INTERNATIONALCAUX CONFERENCES 2011

Re-greening land with old techniques 5

Young Muslim peacemakers 8

Linking theory and action 14

The challenge of a sustainable future 16

Conference Report Caux 2011

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2  CAUX REPORT 2011

RubRIk

The International Caux Conferences are organized by CAUX-Initiatives of Change and Initiatives of Change International every year in Caux above Montreux, Switzerland. Since 1946, they have explored ways to trans-form society through changes in individuals and relationships. The 2011 programme consisted of a series of conferences and workshops, each covered in this report.

More information, including videos and photos can be found at www.caux.ch/2011

CONTENTs

Editorial

Linking the personal and the global 3

Human Security

Land degradation: ‘We are the desert-making species on earth’ 4Yacouba Savadogo: Re-greening land with old techniques 5A challenge to Islam after the Arab Spring 6The Swiss Foreign Ministry and the Caux Forum: A ‘complementary partnership’ 7

Multicultural World

Young Muslim peacemakers 8Diversity as an opportunity 9Zahra Hassan: Working for reconciliation in the diaspora 10

Training

Creators of Peace: ‘Circles of peace’ to break down differences 12Mary Ella Keblusek: ‘An opportunity to practise on myself’ 13

Caux Scholars Program

Linking theory and action 1420 years of the Caux Scholars Program 15

PeaceWomen across the globe

Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold: ‘No women – No peace’ 15

Business Ethics

Göran Carstedt: The challenge of a sustainable future 16Jane Royston: ‘I had a dream’ to build a fair business; it turned out rather well! 18

About us

The Caux Conferences and IofC: Get involved! 19

Caux 2012

International Caux Conferences 2012 20

Designed and printed by Brunner AG, Druck und Medien, CH-6010 Kriens, SwitzerlandEditors: Chris Breitenberg, Adriana Borra, Andrew Stallybrass, Philipp ThülerPhotos: Abdullah Alwazeen, Maha Ashour, Jean Fichery Dukulizimana, Salim Kassam, Christoph Kaufmann, Raluca Carmen Ocean, Charlotte Sawyer, Kismet Waked, Kosima Weber, Liu Yaya

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RubRIk

by  Initiatives  of  Change  (IofC)  in Burundi.

The  Caux  approach  seeks  to  join the  ‘personal’  and  the  ‘global’  in  a two-way, creative flow. IofC believes that lasting transformation will always grow out of  lives and relationships being  transformed.  It  brings  to-gether  people  motivated  by  the longing  to  make  compassion  and justice real in the world. And by the never-ending  search  for  an  inner wisdom that can guide each human being in their human doing.

Edward Peters, Executive Vice-President

Initiatives of Change International

CAUX REPORT 2011  3

Linking the personal and the global

Göran  Carstedt,  one  of  Europe’s most  prominent  business  leaders, quoted  Václav  Havel:  ‘It  is  as  if something  were  crumbling,  decay-ing  and  exhausting  itself  –  while something else, still indistinct, were arising  from the rubble.’ The Caux conferences  aim  to  support  that ‘rebirth’. 

This  year’s  Caux  agenda was  very relevant.  Egyptians  and  Tunisians brought the energy and excitement of  the Arab  Spring,  and  in  a  two-day  special programme with Euro-pean politicians,  sought  to support moves on  the ground  toward sus-tainable democracy. As Norway and the rest of Europe reeled from the tragic massacre by a  right-wing  extremist,  45  young European  Muslims  gathered  for  a training programme on peacemak-ing and trustbuilding.

Against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, the Trust and integrity in the global economy conference gathered  200  business  people,  in-

EdITORIAL

dustrialists,  economists,  environ-mentalists and concerned  individu-als to help create a just and equita-ble global economy.

With the equivalent of three Swit-zerlands  of  productive  land  being lost  every  year  to  soil  erosion,  initiatives  addressing  this   global  issue  were  showcased.  Luc-Marie Gnacadja,  the  Executive  Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, called for a holistic approach.

Caux’s  special  contribution  lies  in its  focus on the human dimension, Ambassador Claude Wild, Head of the  Political  Affairs  Division  IV  in the  Swiss  Federal  Department  of Foreign  Affairs  (DFA),  explained. ‘Caux has a very focused approach on personal experiences,  individual responsibility  and  “life  skills”.’  This, he  said,  is  complementary  to  the more  structural  approach  of  the DFA,  which  has  been  supporting the Caux Forum for Human Security from  its beginning  in 2008, as well as  initiatives  for  reconciliation  led 

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HuMAN sECuRITY

‘We are the desert-making species on earth’The Caux Forum for Human Security examined the urgent challenge of erosion and soil degradation, which is destroying the equivalent of three Switzerlands of productive land every year.

At the request of Luc-Marie Gnac-adja, Executive Secretary of the UN

Convention to Combat Desertification, the Forum dedicated one day of the week on how to turn this situation around. The result, in Gnacadja’s words, ‘more than fulfilled my expectations, and was fully in keeping with Caux’s tradition as an incu-bator of change’.

‘We are the desert-making species on earth,’ Gnacadja said. ‘We are the planet’s skin disease.’ The lands most vulnerable to erosion are under ‘water stress’ in ‘dry-lands’, and this third of the world’s land surface produces 44 % of the world’s food, he went on. Millions are being forced to move to more productive land, and this is a major cause of conflict.

‘So much depends on so little, and we are not really tackling the root causes,’ Gnac-adja continued. Eight out of 10 conflicts in the world are in dryland areas. ‘We need to take action, but the good news is that people are taking action at a grass-roots level. We need to support their ef-forts.’ He called for a greater focus on ‘the forgotten billion’, the poorest people in the world. Desertification and land degra-dation was closely related to the problems of food security and political stability, a complex mix that all went in to ‘human security’.

