With growing activities in Switzerland, and as part of the IofC global movement, we seized the opportunity of the global IofC brand refresh, to change our name from “the CAUX-Initiatives of Change Foundation” to “Initiatives of Change Switzerland”.

That was the first sentence Maria Paula Garcia Romero heard when she first arrived in Caux, Switzerland, in 2016. She was about to take part in the Caux Interns Programme, now re-named the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme. Her life underwent a profound shift since then: she went back to her home country, Colombia, with a deeper understanding of herself and her surrounding environment and decided to play an active role as a changemaker.

Making change happen

Maria Paula was already familiar with the structural exclusion of the Wayuu people, Colombia’s largest indigenous community, in La Guajira region. She had visited the area before and had witnessed another Colombia, one that was diametrically opposed to the reality that she had been used to in Bogotá, the country’s capital. However, it was when she got back from Caux that she realized that she could in fact do something about the extreme poverty and marginalization to which these people had been subjected.

She began by setting up a library in the heart of La Guajira, in close collaboration with the indigenous communities. ’You can only make change happen by co-creating’, she explained. This was one of the lessons she had learnt from her experience in Caux, which she then put into practice. The idea of the library hadn’t come from her, but from her discussions with local authorities on their most pressing needs. Lack of access to education and illiteracy were two of the most difficult issues affecting indigenous people, the community explained to her, and together they decided to take action.

A year after the initial plans were outlined, everything was ready: the ’Biblioteca Suuralairua’ was finally a reality, offering access to books and other learning materials to more than 200 Wayuu children, all in a community-managed space. Local teachers are in charge of visiting the library regularly to monitor its smooth running and to evaluate its impact, explained Maria Paula.

Suuralairua = Roots

Suuralairua means ‘roots’ in Wayuunaiki, the native language of this indigenous community. The library’s logo depicts a bird holding an open book. ’An open book from us to them and vice versa’, is how Maria Paula described the representation of the collaborative effort that made such an endeavor possible.

She managed to get backing from her family and friends to make the library project come to fruition, and enterprisingly, she also got donations of educational materials from bookstores and publishing companies. She even convinced a shipping company to make a free delivery to the community, located about 900 kilometers from Bogotá. The shipment would have cost around US$2,000, an amount difficult to cover by a non-profit, volunteer-driven project.

’If you want your community to change, you first need to change yourself and truly believe that you can become a change agent’. Maria Paula described this as one of the lessons she had learnt during her experience in Caux.

The intercultural dimension of the interns programme was also one of its major assets, according to her. Being exposed to a variety of worldviews, cultures and beliefs, and even sharing a room with someone from a different corner of the world, as is the practice in Caux, made her grow as a person, Maria Paula explained. That also guided her in her approach to the Colombian indigenous communities, with regard to their perspective and cultural practices, factors which are often disregarded or disrespected in mainstream Colombia.

Video: Biblioteca Suuralairua - Comunidad Wayuú

Initiatives of Change (IofC) is pleased to announce the launch of their refreshed brand.

In 2017, IofC’s global community guided by the international communications team looked how to best take the organization’s heritage into the future by refreshing the brand with the help of design agency ACW. The refreshed brand was launched on January 17, 2018, during the 50th anniversary celebration of Initiatives of Change’s centre in India: Asia Plateau in Panchgani.

Building on IofC’s heritage

Initiatives of Change was founded in the 1920s in the United Kingdom. Since then, the movement has grown into a world-wide network and values-based organization of people from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

IofC believes that every person has something unique to contribute in building a more just, peaceful and sustainable world. This is why we inspire, equip and connect people to address the world’s needs, starting with oneself. IofC emphasizes the vital link between personal change and global change.

Over the last 90 years, IofC has gained credibility and extensive experience by building trust across the world’s divides. To build on this heritage, the refresh of the IofC brand  aimed to maintain a visual connection to how the brand identity was seen before but with a fresh look and feel: designed for today's continuously changing audiences.

