Gerby Lineau is 17 and comes from Saint Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), a Parisian suburb. In addition to this being his first time taking part in CATS (Children as Actors for Transforming Society, it is also his first trip abroad. ‘It’s the first time I’ve been somewhere like this, with such stunning scenery. I met some nice people but I didn’t speak English very well,’ he told us.

Gerby and three other students from his vocational sixth-form college came to Caux as part of the Oui Act programme, recently launched by Initiatives of Change France. Julie Pailhes leads the project together with Christian Demésy.

The project was created after the 2015 attacks in France. ‘It’s not a programme against religious radicalisation but one to prevent the root causes of radicalisation in all senses of the term, from the extreme right to the extreme left,’ explains Julie. The programme focuses on priority education areas as according to Julie ‘that’s where the young people are pigeon holed.’

Certain stereotypes such as young people being regarded as dangerous because they are Muslim or simply because they live in the suburbs were heightened after the 2015 attacks. In the classroom workshops, conducted as part of the programme, the young people were encouraged to reflect on their behaviour and how ‘to be the change and not fall into the traps that separate them from others, in other words any radical ideas that could lead them to hate other people.’ According to Julie, violence is an important topic: ‘we’ve never asked the young people why they were violent, we’ve never asked them to ask themselves this question.’

Julie therefore wanted the young people taking part in the Oui Act programme to attend CATS, where the aim is to allow the children to express themselves, to be heard and to develop their potential in order to become actors of change. She is also aware that they have perhaps not had the same opportunities as the majority of the children taking part in CATS, ‘whose parents are often already invested or they go to a school which gives them every opportunity.’

Gerby found that particularly during the Community Groups he was able to talk to other young people. ‘We chatted about several things, like how to help your relatives, how to be empathetic and especially how to help children.’ But approaching others was not easy at the beginning. Julie explained to us that there was the language barrier and also a certain amount of shyness. However, she quickly saw the students blossom and actively participate in the workshops and community groups. An unexpected friendship even sprung up with the pupils of La Source school, an alternative school in Meudon, a residential suburb of Paris.

Shawn Andrews, an indigenous Australian, has created Indigicate, which teaches Australian school children about Aboriginal culture. Indigicate training isn’t held in classrooms, but outdoors. We met with Shawn when he was holding an outdoor morning session at the CATS forum.

Tell us about the Indigicate concept.

The only reason I get out of bed every morning is to stop our people from dying ten years younger than the average life-expectancy in Australia. The only way to achieve that is by changing a generation of young people. And the easiest environment for us to do that in is the outdoors, as it allows us to take a look at our country through our own eyes, and also to be exposed to our capacity for well-being and connection. It’s not always easy to take people out of the city, but Indigicate specializes in safe journeys in the outdoors, combined with indigenous culture connection. It has existed for six years so far. We have taught more than 40,000 students in our programmes in the last three years and worked with over 50 schools. Only now are we beginning the see the results.

Do you get any support from the state or is it entirely privately funded?

I was taught a long time ago that the only way to have change with a longterm impact is to create a sustainable business which is not dependent on government. So we developed a product that schools would want to utilize. Schools in Australia already go out on school camps every year from year 3 to 10. We figured out that if we could compete in that space, as outdoor educators with a product that could help us change the world, then schools would pay for it independently and we wouldn’t need to rely on government assistance.

What is the reception you get from the kids? Are non-indigenous kids in Australia open to learning about Aboriginal culture?

Absolutely. People in Australia sometimes think indigenous culture is only about boomerangs and digeridoos, but it’s much richer and deeper than that. We get letters from parents saying how wonderful the programmes are and how the young people have changed. The process we use is more than just giving them information about culture and history. It’s about changing the person, understanding how we can connect. The response has been truly amazing. We are sitting now in the position where our organization could very quickly grow to 30 or 40 staff, with 20,000 students per year just on camps. The young people today are so inquisitive, so passionate. They want change and they want a voice and we give them a platform to do that. They just love the idea that we are not different, that we should all just be together. So the timing is very right for me.