Clare Short, who served as Secretary of State for International Development in the UK from 1997 to 2003, had herself seen at first hand the signs of degraded lands, drought and climate change in many parts of the world. All these signs lead up to a famine like that affecting 10 million people in the Horn of Africa to-day. ‘But there are answers, and they can rapidly reverse the mess we’re making. We must start to put things right,’ she concluded.

Chris Reij, an expert in sustainable agri-culture and Professor at the Centre for International Cooperation at the VU

University, Amsterdam, also underlined positive developments. He gave examples from the Sahel, the 3 million square kilo-metres south of the Sahara. This region is affected even more than others by a changing climate and ever increasing food prices. ‘But there is hope,’ he said. A good example was the re-greening of parts of Niger conducted by peasant farmers of the region. ‘In the past 20 years, 5 million hectares have been re-greened. This means food for 2.5 million people,’ said Reij. The challenge was now to imple-ment similar methods in more regions. ‘We can improve the lives of millions of African farmers and shepherds,’ he con-cluded.

The special day attracted a number of ex-perts, grassroots activists and farmers – a mix that is part of the specificity of Caux. Clare Short concluded that people in the rich world can feel that something’s wrong. ‘The OECD rich countries see themselves as the high-point of human civilization and development, but at the same time, there are more and more prob-lems of obesity, mental illness and addic-tions and, as societies, we’re in trouble,’ she said. Martin Frick, programme leader for climate diplomacy at the non-profit

organization, Third Generation Environ-mentalism E3G, said, ‘Caux offers us space for insight, a space that inspires and challenges us. Here I have realized that the most important players are those that we haven’t taken into account – the peo-ple at the bottom of the pyramid.’

Andrew Stallybrass

Luc-Marie Gnacadja

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Re-greening land with old techniquesYacouba Savadogo from Burkina Faso is a 65-year-old peasant farmer and the protagonist of the documentary film The man who stopped the desert. He has used traditional techniques to rehabilitate the soil and prevent desertification. He spoke at the Caux Forum after a screening of the film.

What motivated you to farming?I began to work as a farmer in 1979 while I was still young. My family and I suf-fered a lot from hunger. I told myself I needed to do something to help the situa-tion. Compared to others we were lucky and not suffering much, but I knew that if I didn’t do something, sooner or later I would go bankrupt or starve. Something needed to be done at the grassroots. That’s why I left my trade work to work with the land as a farmer. Today I pro-duce very well and all those who have imitated my methods also produce very well. I am fortunate; my family is no longer hungry. Not a day passes that a group of five or 10 people come to visit me, and ask how I grow my farm. This form of sharing and exchanging informa-tion allows us to learn from each other and encourages me to continue the work I do.

Tell us about the techniques you have used?In my farming I use improved traditional techniques to cultivate the land. How-ever, none of the success could have been accomplished if it weren’t for the ex-changes I had with the other people in the region. I try my best to collect many seeds from trees so that I can plant them in my field. It is important to have different spe-cies, as they enhance the variety of plants and possibilities. I see how the earth re-sponds to this, and the more varieties of trees there are the better it is for all the plants.

As you have not been to school, how do you know you are on the right track?It is not necessary to go to school to know how to do it. It is about having a vision, knowing how to observe your develop-ment, making some changes where they are needed and continuing to farm.

Do you think that your work has had an impact on the relationships between people?Yes. The impact on social relations is de-pendent on how people live and support each other. For example if you work hard during the raining season, you will have enough grain to eat and even share. Most people who have adopted my techniques have an increased solidarity among their communities, because they all have enough to share with their neighbours. Before it would have been too difficult and too much of a strain to give food away. Now things have changed and this has helped relationships between people in the communities.

Jean Fichery Dukulizimana

Yacouba savadogo, ‘The man who stopped the desert’

Caux Forum for Human Security

The fourth Caux Forum for Human Security took place between 10 and 17 July 2011. Its goal was to create a learning environment focused on an-swering basic human needs, to build trust by giving attention to historical wounds, and to encourage collabora-tion between civil society, multilat-eral institutions and governments. Peter Maurer, Swiss Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs spoke at the open-ing. The Swiss government was proud to support the continuing ef-forts to promote intercultural dia-logue, and ‘an innovative thinking in the field of human security,’ he said. Some 350 participants from all over the world – diplomats, scientists, NGO representatives and grassroots activists – discussed ways to advance human security.

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A challenge to Islam after the Arab spring Islam’s political position within Egypt and Tunisia after the Arab Spring was at the heart of a two-day special programme during the Caux Forum for Human Security. The 40 participants were able to speak openly and in confidence with one another.

Diplomats, activists, human rights specialists and journalists spoke of

the challenges facing the Arab world after the revolution. Anissa Hassouna from Egypt spoke of the need to reconcile with those related to the old regime. Journalist Lotfi Hajji stressed the need to reform po-lice and judicial systems, and spoke of de-mocratization and the role of political parties. Abdelfattah Mourou, founder of the Tunisian Ennahda Party, said the challenge for the Arab people is the need to establish a democracy for all, not a de-mocracy with actors and subjects. Mourou recalled, ‘Some think Tunisians are Islam-ists and enemies of freedom, but they have been violated, imprisoned, and forced into exile by autocratic regimes.’ Etienne Pinte, French Member of Parlia-ment, said to the North Africans: ‘Your destiny is in your hands, you have to choose your constitution, to build your democracy and we are here to support you, not to impose on you.’

The speakers all stressed the hope for the Arab Muslims to build a true democracy.

‘They do not advocate repression or prac-tise polygamy, and they do not require the application of Sharia law on the crim-inal law to advocate earlier centuries,’ said Mourou. ‘Democracy is practised, it is the result of the responsibility, if we force the Islamists to leave politics, they are forced to become marginalized,’ he said.