The story behind the logo

In the logo, the mission and vision of IofC is reflected: the vital link between personal and global change. The path shows the individual person’s journey through life. The sphere represents the world and how IofC helps its members to grow and build a more just, peaceful and sustainable world for future generations.

By Txema Perez, Co-founder of 2theatre International Company & London Physical Theatre School

When we were invited to perform at Addressing Europe’s Unfinished Business at the Caux Forum 2017, we could not imagine what a cathartic experience it would be. To better explain how profound our time at the Caux Forum was, a  bit of background about our company is essential.

2theatre is an award-winning, London-based company that we formed in 2011 after graduating from  the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA). We produce multi-faceted shows of physical theatre, clown and puppetry that push boundaries and erase borders. Addressing the common themes of humanity that underlie any cultural difference, we aim to create theatre that touches people all around the world. We also founded the London Physical Theatre School as the pedagogical branch of the company. We organize workshops in different countries to create an international platform that can connect different artistes through a common language.

From the beginning we have managed to survive as a professional business. We kept the theme of humanity in our shows, but discovered that it was easy to lose sight of our origins when all our energy was spent in putting together the next production. We soon realised that in the theatre business humanitarian values are sometimes of no interest either to producers or to audiences. Fortunately, our level of technique and precision, as well as our partnerships with companies such as Cirque du Soleil, helped us get through some lean years

With this background, we arrived at Caux on 16 July. We were immediately struck by the beauty and the history of the Caux Palace. Caux embodies the spirit of post-war reconciliation between Europeans. At the entrance, people from many different countries came through and all were welcomed with open arms and a smile.  I soon discovered that this genuine kindness was vital for starting a dialogue with a stranger.

Our room had stunning views of the lake and the mountains. This overwhelming beauty helped us to connect with our spirituality. The next morning, after enjoying the breakfast buffet, we were ready to start work. We were part of the Addressing Europe’s Unfinished Business plenary sessions, and held a workshop for participants regarding our approach. We created short pieces around the theme of each plenary and explored the borderlines between politics, humanitarian issues and art.

Our choice for the workshop was the “Platform” – in the platform approach a group of actors tell an epic story in a contained space. This method is a good way of understanding how to build a dramatic piece combined with storytelling techniques. Work is carried out in an environment without a hierarchy,  so cohesion between  group members is a priority in order to move forward in the creative process.

The participants who attended our workshop, and the other conference activities, were unfailingly light-hearted and generous. This might be a cliché, but it is abnormal to find so many kind and wonderful souls together under the same roof!

We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to re-connect with our purpose, and with the  reasons we became artistes. Caux is an experience that one should  not miss if you are a peace activist, a spiritual person, or simply a caring human being.

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Txema Perez and Lana Biba of 2theatre / London Physical Theatre School will offer a full training course in “Mindfulness through playfulness” during Addressing Europe’s Unfinished Business 2018 as an approach to building social cohesion in Europe. The course will include platform theatre, mime techniques, character building, and voice exploration.

The Caux Forum 2018 event "Ethical Leadership in Business" is looking for a Communication and Outreach Coordinator (internship) and Research and Outreach Online Volunteers. For more information please click below.

• Communication and Outreach Coordinator Internship
• Research and outreach online volunteer

King Michael of Romania died aged 96 on 5 December. After the best part of a lifetime in exile, for the most part in Switzerland, he was accorded a state funeral, with royalty from across Europe attending, including the King of Sweden, Spain’s former King, Juan Carlos, and Prince Charles.

King Michael is best remembered for the coup he headed in August 1944, switching Romania from the Nazi to the Allied side in World War II. His overthrow of the Fascist dictator Atonescu shortened the war by three to six months, according to some contemporary historians. At the end of the war, he was decorated by the Soviet Union and the United States, before being forced to abdicate by the Communists. His mother, Queen Helen, is remembered in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, as one of the ‘righteous among the nations’ for the Jewish lives she saved during the war.