In which area of Australia do you focus? 

Currently we are based in Melbourne, but we also work in other states and areas.

When you begin this kind of business, you don’t want to grow too quick and outgrow your expertise, because then you deliver a product that’s not up to standard and you can’t change a generation if you are not working efficiently in schools. But our longterm aim is to be national and even international. We already do some work around the world. I think indigenous people around the world have a gift to give to non-indigenous people: it’s to teach them how to connect back to who they are.

How did you start your relationship with Caux and IofC?

I attended the APYC (IofC Asia-Pacific Youth Conference) in 2007. Back then I had a lot of problems in my life, I was still a very unsettled individual. A few people in  IofC Australia started having conversations with me on how I could look at life a little bit differently. At the same time, I gave a speech at a prestigious school in Melbourne and some of the people there were also involved in IofC. They offered me a fully funded trip to Caux, to participate in the equivalent of the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme. So I came and participated in the 2009 course.

That was my first ever trip overseas as a 28-year-old, and I was the first person in my family to travel overseas. Of course, the first thing that you see here in Caux is the natural beauty, but then I connected with the place. The souls and spirits of the building, the land and the people here had a great impact on me.

But it took me four more years to get rid of my gambling addiction, depression and anxiety, and start Indigicate, which I started with 20 dollars. The inspiration for it came from two places. It came from the mountains back at home that used to sort of talk to me and it came from the strength and wisdom of the people, and especially the elders, of Caux who had the ability to read me very well and give me the right advice.

And then I was back here only last year for CATS, because I truly believe in this conference. I truly believe in young people’s voices being promoted, and I want to bring some of our kids next year.

So you have some plans for future projects between CATS, Caux and Indigicate?

Yes. To bring indigenous kids in care here, we must probably get government funding or raise funds, because to bring someone here from Australia costs a lot of money. We are starting to work with better government alliances and we want to bring 10 to 12 young Australians. Half will be kids in care from trauma situations and half will be indigenous kids from some of the schools we work with. We already have a couple of them here this year.

The whole idea is that when these kids go home they can be the spark for the rest of the young people they hang out with. So they can have an impact. I see myself as just a single drop of water in what will hopefully become a magnificent waterfall of change in our country.

Kids in indigenous communities in Australia face a lot of challenges, right?

Yeah! Our kids are struggling. Not all of them, though, as there is a bit of a gap between well-off kids and kids who are living in poverty within our own communities. There still is a lot of suffering. We Aborigines hold a lot of records that we shouldn’t hold – like the highest rate of youth incarceration in the world per population and the highest rate of youth suicides. Ten years ago we made up 5% of all youth suicides in Australia and we now make up 80%, while we are only 3% of the population. And unfortunately around 30% of indigenous kids in my state alone (Victoria) live in the care of the government. It’s a tragedy because we are essentially creating more people who will be in that system and then they will have kids who will stay in that system. So we have to try our hardest to show them that there is hope and love and kindness in the world and that they will be OK, that they can achieve something.

If we get enough indigenous kids to do this, in three or four years’ time we will have a CATS in Australia, led by them. This would be the seed of change to stop our people dying and hopefully change the situation. But also one of the aims is to focus on the non-indigenous kids, because they are the greater part of the population and so will be able to have a larger impact in business or in politics in the future.

By Félix Portier, 2018 Caux Forum Communications Intern

Lights, camera, action! The CATS Conference 2018 has officially started!
The Caux Palace has transformed into a community filled with laughter, love and an ocean of different cultures and languages. Our opening session was a huge success. From the performance to the talk show to the Facebook live stream viewed by many and hosted by Aksa, one of our MEOW members - everyone was enraptured.

Lunch and dinner gave people to catch-up with all the friends they made last year and the chance for new friendships to be made. The community groups followed and it gave a wonderful opportunity for the participants to meet the people they will most likely build meaningful connections with. In other words – their home away from home. The day was ended with a melting pot of all the young people hanging out in the games room. Surrounded with music, laughter and “what is your country like” – it was, for sure, a fun way to kick off CATS 2018.