Slim Bouaziz was elated as he packed his bags after a week full of meetings, ex-changes and discussions. It was his first time in Europe and he hopes for a better future. The young Muslim student said, ‘We are now included, they (the people from the West) understand that the re-volts have gone far beyond religious iden-tity and that we (the people) want de-mocracy. It’s the beginning of a new age.’

Frédéric Chavanne, responsible for Africa and the Mediterranean for Initiatives of Change-France, said, ‘The conversations

were very honest, with the North Africans being able to express their grievances to the West.’

For Chavanne, the fear of Islam could lead to the failure of these revolutions, but he hoped that the Tunisian Islamist party will show the world that a relation-ship between Islam, democracy and the rule of law is possible. ‘We were all sur-prised by the revolution in Tunisia which revealed a different picture of the Arab world. We trust them,’ he said. ‘These days had the merit of at least allowing us to start frank discussions in an atmo-sphere of trust, and with the will to build something new together.’

Jean Fichery Dukulizimana

HuMAN sECuRITY

Tunisian journalist Lotfi Hajji

‘The will to build something new together’

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CAUX REPORT 2011  7

Claude Wild

The Swiss Foreign Ministry and the Caux Forum: a ‘complementary partnership’

An interview with Ambassador Claude Wild, Head of Political Affairs Division IV in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which has been supporting the Caux Forum for Human Security since its beginning in 2008.

Why is the DFA supporting the Caux Forum for Human Security?The DFA has supported this Forum since 2008 for many reasons, mainly because the theme of the Caux Forum for Human Security is in conjunction with our man-date and we hope to continue operational collaboration between Initiatives of Change (IofC) and Political Affairs Divi-sion IV (PD IV) which began in 2005 in Burundi.

This collaboration is important for the implementation of certain programme ac-tivities regarding the peace policy of PD IV in Africa (Great Lakes region, Western and Central Africa).

Particularly in Burundi, IofC has sup-ported peace efforts and dialogue between the rebel Palipehutu-FNL and the gov-ernment since 2003 and currently contin-ues to support democratic dialogue be-tween the extra-parliamentary opposition and the government. This project has

been funded by PD IV since November 2005. In Western and Central Africa, PD IV has initiated and developed a partner-ship with IofC since 2007, most notably in the area of capacity building of African practitioners in the field of mediation and the issues of dealing with the past.

How do Caux and IofC integrate into the vision of the Swiss foreign policy?Caux has a very focused approach on per-sonal experiences, individual responsibil-ity and ‘life skills’. This represents an in-teresting approach for the DFA, in the sense that our approach to human secu-rity tends to be more structural in pro-grammes and geographically and themati-cally developed and focused in projects. Thus in partnership PD IV and Caux act in a complementary way to one another, particularly from the perspective of opera-tional collaboration.

What can Caux and IofC do better? What would you like to see more of in Caux?The link between political actors and the ‘social’ actors could be strengthened to al-low more active follow-up of the meeting on the operational level in the various countries which the participants come from.

What would you change in Caux if you could change anything?Why change an initiative that works well? The quality of exchanges in the Forums is clearly demonstrated. However, it would be useful and interesting – after the Fo-rum 2012 which will be the last one of the five-year programme – to capitalize on the experiences and lessons learned during the various editions, and mobilize more politicians on these issues.

Philipp Thüler

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dIvERsITY

Young Muslim peacemakers Forty five young Muslims from Austria, Bosnia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK gathered in the Caux conference centre for a training programme Learning to be a Peacemaker, 20 to 31 July. It was the second such pro-gramme in Caux, led by Imam Ajmal Masroor from Britain.

enhance their understanding of their own faith and how to live it out in the Euro-pean context. The sessions were designed to equip participants to promote peace both within themselves and within the wider community.

The programme consisted of four days of ‘internal dialogue’ studying Islamic ap-proaches to peacemaking, followed by participation in the week-long conference on the theme of Learning to live in a mul-ticultural world: diaspora and peacemaking in Europe.

Finding common ground

Sabina Ali is a young professional in Eng-land. She said, ‘Coming to Caux really brings the ideals I’ve learned from religion to life. I can use my experiences from Caux and practise them in the corporate working environment back home.’ She continued: ‘I attribute my confidence as a Muslim woman to the things I learned

here.’ She explained that in her view, all religions share commonalities, and it is important to celebrate those commonali-ties while respecting the differences.

Another participant, Suleyman Sakha, a dentist from the UK, said: ‘It’s not just an internal change that I’m seeking, but an external one as well.’ He explained that he hoped that this forum will give young, educated Muslims a chance to voice their opinions about what is going on in the world, so that there is a better under-standing among people of different faiths and cultures. ‘You don’t have to be a Muslim to understand the beauty of Is-lam. We are trying to find common ground between people’s values and be-liefs, to do what is best for all parties, without impinging on the human or civil rights of any group.’

Tanya Wood

‘Ajmal Masroor is very courageous. Seeing Britain at war in countries

that their parents came from, young Mus-lims can feel uncertain about fully engag-ing with the society in which they have grown up. The reception of the majority community can also be equivocal, and the combination can lead to frustration and anger,’ says Peter Riddell, British joint co-ordinator of the programme. ‘The Mus-lim world is now part of the European world. Whereas a few decades ago, being European, on the whole, meant being white and Christian, now it means being of any colour and any religion. “Old” and “new” Europeans are on a journey of cre-ating a new culture together. This can be a very creative enterprise if we understand each other’s journey and engage in it wholeheartedly.’ This is the importance, he believes, of a programme like this.

