar

What were your personal highlights of this year’s session?

It was my joy as the Academic Director to watch a coherent, unified learning community develop out of a group of highly diverse scholars. They performed well as a team – whether through trust exercises, networking at the Caux Human Security Forum, cutting vegetables or planning an evening of entertainment with the Caux interns. They arrived eager to learn, to expand their horizons and to transform themselves in the process. Thirty days later, another set of young peace leaders made the trek ‘down the mountain’ from Caux and into the world. We salute them!

The Caux Scholars in the media 24 heures | Jeudi 26 juillet 2012

Riviera - Chablais Rencontres internationales

L’Indien Nikhil Vazirani (21 ans) veut rapprocher son pays et le Pakistan.

La Morgienne Lucy Linder (25 ans), première Suissesse aux «Caux Scholars».

les organisations internationales, les universités et l’économie, entre autres.»

A Caux, les vingt étudiants qui achèvent ces jours leurs cours appliqués de résolution des conflits rêvent de marcher sur les pas de Kahlil. Ils proviennent de 15 pays, de la Colombie à la Birmanie, en passant par la Bosnie ou le Kenya.

Since its inception in 1991, more than 320 students from over 86 countries have participated in the Caux Scholars Program (CSP), which takes place each year in Caux.

Through class sessions, interaction with their fellow students and participation in the Caux conferences, the programme offers students conflict analysis tools and resolution skills.

They focus on the moral and spiritual dimensions of peace building and on the relationship between individual transformation and change in the world. Find out more at www.caux scholars.org

Amir Kanergi (24 ans) s’attelle à rétablir la démocratie en Tunisie, son pays.

Ils apprennent à résoudre les conflits dans le monde Caux-Initiatives et Changement va diplômer vingt nouveaux artisans de la paix. En vingt ans, la fondationa formé 400 étudiants

In brief

fuir le Pakistan. Aujourd’hui, nos deux peuples ont gardé une culture identique, mais nos deux Etats s’obstinent à faire de nous des ennemis. A mon retour en Inde, j’entends agir auprès de notre gouvernement et des médias.»

Dans ce but, Nikhil Vazirani appliquera ce qu’il a appris à Caux, grâce à des méthodes de réconci-

pulation, à Tunis. C’est là qu’il a puisé sa motivation à venir à Caux, afin de pouvoir travailler plus efficacement au rétablissement démocratique en Tunisie.

«Après vingt-trois ans de dictature, notre nouveau gouvernement manque d’expérience. Il faut lui laisser le temps d’apprendre.» Le Tunisien veut donc s’acti-

‘They learn to solve the conflicts of the world’.

Headline in 24heures, the main regional newspaper. The full article (in French) can be read on www.caux.ch.

CAUX REPORT 2012 15

CAUX CONFERENCES AND BEYOND

Behind the scenes: volunteers and interns The Caux conference centre is run almost entirely by volunteers and interns. Although participants meet the conference organizers and their work team leaders, they may not see how many people work behind the scenes. A total of 16 departments contribute to the running of the centre.

T

his year, a total of 65 interns travelled to Caux from 27 countries to cook meals, change beds, manage the dining room, work in reception, and help in the offices, in addition to completing an Initiatives of Change training course. Interns are between the ages of 18 and 30, and span careers and continents – some are university or graduate students, while others are professionals; the 2012 interns included a doctor and an ex-banker who quit his job to volunteer with Initiatives of Change.

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Interns have been an integral part of Caux for many years, but only in 2009 did the Interns Programme take on its current form of a service-oriented and skill-building internship. Since then, some 240 interns have completed the programme, many returning as volunteers, conference assistants or organizers, department head trainees or intern coordinators. Rob Lancaster, who wrote the proposal for the new Interns Programme in 2008 and has been active in it since then, sees it as a unique experience and introduction to Initiatives of Change. ‘It’s a multicultural environment where there is space for you to explore

values and the foundations of relationships of trust, what that looks like, how it works. I think that’s pretty rare, the opportunity to connect with a range of different people, and ask questions that you perhaps wouldn’t normally be able to ask.’

Lancaster has a long-term vision for the Interns Programme. ‘We want to take it to the next phase; to try to more intentionally support people once they’ve been through the programme, provide more opportunities for deepening that journey, and offer more of a toolkit to help them to take their own initiatives.’

Why I come to Caux – three volunteers give their answers Lynley Brophy is the Deputy Operations Coordinator in Caux

Lynley has been involved with Initiatives of Change since 1992. She is a social worker in New Zealand.

How did you get involved with Caux?

I first came to Caux in 1992. I was at a crossroads in terms of work, and a relative who knows IofC suggested that I come to Caux. I had studied and worked as a social worker. I could relate to the link between personal and social change. So I was interested in the conferences, but I wanted to help with the running of the house. I worked in the kitchen.

For the past three years I have been deputy operations coordinator, to ensure that the departments involved in running the house are resourced and are running smoothly.

Why do you keep coming back?

Caux has a vital role to play and I am committed to ensuring the continuation of Caux through taking leadership and responsibility. I enjoy being of service and feel that continuity of service is helpful to the operation of Caux.

How has Caux changed you?