Some Useful Info - Lanyards

Black - We are the participants

Green - We're also participants, but please we do not want to have our pictures taken

Red - We're helping out with the planning and implementation of the program. Find us if you need anything

Blue - We are a part of the Caux Peace and Leadership Program or Caux Staff

Light Blue - We're in charge of Caux Communication

Yellow - We are the Caux Elders. Find us if you want to know more about the history of the place

Safeguarding and First Aid

Jennifer is in charge of SAFEGUARDING at CATS. If you are feeling uncomfortable, unhappy or just need some assistance, feel free to find Jennifer and set up a meeting. Jennifer will be wearing cat's ears on her head. She can be reached on: 9219. In case of an absolute emergency at night, kindly reach the service manager on: 9000.

If you require First Aid, there will be first aiders in Room 300b.

Our Partners

CATS would not be possible without the co-operation of the following organisations or groups.

Initiatives of Change - Switzerland

IofC Switzerland is an independent and official Swiss foundation. It organises programmes and events all across the country in the areas of ethical leadership in business and trust building. The foundation has owned the Caux Palace since 1946, in which the Caux Forum is held annually.

Initiatives et Changement France

Initiatives of Change France is a secular and apolitical non-profit orgaisation. It works with children, youth and adults to be partners of chnage in order to develop active citizenship. It contributes to a more fair, peaceful and confident society.

Learning for Well-being Foundation

L4WB-F has developed a Learning for Well-being. This is a process-oriented approach to life - a language and tool that cultivates capacities of individuals and communities to inspire a shift of mindset that places well-being at the centre of all our endeavours.

Making Earth Our World (MEOW)

MEOW, an independent, youth-led organisation, set up with the aim of working alongside the Core Team, to bring forth suggestions from  the online child and youth communities. MEOW was set up with the aim of increasing child representation within the planning and implementation of CATS.

On 29 July, the Caux Palace opened its doors for 2018’s Open House Day. More than 150 visitors came to enjoy guided tours, a scavenger hunt, a human library and other activities. This sunny day was a chance for local visitors and tourists to learn about the unique history of the building and about the activities of Initiatives of Change.

The hospitality team provided drinks throughout the day and visitors were also invited to afternoon tea. Volunteers from the Friends of Caux Association welcomed guests and led guided tours of the building. The scavenger hunt, with clues to solve, offered a fun way to discover the Caux Palace.

In the afternoon, we showcased one of the main facilitation techniques used in our Swiss activities, the human library. The human books were Hajar Bichri from the Caux Forum Secretariat, Sam Foster, a young facilitator from CATS (Children as Actors Transforming Society), and Erika Wichro, a participant in all the Caux Forum events. They each shared their story of how they felt connected to Caux through their personal experiences.

The visitors were delighted with the day and asked for information about the Open House Day to be shared more widely. One participant said: ‘What a magnificent discovery! This building is fantastic, its history is captivating and important, and its current function during the summer (the Caux Forum) is precious. Thank you for this day!’

Suresh Vazirani from Mumbai, India was unanimously appointed by Global Assembly of the International Association as the new President for IofC International.

He is the founder and Managing Director of TransAsia/Erba group, India’s largest multinational medical diagnostics company, which is based on the principles of integrity, trust and transparency and exports high quality medical instruments to over 100 countries.

He has served on the Board of IofC India for 20 years. Having earlier worked for nine years for IofC in India, he brings with him the deep spiritual roots of Initiatives of Change, combined with extensive business and financial skills.

We believe we have a visionary President to lead IofC International, one with the necessary leadership skills for our time.

In his acceptance speech Suresh Vazirani said he was humbled to be given the role of President and stressed that Initiatives of Change could leverage its global strengths and assets to make an even greater impact on the world.

Initiatives of Change is an international movement, active in 60 countries and formally incorporated in 44 countries. Each national body is independent but may affiliate to Initiatives of Change International. Initiatives of Change (IofC) Switzerland, formerly known as CAUX-Initiatives of Change, is an independent officially recognized Swiss foundation and the Swiss body of the IofC global network.