The participants were young Muslims who came to learn from Masroor and from each other. Masroor’s goal was to

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Oliver Freeman, an expert for the Intercultural Cities Programme of the Council of Europe

diversity as an opportunityMigration is a reality. But how do we cope with the cultural diversity that results? This was at the heart of a panel discussion on ‘The new “We”: Visions of an inclusive intercultural environment’ at the close of the conference Learning to live in a multicultural world.

Dibyesh Anand, Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and In-

ternational Relations at the University of Westminster in London, stressed that Eu-rope not only has problems, but is a prob-lem: ‘It is a problem because European values are perceived as universal (human rights, democracy …) while at the same time they are seen as uniquely European.’ According to Anand, this is dangerous because democracy is an ideal for which people have to struggle constantly – and Europe may even have things to learn from other continents.

True democracy is not a tyranny of num-bers, he continued, but should protect the rights of minorities. The Swiss ban on minarets following a referendum was for him an example that even in a democracy which is used to dealing with minorities, discrimination can happen. One has to understand that everybody is a part of a minority: ‘There are no majorities but a multitude of minorities.’ This under-standing would ultimately lead to more humility. And humility instead of pride in one’s identity would offer a way to a new ‘We’ and a European society which not only tolerates cultural diversity but embraces it and enriches itself with it.

Oliver Freeman, former co-Chair of the Swiss Conference of Integration Commis-sioners and currently serving as an expert for the Intercultural Cities Programme of the Council of Europe, stated that migra-tion and cultural diversity caused uncer-tainties. It was easy and dangerous at the same time for politicians to turn these un-certainties into fear and to benefit from this fear.

Creating something new

Freeman explained different strategies to cope with migration and difference: As-similation (a + b = a) leads to a complete integration of group ‘b’ into the existing society ‘a’; Multiculturalism (a + b = a + b) leads to a peaceful coexistence of group ‘b’ and the existing society ‘a’. A third

way, Trans- or Inter-culturalism (a + b = c) is the one which is supported by the Council of Europe and leads to some-thing new. The existing society ‘a’ em-braces group ‘b’ and thus creates some-thing new, society ‘c’. Freeman said: ‘We should not see society as a mechanical en-gine which ceases to function when a for-eign object falls into it. We should rather see it as an ecosystem, which adapts to new situations and enriches itself with foreign elements.’ The ‘c’, added Free-man, could also be replaced by an ‘h’ for Humanity.

Humanity as the most important con-necting element was also at the centre of John Battle’s conclusion. Battle, a former member of the British parliament and government minister, noted that in his neighbourhood in Leeds, in which 21 lan-

guages are spoken, where there are mosques, churches and cultures from all over the world, it was indispensable for everybody to be ready to create the ‘new We’. To reach this change and to create the ‘new We’, is a task for all of us, he said: ‘We have to get over the “I”. Instead of “I think, therefore I am” (Cogito, ergo sum), it should be “You are, therefore I am”.’

Philipp Thüler

‘You are, therefore I am’

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Zahra Hassan: facilitating dialogue in the diaspora

Working for reconciliation in the diasporaZahra Hassan was born in Somalia and now lives in England. At the conference Learning to live in a multicultural world: diaspora and peacemaking in Europe, she spoke on the role of diaspora women.

Can you tell us about the organiza-tions you are involved in?

The three organizations have similarities. They are trying to reach people in the com-munity to bring them together. ‘Women of the Horn Association’, for example, is an organization that helps the grassroots level, especially women or single parents from East Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, etc.) who live in the UK. We are trying to bring all the community together and to help the wider community indeed. The ‘Somali community for dialogue and de-mocracy’ and Initiatives of Change (IofC) have also the same aims and objectives: to try to build trust between the communities. Somalia is still in a civil war. We still have a lot of problems and although we are not facing clan issues in the diaspora, we are facing the issues linked to ‘living in a mul-ticultural world’ which are barriers of lan-guage, barriers of understanding, barriers of knowing what are your rights, etc. We need to address them.

How are you involved in these organi-zations?If I take an example, in IofC I work closely with the Agenda for Reconciliation pro-

gramme where we gather to talk about rec-onciliation and forgiveness, trustbuilding between ourselves. You have to understand what forgiveness is, for example, or what reconciliation is. The reason why we joined Agenda for Reconciliation is because we felt that we hate each other as a Somali community and we are still feeling this. So we are trying to forgive and create the plat-form where people can come and reconcile what went wrong and forgive each other and create an atmosphere where we could dialogue.

I myself facilitate dialogues and, most of the time, I bring a group of women to-gether and we discuss issues in our lives, what went wrong, and we focus on what we would like to achieve. Peace is not something that you can ignore, we need it and there is a path that you have to go along.

What motivates you? I want to be a role model because I am a mother and a trainer. My aim is to show our diaspora people that if we work to-gether we can build a better community. If the diaspora becomes a good diaspora

then we can support our people suffering in the Horn of Africa. My strength comes also from my religion, which tells us to help people who are in need.

Are you making some positive steps in terms of forgiveness?I try to use my religion and that gives me peace. Allah says that ‘if you can’t forgive my humankind, I can’t forgive you’. So we need to forgive whoever hates us, that is the way I have been raised. In terms of the community, we discuss the issues we need to talk about. Recently for example we talked about the difference between the younger and older generations and where we need facilitation. We are living in diaspora and we are facing a number of problems. That is why we started these workshops in order to bring together the two generations.

Do you personally feel that you need to forgive someone? The word forgiveness is a very deep word. And it is hard to be forgiven and to for-give. Sometimes when I am facilitating I say that ‘sorry’ is not a difficult word be-cause it is only five letters. But saying this

dIvERsITY

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CAUX REPORT 2011  11

word from the heart is a different thing. Personally, I always ask for forgiveness. We are all human beings and something unacceptable can always happen to you. So this is always my way of doing things. I always sit down with the person and see that we need to forgive. Because there is always something to ask forgiveness for and something to forgive.