I have become more aware of the realities and situations in different countries. So I am supporting the initiatives of several friends that I met at Caux. This is a privilege and enriching experience.

Simon Nelson, at 17, was the youngest volunteer at Caux Simon comes from Norway and is in the second year of a three-year commitment with the technical team.

How did you get involved with Caux?

My parents met here in Caux, so I was an IofC child; I don’t know how many times I’ve been here, six or eight, maybe.

They organized a conference ‘Everybody Counts’, and it was during one of those conferences that I got involved with the technical team. I had nothing to do when I was 13, 14, so I asked my dad what I could do, and he told me to ask about working in Caux, and two years later I started working here.

How do you like being the youngest volunteer at Caux?

Most people treat me like I’m their age, so it’s a good thing. They could recruit younger people than they do now, and I feel like it is a good experience to learn from a younger age. It can help you to decide a path when you’re older. The experience will be in the back of my mind all the time, it’s not something you forget.

What about Caux has touched you the most?

The people – you meet people from countless nationalities – I’ve probably met more than 50; hearing their stories in the

plenaries, talking to them over the dinner table you get a different perspective on everything.

Cleopadia Mohlaodi, trainee department head, dining room Cleo is a university student from South Africa, studying child development. Although she loves her time in Caux, she misses her work with children at home.

How have you been involved with IofC? I came to Caux with the interns program in 2010, and my role as dining room manager started last year. I volunteer with IofC South Africa with Peace Circles; I initiated a peace circle with teenagers who are trying to improve their leadership skills.

What about Caux has touched you the most?

People go home with a sense of meaning, or hope or passion, because of the values and quiet time. Those are the things that really change a person. A global family is very important; when you live in a house full of love and communication, you learn to be able to adapt anywhere. That is what has changed me the most.

CAUX REPORT 2012 17

FACTS AND FIGURES

Who came to Caux?

10%

46%

17%

54%

3%

Children

Women

Students

Men

Pensioners

What did they y come for? or?

To work in the centre 171 To be trained 95 For the conferences 884 As members of partner organizations 115 Many thanks to the volunteers who gave more than 9000 hours of their time!

83 dif different ent nationalities Europe: 62%

Motherr tongue Mothe

French: 13% German: 10%

Africa: 11% The Americas: 11% Asia/Middle East: 10% Australasia: 6%

Switzerland is the second most represented esented countryy after the count United Kingdom

Other: 38% 59 interpreters helped all the participants to understand each other

Av A verag age e stay stay ay: 10 nights Total T otal of 13,943 3,943 bed-nights

These figu f res are based on the application fforms and only count those participants who spent at least one night in Caux.

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English: 39%

INITIATIVES OF CHANGE INTERNATIONAL

IofC International: a renewed vision Initiatives of Change (IofC) is a worldwide movement of people of diverse cultures and backgrounds, who are committed to the transformation of society through changes in human motives and behaviour, starting with their own.

This summer, IofC held a Global Assembly attended by over 100 people representing the work of IofC in 43 countries.

The primary aim of the meeting was achieved. The Global Assembly strongly endorsed a Strategic Framework, a consensus-driven document drafted by the IofC network intended to guide IofC’s international efforts.

The Framework clarifies a renewed vision (IofC works towards a just, peaceful and sustainable world to which everyone, responding to the call of conscience, makes their unique contribution) and mission (IofC aims to inspire, equip and connect people to address world needs, starting

with themselves). It focuses IofC efforts on three areas:

 Peace and social cohesion by building trust and reconciliation across divides;  Good governance at every level by developing a leadership culture based on moral integrity, compassion and selfless service;  Economic justice and environmental sustainability by inspiring transformation of motives and behaviour.

These points form the foundation of IofC’s strategy which has brought a personal approach (seek inner wisdom/start with

yourself/dialogue in diversity/take focused action) to changemaking in critical situations for over 80 years. They also mark a collective desire to bring IofC’s global resources together to make the greatest impact possible. More on these specific actions will unfold in the coming year in places such as India and South Sudan.

Initiatives of Change International (IofC International) is a non-governmental organization (NGO). It has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), and Participatory Status at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

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CAUX 2013 International Caux Conferences 2013 29 June –3 July Just governance Explore both the personal qualities needed for effective governance, and governance structures which promote integrity and cooperation 3–7 July Healing history Overcoming racism, seeking equity, building community 7–11 July Dialogue on land and security Share experience and build partnerships in restoring land, lives and peace 13–19 July Trust and integrity in the global economy Towards economic justice and environmental sustainability 24–30 July Children as actors in transforming society The role of children and youth as active global citizens 1– 6 August Learning to live in a multicultural world Imagining and co-creating a desired future in Europe through intergenerational and intercultural dialogue 7–12 August Seeds of inspiration People sharing the inspiration that shaped their lives Regular updates on www.caux.ch CAUX-Initiatives of Change PO Box 3909 CH-6002 Lucerne E-mail: info@caux.ch Web: www.caux.ch Tel +41 41 310 12 61 Fax +41 41 311 22 14

Initiatives of Change International 1, rue de Varembé, PO Box 3 CH-1211 Geneva 20 E-mail: iofc-international@iofc.org Web: www.iofc.org Tel +41 22 749 16 20 Fax +41 22 733 02 67