Check out the highlights of Ethical Leadership in Business 2018.

Storytelling forms a central part of the yearly summer Caux Forum. One of the most dramatic stories this year was that of former neo-Nazi Peter Sundin from Sweden. When he spoke in the main hall in Caux during Addressing Europe’s Unfinished Business 2018, the woman I sat next to was in tears. She couldn’t really find words to explain it. She had no radical past herself. ‘But it touches me in the heart,’ she said. ‘So much courage.’

Telling his life story is one of the ways Peter Sundin wants to ‘give’ to society, to repair the damage he has done in his youth. He works at a crime prevention centre in Sweden to combat radicalization, particularly in schools. ‘Saying sorry is not enough,’ Sundin says. ‘I want to show people I am different now and contribute to society.’

With anti-Semitism growing all over Europe, Sundin’s work feels all the more urgent. In his home country the ultra-right Swedish Democrats became the third largest party in the elections in September. The party has roots in the Nazi movement in the eighties, although they distance themselves from them.

In the past few years the extremist Nordic Resistant Movement also seems to be gathering strength, with the establishment of a political branch in 2015, apart from its military branch. They have been elected onto some municipal councils. This makes Sundin feel like ‘banging my head against a wall’. He knows from experience that working against racism takes a lot of dedicated time and effort. 

Sundin grew up in a racist family with Nazi traditions passed down from the 1940’s. His mother told him that his second generation foreign class mate and his family were to blame for the Sundins’ rocky household economy. His brother gave him white power music to listen to and he read Nazi newspapers and children’s books. At school he automatically joined up with other boys from Nazi families. 

When the school tried to counter their extremist opinions, it only resulted in more radicalization. The school invited a survivor of the Holocaust to speak. Sundin’s brother warned him that she was a fraud. The school ordered Sundin and his friends to sit in the front rows. He could feel the other children staring at him. After that day he decided to create a local movement of National Youth, a national violent Nazi movement. ‘As I felt backed up by this organization, we became more confrontational at school.’

Later he took part in a violent attack on a foreigner. ‘When you join the movement, part of the training is to learn to justify what you do. So you justify the violence: this man was a threat for our country, so it’s self-defence. It’s a good thing.’ When the attack was on the news the next day, he felt a heavy lump in his stomach. ‘I realized I needed to free myself from this destructive context.’ It was the start of a five-year process to cut himself loose from his Nazi environment.

‘It is not a straight process,’ he explains. ‘I needed to reinvent myself, build up new values, a new worldview. Sometimes I had relapses. I would buy a Nazi newspaper again, or listen to the old music. It was easier to be a Nazi, I knew how to do that.’ Most of all, he needed to meet new people. ‘The most important thing was to get new narratives. I had always believed that the Jews controlled everything, the government, the media. People outside our movement were blind to that, it was our crusade to tell them the truth.’ 

During this period the support of a local policeman was of great importance to him. ‘He helped me to take the next steps. He took me to McDonald’s, where I never had been because I thought it was controlled by the Jews. But he also said: “You are the Nazi, you are the one who has to change”.’

His own process has helped him to see how important it is to see the human being behind the extremist opinion. ‘I was always Nazi Peter, never just Peter. In a conversation you can show that you respect someone, but disagree with their opinions.’ Sundin is convinced that it is only when you reach the human being that the change process can start. ‘I can never change another person’s opinion, that is something that only that person is capable of. But I can ask questions that stimulate reflection.’

By Irene de Pous

• Curious to hear more stories and be part of a conference next year? Get the latest updates about Tools for Changemakers 2019!
• Learn more about Addressing Europe's Unfinished Business 2018

Ilinca Romocea took part in 2018’s Young Ambassadors Programme, under the aegis of Addressing Europe’s Unfinished Business, which brought together young Europeans who aspire to take an active role in transforming society. When Ilinca came to Caux for the first time in 2017, she met Ayat, a young Muslim woman. The encounter changed her profoundly.