Would you like to give an example?When we had a dialogue facilitation, there was a story that touched everybody. A woman had had the training, after we gave the participants their certificates, she went home and she was moved by what she received from the people in the work-shop. That night, at home, she heard a quarrel coming from the top floor where she was living. She went and listened and there was a verbal fight between a hus-band and a wife who were next door. When she knocked, the wife opened the door and she asked them what was hap-pening and then the couple replied at the same time. She told them that she had gone through a six-day course of dialogue facilitation and the most important words that she learned were ‘openness’ and ‘lis-

Diaspora and peacemaking

tening’. When another person speaks, no-body interrupts. She asked them to sit down and have a coffee and listen to one another. In less than 15 minutes, the problem was solved. Listening is very im-portant and can play a big role in dialogue facilitation.

Jean Fichery Dukulizimana

The conference Learning to live in a multicultural world: Diaspora and peace-making in Europe was held between 26 and 31 July. It was the third session of this conference cycle which builds on the rich experience of Initiatives of Change in the fields of relationship transformation, dialogue facilitation and trustbuilding, with particular em-phasis on diaspora communities’ con-tribution to peacemaking. The session was opened by Anne Catherine Ménétrey-Savary, a former Swiss mem-

ber of parliament. In her speech she condemned the xenophobic and Islam-ophobic trends rooted in the lack of trust between migrant communities and the citizens of host countries. ‘The rise of nationalist movements has marked the transformation of Europe into a fortress against the threat of inva-sion by migrants from the South,’ she said. The aim of the conference was to create a common vision of an inclusive intercultural environment and search for ways of realizing it.

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Circles of peace to break down differencesTwo training courses organized by Creators of Peace, an Initiatives of Change programme, were part of the conference Transform yourself – Transform the world around you. Thirty-five women of all ages, religions and backgrounds met to learn about peacebuilding.

The training offered a chance to get to know the ‘peace circle’, one of the

basic methods of Creators of Peace. One group took part in such a peace circle while the other group, consisting of women who had previously taken part in a peace circle, learnt how to facilitate one. In a peace circle, each woman is asked to share her personal story with others. Jean Brown, who developed the method, ex-plained. ‘Women have a special need to talk, to let their heart speak and this is part of the process of liberation and heal-ing.’ She went on, ‘After sharing their story, some of the women shed tears. They come from difficult situations and for many of them, a peace circle is the first opportunity to share their life story.’

Esther Zando was a first-time participant in the training and was delighted that the

workshop helped the women to work on themselves. ‘I wanted to contribute to-wards peace, but I found that I myself need to heal my own wounds before I can find inner peace. The environment cre-ated here in Caux is friendly and human and that is really what impacted me,’ she said. As a young woman from Ivory Coast, where there was recently a devastating conflict, she said she would return to Abidjan to help break the barriers that di-vide the population. ‘Even some families are split in two. Neighbours don’t trust each other anymore. We must break down these walls by coming together using the peace circles to get people to free them-selves and learn that differences don’t have to divide us. I have taken the first step. The second will be to work within my family, with my friends and colleagues from my neighbourhood,’ she said.

Zando is not alone. According to Jean Brown, many women return home with the goal to build better relationships within their families. ‘This is the begin-ning of healing. First within families, be-cause many women want to improve their relationships with their husbands and children, which will have a big impact at the community level, and why not on the national level as well?’

Creators of Peace is an Initiatives of Change programme designed by women and was launched at a Caux conference in 1991. Currently the programme includes peacemakers from five continents and is active in over 30 countries.

Jean Fichery Dukulizimana

The Transform yourself – Transform the world around you conference took place between 3 and 8 July 2011. About 100 participants from all corners of the world participated in seven different training courses to learn more about different issues. There was a course on ‘Creators of Peace – experiencing and

facilitating Peace Circles’, another on ‘In-ternational service and mature leadership’, drawing on the legacy of the former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, one on mediation and ‘conflict coaching’, and one on ‘responding to conflict con-structively’. Additional to the training courses, there were plenary meetings with

keynote speakers such as Cornelio Som-maruga, former President of the Inter-national Committee of the Red Cross, and the Swiss goldsmith and pioneer in fair trade jewellery, Jörg Eggimann.

TRAINING

Transform yourself

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CAUX REPORT 2011  13

An opportunity to practise on myself

pand peace, and the realization that my greatest contribution to world peace is maintaining my own inner peace.

The surprise? Seeing that my broken computer was actually a gift – an oppor-tunity to practise on myself the tools learned in my peace circle experience … to recognize that life is the art of handling our everyday worries while still finding and following the greater purpose for our lives.

Now, renewed and inspired, I can return home, ready to spread peace circles as my own ‘initiative of change’.

This week, that changed. The first half of the course was devoted to experiencing a peace circle amongst ourselves (11 partici-pants, four facilitators). Using progressive steps called ‘gathering points’, we were guided to look at what builds peace and what destroys peace, in ourselves and oth-ers. We practised reflection, inner listen-ing, and forgiveness. We listened to each other’s personal stories, opening our hearts in compassion and love. We found inspiration in the stories of women across the globe who overcame conflict and in-justice using these principles of peace.

The second half of the course brought training in how to facilitate our own peace circles, using a process carefully crafted to invite transformation. Structure and guidance were provided, as well as encouragement to bring our own person-alities and perspectives to the process.

I leave Caux with a deep friendship with women from across the globe, the confi-dence to use peace circles to find and ex-

‘My computer died. My rent is going up. My relationships are in turmoil. How can I be a “peacemaker” when I can’t even find peace in my own life?’ Mary Ella Keblusek, an American liv-ing in Canada, describes her first expe-rience of Caux and of peace circles.