Romania has often been an outlier in the family of nations. Today, it is a republic, but one which recognized King Michael as a former head of state and gave him a pension. Royal property was returned to the family. On his 90th birthday in 2011, he delivered a speech before the assembled chambers of the Romanian Parliament. An opinion poll in January 2012 placed him as the most trusted public figure in Romania, far ahead of the political leaders. That October a square in Bucharest was renamed after him, in celebration of his 91st birthday. In 2016, his wife, Queen Anne of Bourbon-Parma, died at the age of 92. They had fallen in love in London in 1946, at the wedding of his cousins, the future Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip of Greece. They had five daughters.

The Romanian royal family’s links with Moral Re-Armament dated from well before the war, when Frank Buchman met King Michael’s grandmother, Queen Marie, in Bucharest. King Michael himself said, ‘One thing I remember so well of Frank’s caring was my own experience after meeting him again in 1955. With my sadness and unhappiness at having lost my country, my bitterness had grown because of a feeling of not belonging. After our meeting, I felt this great load was taken off my mind and soul. I realized that no problem was too great or too small for him. The greatest or the smallest problem in someone else’s life received the same loving care from him.’ After that he and Queen Anne and their daughters paid frequent visits to Caux from their home near Geneva and took part in various MRA activities both during and after Buchman’s life.

Queen Anne felt more at home lending a hand in the Caux kitchen than in meetings, and there are a number of amusing stories about the shock of people she encountered there when they discovered who they were cooking with.  

Photo: King Michael and Queen Anne of Romania welcoming the Dalai Lama to Caux, 1996 © CAUX-IofC

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Thank you for your support in 2017.
We wish you a festive holiday season and a very happy New Year.
 
The CAUX-Initiatives of Change Team

Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammad Ashafa, of the Interfaith Mediation Centre in Nigeria, were among five recipients of this year’s prestigious 2017 ‘Intercultural Innovation Award’, conferred by the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations and BMW. The Award Ceremony took place at UN Headquarters in New York on 29 November 2017.

UN Deputy Secretary General, Ms Amina Mohamed, expressed her appreciation to all the award finalists in a video message: 'Creativity, courage and passion are qualities which define the people who we celebrate'. Ms Mohamed emphasized that the work of the awardees will 'help achieve a safer, more sustainable, equitable and prosperous place for all'.

The theme of the Interfaith Mediation Centre's project is 'Transforming pastoralist-farmer conflict in Nigeria'.  It was developed by Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye in collaboration with Dr Alan Channer of the Initiatives of Change (IofC) programme Initiatives for Land, Lives and Peace.  The project builds on Pastor James and Imam Ashafa’s success in trustbuilding across ethnoreligious lines, and adds the dimension of livelihood collaboration in order to restore the land - thereby creating a 'win-win-win' for the conflicting parties and the environment.  

A short film on this work, using footage from The Imam and the Pastor and Chad – a Journey to Hope, documentaries made by IofC’s FLTfilms, was screened at the ceremony.

In accepting the award, Imam Muhammad Ashafa said: ‘Tackling farmer-pastoralist conflict will restore the social fabric of the Sahel region, while healing the land will restore the environmental fabric. Support inter-dependence, celebrate the gifts of diversity and collaborate to care for the planet wherever you are - and we will make a difference to our world.'

An article on the UN ceremony was published by Nigerian newspaper ‘PM News’. It cites the importance to the award winners of their regular participation in the Caux Dialogue on Land and Security, which takes place during the annual Caux Forum at the international IofC conference centre in Caux, Switzerland.

Imam Muhammad Ashafa, Pastor James Wuye, Dr Alan Channer and Charles Aquilina of IofC USA were received by His Excellency Tijjani Muhammed-Bande, Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations. H.E Muhammad-Bande expressed his appreciation for bringing this story of positive change from Nigeria to the international community.

Peacebuilding can be a complex process, setting in place well-structured measures targeted to preventing relapse into conflict. It can require a highly institutional and sophisticated approach, through which local capacities are strengthened and conditions are created for sustainable peace.