Back home in Romania, Ilinca is a medical student. Her dream is to work for Doctors Without Borders: ‘I always wanted to heal people but I also want to fight the deeper causes of conflicts.’

Ilinca enjoys clothes and always dresses elegantly. So when she met Ayat for the first time, her attention was caught by the dress Ayat was wearing: the same colour as hers, but Ayat was wearing a hijab. Ilinca and Ayat started talking and discovered that they shared common interests, particularly related to health. It was the beginning of a friendship.

Ayat is originally from Syria and now lives in Saudi Arabia. She studied law and Ilinca recognized her as a real changemaker who was trying to bring peace to her community. Ilinca had never built a connection with a Muslim woman before: ‘I always considered myself an open-minded person but I didn’t want to hear about Muslim women’. She perceived them as oppressed and weak: ‘I thought that they weren’t doing enough about their situation, that they had the power to change things but didn’t use it.’ Ayat was doing all the things that Ilinca thought Muslim women didn’t do. ‘She was the example that I needed to understand that I was wrong,’ she says.

After they both left Caux, the friends lost contact. The last Ilinca had heard of Ayat, who was pregnant, was that she was in hospital. Ilinca was very worried. When she came back to Caux this year,she couldn’t have wished for a better surprise: she went into the kitchen at lunch time and found Ayat there. But the reunion came with sad news: when she was in hospital, Ayat had lost her baby.

During their year apart, Ilinca had told her family and friends in Romania about her experience in Caux and about Ayat. She says telling their story is ‘not much but it is the best I can do’. But storytelling may be more powerful than Ilinca thinks: it enables honest conversations, builds trust and ignites personal inspiration and action.

Ilinca’s story is about admitting preconceptions and judgments about other people and openly discussing them. Judgment often seems to be about the fear of the unknown. What if overcoming prejudices was just about meeting and building a connection with someone you used to perceive as ‘other’?

‘We help people to find understanding, when they want to find understanding but don’t succeed.’ With this simple explanation, co-facilitator Angela Starovoitova captures the core objective of Non-Violent Communication (NVC) as a dialogue approach, at the opening of a four-day training track during Addressing Europe’s Unfinished Business. She immediately manages expectations: ‘Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.’ Co-facilitator Olena Kashkarova adds: ‘It is about hearing the real message behind words.’

During the track, participants from Georgia, Crimea, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belarus and Russia mastered the basics of the NVC model. The track focused on experiential learning, combining individual exercises and group practice. The track was one of the nine training tracks offered during the conference, through which participants could deepen their knowledge of different practical tools for social change and cohesion.

‘The exercises are practical tools for me that I can use directly in my work as a dialogue facilitator,´ says Misha Aslikian from Georgia after the four days with Angela Starovoitova and Olena Kashkarova. ´In post-Soviet countries the gap between the government and citizens is big. This method of Non-Violent Communication gives me a structure to facilitate conversation.’

One of the key elements of NVC is the concept of needs. We all have needs we wish to see fulfilled, say the need for appreciation or intimacy. To fulfil the need, we use a certain strategy. In the case of intimacy, the strategy might be to look for a partner. In the case of appreciation, the strategy might be the work we do. The danger is that we mistake the strategy for the need. So, in the examples above, finding a partner, or doing a certain job, becomes the primary objective.
‘If the need and the strategy melt together, the potential for conflict is very big,’ says Olena Kashkarova. On the other hand, if we learn to distinguish between them, and learn to discover the needs that underlie certain feelings and conflicts, it opens up a whole world of options. ‘If you know your need, there might be a hundred ways to fulfil this need. So you can fulfil it even if this one strategy fails. It is about exploring freedom and creativity.’

Participant Yana Sieraia from Ukraine experienced how this understanding can help resolve conflicts. ‘With this method I learned to understand my feelings and needs, before I say something to the other person. I have already applied it in a family situation. My son and mother had a fight. I spoke with both of them on the phone and rephrased their words in terms of feelings and needs. Later they phoned me that there was no problem any more. It is a small situation, but I want to apply it first in my family life. If you understand yourself better, it is also easier to communicate with others.’