I came to Caux this year – my first visit to this magical place – full of anticipation. I had heard that the Creators of Peace Cir-cles were a great tool for creating mutual understanding and respect among those in conflict. This was my chance to bring these methods back to Canada and apply them to bring peace.

However, what I experienced was far more profound than I imagined possible. I learned that peace really does (really!) begin with me: with my ability to main-tain my own inner peace, to listen deeply to others, and to be a compassionate and honest presence in all that I do.

The concept that ‘personal transforma-tion leads to global transformation’ seems straightforward enough. But as a new-comer to Initiatives of Change (IofC), I had difficulty fully embodying the essen-tial principles and wisdom that so at-tracted me to this organization.

Mary Ella keblusek‘My greatest contribution to world peace is maintaining my own inner peace’

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14  CAUX REPORT 2011

Tom duncan (right) renewing our inspiration and faith in humanity

Linking theory and actionTom Duncan, an environmental management consultant and activist from Australia, was a Caux Scholar in 2009. Since then he has been involved with the organizing team of the Caux Forum for Human Security.

How did you get involved?I have been working in the field of envi-ronment since 2000. I worked in China in 2004 with an Australian agency pro-gramme on water security and agricul-ture. I could see that despite the best in-tentions it often comes down to the hu-man factors at work. I felt the Caux Scholars Program could give me some more skills in this area and that I could apply these more advanced skills in my work.

What do you remember about being a Caux Scholar?It was absolutely amazing. The faculty had a lot of experience, and I met so many interesting people. This was quite magi-cal, because one Caux Scholar would meet an amazing person and would invite him to come and have dinner with fellow scholars. I think that is one of the best things about the program. It is likely that the more this program happens, the more people get in touch. If problems arise, as people get to know each other from dif-ferent countries, races and religions, you have a chance to help prevent conflicts from happening. What did you gain?Personally, some misconceptions or as-

sumptions that I had about the world and about me got challenged. I had to con-front some of these assumptions for my-self. I could meet someone and talk to them and ask them questions. I felt so much better informed and any uncor-rected assumptions can be corrected that way.

It also has been a wonderful experience for the work I do in environment and aid development. It is really inspiring to meet all these people who are out there work-ing in the field and to hear their experi-ences.

In 2009 I joined the Caux Forum for Hu-man Security environment and economy team. It is a way to keep my passion for helping people strong. So it is not just a professional thing. It is also through keep-ing my inspiration fresh and meeting peo-ple who are constantly renewing their in-spiration and faith in humanity that we can find some solutions to some of the biggest questions we face.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about participating in the program?If you don’t know about these ideas of conflict transformation and conflict pre-vention, and you want to do something

better for the world and be part of the so-lution, this is a great thing for you. As a Caux Scholar, you get to see the theory of peacebuilding and conflict transformation and in the Caux Forum you see it in ac-tion. You can’t get that in any university. It is unique and that is what makes the Caux Scholars Program work.

Adriana Borra

CAux sCHOLARs

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CAux ExPO

20 years of the Caux Scholars Program

Since it began in 1991, over 300 stu-dents from 86 countries have partici-pated in the Caux Scholars Program, which takes place each year in July in Caux. Through class sessions, interac-tion with their fellow students and par-ticipation in the Caux conferences, they learn how to initiate personal change in order to initiate a global change for peace. The program offers students conflict analysis tools and resolution skills. They focus on the moral and spiritual dimensions of peacebuilding and on the relationship between indi-vidual transformation and change in the world.

‘As we mark the 20th anniversary of the Caux Scholars Program, we are ex-tremely proud of the way our graduates are making a difference in the world. They are linking up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, starting NGOs in Afghanistan, Gaza and Kosovo, and serving with the UN in Sri Lanka, Dar-fur, Serbia, and Rwanda. They are also serving with their governments, leading businesses and NGOs, and teaching in universities and schools,’ says Kathy Aquilina, coordinator of the program. Find out more at www.cauxscholars.org.

‘No women – No peace’ On 12 July, the Swiss human rights activist and feminist Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold presented the No Women – No Peace temporary exhibition which was open to the public during the whole summer in the Caux conference centre.

The former Swiss member of parlia-ment and of the Council of Europe

said, ‘It is no secret: the world of arma-ments, of proliferation, or war budgets is a world of men.’ Women are not better than men, she conceded, ‘they often sup-port war and destruction, rally behind the war heroes and ignore the consequences’. But it was mainly women who then took on the ‘responsibility to rebuild destroyed societies and care for traumatized people. Women are patch-workers – working to patch things – in about 160 existing con-flict zones.’ They don’t have budgets of millions, peace budgets don’t exist, even though the reconstruction and peace-building takes longer and costs more, she argued.

‘Peace work never ends’

As President of the NGO ‘PeaceWomen Across the Globe’, and through her work with the Council of Europe in many con-flict regions, Vermot-Mangold had met many courageous women doing peace work in extremely dangerous surround-ings. They obtained food and medicine,

looked for missing persons, cared for or-phans and condemned and documented murder, rape, abductions, and to clear landmines. They take to the streets and organize vigils and round tables. She con-cluded, ‘We are convinced that they should not return again to anonymity. This is our common responsibility. Peace work never ends, it starts again and again.’

It was with this in mind that she and oth-ers had launched the idea that 1,000 women peacemakers should be nomi-nated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. It was an unsuccessful bid, but it had led to a continuing and developing world network of women – and more than 1,000 exhibitions like the one in Caux. A number of the women in the exhibition are linked with the Caux centre and IofC.