But what if there is more to peace than this? What if everyone can play a role in promoting peace?

This was the approach offered by the CAUX-Initiatives of Change Foundation at the fourth Geneva Peace Week in early November, in collaboration with the UN Library in Geneva, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers. Four people who have worked for peace in various ways told their stories as part of a ‘human library’.

The 90 participants each chose two of the ‘human books’. They got the opportunity to hear their stories, interact with them, ‘open’ different chapters of their lives and exchange ideas with other members of the audience.  

Hassan Mohamud was one of the human books. He talked about the role of education in dealing with conflict. In his home country, Somalia, he had promoted access to education. Since seeking asylum in Sweden 35 years ago, he has worked tirelessly to bring the fragmented Somali diaspora in Europe closer together. Dialogue has been key, he says, even if it is sometimes difficult.

Dina Ionesco has worked for IOM for the past 13 years as an expert in the field of environment and migration policies. She shared her personal journey as a refugee in France after leaving her country, Romania. Her experiences made her sensitive to the impact of forced migration, which she later made one of her areas of expertise on the international level. She explained that addressing environmental issues is an effective way of preventing conflict. 

Mohamed Elsanousi, originally from Sudan, is now the director of the Washington Office of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers. As an engaged and experienced advocate for interreligious affairs in the United States, especially tackling the anti-Muslim rhetoric after the 9/11 terrorists attacks, he shared the importance of dialogue between any religion, any race, any skin colour, in dealing with issues at the community level.

Shontaye Abegaz comes from the United States. She spent several years volunteering for various organizations, including Initiatives of Change, where she discovered the importance of creating a safe space for dialogue. Now she is the managing director of the Just Governance for Human Security conference during the annual Caux Forum, which allows individuals from different cultural and professional backgrounds to enjoy discussing global issues in a safe space.

After participants had heard some chapters of the human books’ lives, they were asked for their ideas on other ways to peace. The conclusion was that there is no single path to peace: everyone must find their own.

In a canton where 41% of residents are foreign (source: OCSTAT) including expatriates, refugees, asylum seekers and international civil servants, there are numerous actors working in the field of integration and migration in Geneva. Since the 2015 migrant crisis, reception and integration needs have been continuously increasing. Every organization, association and institution working in Geneva within the field of migration, regardless of their focus (welcome and accommodation, legal support and defence of the right to asylum, or social and professional integration) plays an important role and offers broad expertise to tackle the needs and challenges posed by integration.

With the goal of identifying and connecting the various roles and resources, on 16 November 2017, the CAUX-Initiatives of Change (CAUX-IofC) Foundation, the General Hospice (l’Hospice Général) and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) jointly organized a speed meeting. About 70 people from 40 different organizations and associations attended the meeting “Migration and Integration in Geneva: Who does what?”

Although many working in the asylum and migration network know each other well and have been collaborating for a long time, opportunities to bring together local, national and international actors are rare. In small groups, the representatives considered three issues: meeting migrants’ needs, available resources and skills, and next steps. The general conclusion was the same for many participants: resources do exist, thanks to the network of associations and social institutions. Nevertheless, everyone asked for greater coordination and sharing of skills and knowledge.

With the goal of identifying and connecting the various roles and resources, on 16 November 2017, the CAUX-Initiatives of Change (CAUX-IofC) Foundation, the General Hospice (l’Hospice Général) and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) jointly organized a speed meeting. About 70 people from 40 different organizations and associations attended the meeting “Migration and Integration in Geneva: Who does what?”

Although many working in the asylum and migration network know each other well and have been collaborating for a long time, opportunities to bring together local, national and international actors are rare. In small groups, the representatives considered three issues: meeting migrants’ needs, available resources and skills, and next steps. The general conclusion was the same for many participants: resources do exist, thanks to the network of associations and social institutions. Nevertheless, everyone asked for greater coordination and sharing of skills and knowledge.