Dr. Carl Stauffer is currently Senior Expert for Reconciliation at the US Institute for Peace in Washington DC. He has practiced trauma healing, nonviolence, restorative Justice and reconciliation for 3 decades in 37 countries. For the past 10 years he has served as the Academic Director for the Caux Scholars Program in Switzerland.
Anatasiia Yakush is a project manager at X23, a certified facilitator at the Soliya Programme (Erasmus+ Programme) with specific expertise in economics and business administration. She is involved in EU-co-funded programmes related to the social inclusion of migrants and refugees, with longterm and high impact scopes. She managed the EUStartGees programme and had an active role in the creation of the ME4Change Coalition (Migrant Empowerment for Change), working in close cooperation with Marika Mazzi Boém, Co-founder and Innovation Strategy Director at X23.
Shrouk Gamal from Cairo, Egypt, is a graduate in Media and Mass communication from Ain Shams University. She works as an Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange Facilitator and a Language Coach and is a Youth Leader with MCW Global. She recently started « Yellow vs Blue », an online initiative that helps youth globally with mental health issues like depression and suicidal thoughts.
I joined the Creative Leadership conference because I am going to lead a youth project in my community and I wanted to learn something new.
I have attended a lot of workshops before and I thought this one would be the same as normal. When I joined, it was just weird: it was amazingly effective for me. I got so much information and inspiration. I liked the way you organized it. Tea time was incredible: I met so many people. I am still in contact with most of them and have connected with them on other projects.
The conference showed me how much I really love to socialize with people. The members of our dialogue group asked me questions I never been asked before. This made me think about lots of things, in new ways.
The members of our dialogue group asked me questions I never been asked before. This made me think about lots of things, in new ways.
One question was, ‘What do I need to change to be a good leader?’ I mentioned that I cannot be calm when I see someone being racist towards someone else, because I put myself in the other person's shoes. But I know this is not the right way and that I need to advise those people instead of being aggressive.
A few days ago, I was in a bus and the bus driver acted in a racist way towards someone whose skin colour was black. I got so mad. Then I remembered what I had said in the conference, that I want to be calm and to make a real change.
So, I just told the bus driver calmly, ‘Do you think that what you did now is right? If you were in another country and someone did that to you, would you be happy? What would you feel?’ He didn't reply, was silent. Then he said, “Sorry” and left. This simple situation means a lot to me, because I took a step towards being a better version of myself, and that was because of the conference! It was hard, and still is, but I am keeping going!
Thank you for the experience, the chance to meet amazing people and friends. The love and support that I received during the conference days, and after, was so heartwarming. I want to get involved with IofC in other and different ways.
This simple situation means a lot to me, because I took a step towards being a better version of myself.
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If you would like to know more about Creative Leadership 2021 before you register (or even after registering for this year's event), join us for our online OPEN HOUSE event on Sunday 27 June at 15:00 - 16:00 GMT here.
You would like to take part in Creative Leadership 2021 - From Uncertainty to Possibility?
Call for workshops! You would like to give share your inspiration, ideas and skills with other participants at the Caux IDG Forum this summer? We look forward to your application! Applications will be...
We are delighted that Maruee Pahuja from our Creative Leadership youth programme received the inaugural Love Force Awards at Kanha Shanti Vanam, Hyderabad/India....
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On 15 October 2024, Maruee Pahuja was a panelist at this year's Kofi Annan Peace Address where she discussed with Mary Robinson, first woman President of Ireland, former UN High Commissioner for Huma...
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In September 2024, Caux Initiatives of Change participated as a knowledge partner in the Global Ethics Forum, with contributions on 3 panels from Sidra Rislan, member of the Creative Leadership youth ...
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Save the date for the Caux Forum 2024! This summer Caux Initiatives of Change, in partnership with Initiatives of Change International and supported by other civil society networks, UN agencies, phila...
The Caux Forum 2023 Opening Ceremony set the tone for the conference with the theme, ‘Strengthening Democracy: The Journey from Trauma to Trust.’. Discover the report and relive the highlights of this...
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She loved arguing, to the despair of her parents. An old Turkish lady, friend of the family who knew Caux, suggested she should go there, and Marcel and Theri Grandy, a Swiss couple working for reconciliation in Cyprus, encouraged the idea, feeling that Çigdem would enjoy meeting people from the whole world and various backgrounds. Once at Caux, she argued with all the high-profile people she could find at the conference. She caused quite a lot of upset!
On her tenth day at Caux, completely worn out and talked out, she slipped into the back of the theatre where the film Men of Brazil was being shown in French, sub-titled in German. She neither spoke nor understood French or German.
The feature film tells the true story of reconciliation in the port of Rio de Janeiro, with those involved acting their own parts. At its end, there is a touching scene when the little daughter of one of the port workers is suddenly able to walk, after being paralyzed from birth. It’s a miracle. The scene shows her going into the church with her parents, carrying a huge candle.
People may not forgive me, but my Creator had done so. I felt different. I was not the centre of the universe any more.
Çigdem saw this and began to weep. It came as the culmination of all her discussions and arguments. She ran to her bedroom and threw herself on her bed. Later she said, ‘I knew there was Allah. That Allah was generous, loving, forgiving. As I cried and cried, I felt washed. People may not forgive me, but my Creator had done so. I felt different. I was not the centre of the universe any more.’
A few years later, she joined with young Asians in creating Song of Asia, a musical review telling stories of reconciliation and change. The show toured Asia, Europe and Canada between 1974 and 1976.
In Song of Asia’s programme, Çigdem wrote, ‘Frank Buchman, the initiator of Moral Re-Armament, had the vision for the Islamic countries that they could be a girder of unity for the world.