Andrew Stallybrass

Two of the 1,000 women peacemakers: No women – No Peace

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16  CAUX REPORT 2011

ECONOMY

The challenge of a sustainable futureGöran Carstedt is the Chairman of The Natural Step International, an organization which promotes sustainable development, particularly encouraging the corporate sector to take a lead. For him, creating a sustainable future is the leadership challenge of our time. He gave a Caux Lecture at the Trust and integrity in the global economy conference.

Are you an idealist? Yes. In the sense that I believe very much in ideas. I’m very much driven by guiding ideas. And of course I am also an idealist in the sense that I am very passionate about these ideas I believe in, and I like to share with others because I think leader-ship is very much about gathering and inviting people around some guiding ideas.

During your presentation here at Caux you talked about sustainable develop-ment. How did you get involved with this idea? It was a very long journey. I come from the northern part of Sweden and we are very close to nature there. Sweden as a country has always been engaged in this for different reasons. In 1972 there was the first UN conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. There is a reason for that. And of course I am also part of the generation who was at univer-sity in the late sixties and the early seven-ties, the beginning of this environmental consciousness.

I started with Volvo because the CEO at the time showed an engagement in this question. It was very courageous for a CEO at that time to come out and say that we are part of these bigger problems. Then I heard about The Natural Step for the first time, about 20 years ago, and I was introduced to their way of thinking, of understanding the green cell and the photosynthesis, the ecosystems. Things that we cannot negotiate with. And once you understand that you are not the same person afterwards. Or at least I am not.

You told us how you worked with IKEA and then, one day, you decided to quit. Could you explain this decision a bit further?I have always been very interested in un-derstanding the context, the bigger pic-ture. When you have that interest and

you open your eyes, I had the feeling that IKEA could do without me, but my life is too short not to be out there, opening myself for new and interesting other things. I quote Václav Havel (1994): ‘It is as if something were crumbling, decaying and exhausting itself – while something else, still indistinct, were arising from the rubble.’ I am very curious about what it is that is exhausting itself and what it is that is trying to be born. That curiosity made me leave the corporate world.

Do you consider that you’re part of this new thing that is going to be born? Is everyone part of it? How can we im-agine this? I think that’s a very good question, who is part of what? I guess all of us are some-how part of both the old and the new. But of course, if you are in an oil com-pany today you are more part of the old because you have a balance sheet, and you have to defend this old way of thinking. And at the same time you can say that if you sit here in Caux in a group like this you can easily be in the new thing, be-cause you have nothing really to protect. That’s the continuum. But I think that if you go to the next level, both of us are probably part of both, and I think it is also a struggle within us. But the way I did it, leaving the corporate world and starting to work with non-governmental organizations, I am part of the group try-ing to bring in the new.

But isn’t it possible that at the same time you still want to keep some old things? Yes, very much. And that’s exactly where I tell everyone to be careful. Because I don’t like the people who say that we have to change everything and that every-thing has to be renewed. That’s very dan-gerous. The challenge of finding what to conserve may be more important than what to change. Conserving things in this flow of change and development seems to be vital.

Göran Carstedt: gathering people around some guiding ideas

Trust and integrity

The conference Trust and integrity in the global economy took place between 2 and 8 August 2011. It explored ways to help create a just and equita-ble global economy, against the back-drop of the economic crisis in Greece and its impact on the EU economies and the US debt ceiling debacle. The conference was attended by over 200 participants, including business people, industrialists, economists, environ-mentalists, academics, students and concerned individuals. The partici-pants joined four different work streams according to their interest. One stream discussed issues of busi-ness ethics, two dealt with leadership questions, while the fourth centred on sustainability and food security.

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CAUX REPORT 2011  17

Where do you get your inspiration from? Very much from the outside. It comes from reading, music or theatre and of course my broad network of friends. I never watch TV except for the news sometimes or some sports. I don’t read fiction or science-fiction books and I don’t watch movies like that. Because you see for me life is a thriller. It’s so exciting and everything is there. I read newspapers from all around the world, but I also read the local newspapers to get to feel what local people care about. I am very open minded. I also try to work with young people, because that’s also a way to bring in a younger perspective. This collabora-tion is important in both ways. That’s also why I am happy to see so many young people here in Caux.

How did you react when you were in-vited to this conference? How do you feel about being here? The invitation came from Michael Smith (a member of the organizing team of the conference). He had heard me in England at a presentation I did there and he said that this would be much appreciated here. That’s why I am here. Initiatives of Change is a pretty interesting institution. What I liked very much is that it started so early, just after the Second World War, with the idea of reconciling Germany and France. That is a very real issue and we

know it can only come by bringing people together in conversation. That is true to-day and it was true then. We need to open up for this type of honest dialogue where we listen to each other. We need to give space to each other. We have to have a world where all can be feeling that they’re seen, heard and respected. That is

Paul Moore (right), the former head of group regulatory risk at Halifax bank of scotland, HbOs, internationally known as ‘the HbOs whistle-blower’ said ‘a far-reaching reform agenda of the financial system needed to be backed by an “Arab spring” of public opinion’. He talks with Alain berset, a member of the Council of states (the swiss Federal upper house). ‘The only people who are not paying any price in all of this are those who caused these crises,’ berset said.

a good initiative. And of course the agenda you have here is very relevant. There are some fabulous people turning up in these places.

Christoph Kaufmann

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18  CAUX REPORT 2011

ECONOMY

I had a dream: to build a fair business – it turned out rather well!Can businesses thrive by doing the right thing? Swiss businesswoman Jane Royston, who led a workshop on business ethics at the conference Trust and integrity in the global economy gives an emphatic ‘yes’.

Jane Royston remembers vividly the moment when her business career took

a dramatic turn. It followed a party in Paris in September 1986. She was 28 years old and head of IT in France for the US chemicals multinational DuPont. She had been with the company for six years.

The party was being thrown by DuPont’s European chief, who congratulated the staff for record growth and record profits. In order to achieve such continuing suc-cess in the following year, he remarked casually that 20 per cent of the global workforce were going to be sacked. Oth-ers at the party hardly demurred, recalls Royston. She felt incensed.

She went home and that night had a vivid dream about setting up a company that worked on the basis of fairness. ‘I woke up and said to myself, “I can’t stay in Du-Pont anymore”.’ That day she resigned.

Inclusive decision-making

She returned to her parent’s home in Ge-neva. There she set up her own IT com-pany, NatSoft SA, to provide IT solutions for big companies in Switzerland and else-where. It would be a fair company with consensual or inclusive decision-making.

In March 1987 she took a phone call from a Social Security department of the Swiss government. They asked if her company could update their entire IT sys-tems. ‘Yes, we can,’ she replied immedi-ately. Following that initial contract other clients followed: Roche, Nestlé, Dow, pri-vate banks, the World Health Organiza-tion, and even Vietnamese boat people under the auspices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

The company grew to be the largest IT provider in French-speaking Switzerland, with 120 employees representing 27 na-tionalities, and a turnover of CHF 15 million. Fifty per cent of profits went to the employees in bonuses. ‘It was not only

the decision making that made NatSoft different,’ Royston says. ‘It was also that we kept our word with everyone, and never took advantage of anyone.’ Royston asserts that ‘it makes good business sense to do the right thing: by treating employ-ees right, you save money because you have a much lower employee turnover, which is one of the plagues of the IT in-dustry; by taking decisions consensually, you get immediate buy-in and save time persuading people to reluctantly do what you say; by being on time and on budget each time, you save money on marketing and client acquisition because of all the repeat business you get.’

Nonetheless, after her husband left her she sold the company in 1996 to Cam-bridge Technology Partners in Boston. She had two pre-school children and couldn’t look after them and the com-pany. ‘I had to make a choice and chose the children.’

After a while of doing only pro-bono work, she started teaching at several Swiss universities, set up a National Entrepre-neurship Centre in Lausanne, and today

sits on the boards of seven companies and foundations, including being the chair of PRO which employs 200 handicapped people in Geneva.

Michael Smith

Jane Royston

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CAUX REPORT 2011  19

CAux ANd IOFC

do you want to have a part?The Caux Conferences are only possible thanks to many volunteers who are working in the kitchen, preparing beds for the participants, taking care of technical services, welcoming people at the reception and much more.

In 2011, some 60 young people from all over the world participated in the Caux Interns Programme and contributed to the running of the house while each confer-ence planning team had a number of as-sistants. Nineteen artists also took part in the Caux Artists Programme led by a team of professional artists and provided musi-cal entertainment for the conference par-ticipants, in the evenings and in the con-ference sessions. Eight young people in-terested in photography and filming participated in the Caux Creatifs media training and produced video clips about

the conferences, which are available at www.caux.ch/2011 and many photo-graphs some of which appear in this con-ference report. Numerous volunteers, some of whom have been coming to Caux regularly for several years and even dec-ades, helped in the running of the house.

Do you want to be part of this commu-nity in 2012? There are several ways of getting involved. Go to www.caux.ch/2012 to find out more. We look for-ward to meeting you!

About the Caux Conferences and IofCThe International Caux Conferences, that have been taking place in Caux every year since 1946, are organized by CAUX-Initiatives of Change and Initiatives of Change International.

Initiatives of Change International (IofC) is a world-wide movement of people of diverse cultures and backgrounds, who are committed to the transformation of society through changes in human mo-tives, starting with their own. It is active in 60 countries and formally incorporated in 39 countries.

IofC International focuses on the vital link between personal change and global change, and aims to inspire, support and equip people to play their part in building a better society. For over 60 years it has based its approach to change on four key ideas: seek inspiration, start with oneself, listen to others and take focused action. From there, the work of IofC Interna-tional has grown into initiatives ranging from peace-building dialogues and leader-ship training of young professionals to international conferences, clean election campaigns and more. Current initiatives are aimed at strengthening the moral and

spiritual foundations of society by• bringing healing and reconciliation

where there is conflict;• building bridges of trust between differ-

ent communities and countries;• embedding ethics, justice and transpar-

ency in the global economy;• empowering leadership to act with in-

tegrity, serve unselfishly and be effective agents of change.

IofC International has Special Consulta-tive Status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC) and Par-ticipatory Status at the Council of Eu-rope.

CAUX-Initiatives of Change is a charitable Swiss foundation, working to promote peace, prevent conflicts, build trust and encourage intercultural dialogue and ethi-cal conduct in business. It is a member of IofC International.

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International Caux Conferences 2012

CAux 2012

Contact

CAUX-Initiatives of ChangePO Box 3909CH-6002 LucerneE-mail: info@caux.chWeb: www.caux.chTel +41 41 310 12 61Fax +41 41 311 22 14

Initiatives of Change International1, rue de Varembé, PO Box 3CH-1211 Geneva 20E-mail: iofc-international@iofc.org Web: www.iofc.orgTel +41 22 749 16 20Fax +41 22 733 02 67

25 – 31 JulyExploring the vital link between personal and global change The essence of Initiatives of Change

2 – 8 August The dynamics of being a change-maker Training by Initiatives of Change

See our website for more information: www.caux.chOn  www.caux.ch  you  can  also subscribe  to  our  newsletter  and find  the  links  to  our  facebook page  and our  twitter  account  to get regular updates.

1– 6 July Learning to live in a multicultural world Diasporas as sociopolitical actors

8 –15 July The fifth annual Caux Forum for Human Security Caux as a resource for the world’s peacemakers

17– 23 July Trust and integrity in the global economy Creating  an  integral  economy through transformational change

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