‘Everyone knows of the suffering and injustice in the Middle East, which has led to so much bitterness and acts of violence. Can those who suffered forgive and the hating ones become free to fight for a hate-free world? We need men and women from these nations who will demonstrate that it can happen."
It altered my whole thinking and freed me from the past mistakes. (...) As a result, we were able to trust each other.
She described how encountering the idea of absolute standards and of listening to the inner voice changed her life. ‘It altered my whole thinking and freed me from the past mistakes, and I put right stolen exam questions, and books which I had stolen from the library, and many things which I had hidden from my parents in my own life. As a result, we were able to trust each other.’
Çigdem went on to teach psychology at Izmir university. On one of her later visits to Caux, a Swiss friend told her about another friend, Ioanna, who was teaching psychology at Geneva University. She had assisted Jean Piaget in his pioneering work on child development and taken his post after his death.
Çigdem invited Ioanna to give a lecture in Izmir. Ioanna is Greek, and Izmir had a large Greek community for centuries before they were driven out by the Turks. So the visit involved much more than teaching psychology. Çigdem and Ioanna became great friends, and, among other things, enjoyed dancing to Turkish music, each in their tradition.
Sadly Çigdem died of cancer in 2012.
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Watch Men of Brazil, the film which impacted Çigdem's life during her stay in Caux.
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This story is part of our series 75 Years of Stories about individuals who found new direction and inspiration through Caux, one for each year from 1946 to 2021. If you know a story appropriate for this series, please do pass on your ideas by email to John Bond or Yara Zhgeib. If you would like to know more about the early years of Initiatives of Change and the conference centre in Caux please click here and visit the platform For A New World.
When we launched the 75 Years of Stories series in February 2021 about 75 years of encounters at the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux, we had no idea what an adventure we had embarked o...
As our series of 75 stories for 75 years of the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux draws to an end, the President of Initiatives of Change Switzerland, Christine Beerli, and its two Co-Di...
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During World War II, the Caux Palace (later the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Switerland) provided a refuge for Jews fleeing the Shoah. Over the years, some of them – or their descendants...
When Tunisian economics graduate Wael Boubaker joined the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP) in 2018, he expected a conference which would look good on his CV, and some beautiful scenery. Inst...
Tanaka Mhunduru from Zimbabwe is one of the organizers of the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP), a one-month programme for young people from around the world. He first took part in 2017....
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Lisbeth Lasserre came from Winterthur, where her grandparents, Hedy and Arthur Hahnloser, had built up a private collection of art at their home, Villa Flora. Amongst their artist friends were Bonnard...
Catherine Guisan is Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota, USA. She has written two books on the ethical foundations of European integration. In 2014 she spoke at Caux’s first se...
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When Merel Rumping from the Netherlands first visited Caux in 2012, she had a goal in mind – ‘to explore how I could contribute to a more just world through my professional activities’....
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Mohan Bhagwandas is all too aware of his carbon footprint. In the 13 years from 2006 to 2019, he flew 17 times from his home city of Melbourne, Australia, to Switzerland to take part in the Caux confe...
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The Co-founder of Zimba Women, Peace Kuteesa, is passionate about providing women with the tools and resources to participate in their economies and develop their communities. She spoke at last year’s Ethical Leadership Roundtable on ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship: building resilience in the economy and society’, which was part of the Caux Forum Online 2020. The roundtable examined context-specific challenges and solutions, how entrepreneurship can bridge the digital divide and the importance of innovation in different fields.
Zimba Women, which provides women with access to business skills and training, sits right at the heart of these elements of entrepreneurship. Its goal is to engage women’s active participation and provide them with access to markets. Kuteesa and her co-founder first connected on Facebook, in a group where young mothers encouraged one another to share and sell their products. As the group grew, some of the women launched their own businesses, and Kuteesa and her co-founder decided to create a formalized version of the group, which came to be known as Zimba Women. They felt that the best way they could use their computer engineering backgrounds was to help women who did not understand or have access to technology.
Since its launch, Zimba Women has worked with over 10,000 women in Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya to connect them with other female entrepreneurs and teach them such skills as basic accounting and social media management. It has just launched its e-commerce site, to help the women they have mentored to develop and sell their products. ‘We want to ensure that women are able to participate in the economic development of their countries or communities,’ Kuteesa explained. ‘When you empower these women economically, you help them develop their communities.’
We want to ensure that women are able to participate in the economic development of their countries or communities.
Kuteesa first participated in Ethical Leadership in Business in 2019. The experience has been invaluable, she said, ‘because it has given [Zimba Women] the visibility we are looking for’. The Caux Forum enabled her to hear how other entrepreneurs had overcome their community’s challenges and developed sustainable and resilient economies – one of ZimbaWomen’s key goals. Kuteesa loved the time given to personal connection and self-reflection: she explains that it allows her to prepare for the day ahead by truly getting in touch with herself.
Kuteesa’s goal is for Zimba Women to be Africa’s biggest e-commerce site for women by 2025, with at least five million women equipped with business and technology skills. She explained that it is often difficult for women in Africa to physically access markets, whether because of unsafe routes or high transportation costs. Technology could empower them to participate in the economy. ‘Tech perspective and the training to use it [the technology] allows them to tread wherever they wish to be internationally,’ she said.
You are interested in the topic of ethical leadership in business? Discover this year's Caux Forum Online event Initiatives of Change Business & Economy (12 + 13 July 2021) and register now!
Watch the roundtable discussion with Peace N. Kutseeba
Photo top: https://www.zimbawomen.org/gallery
Call for workshops! You would like to give share your inspiration, ideas and skills with other participants at the Caux IDG Forum this summer? We look forward to your application! Applications will be...
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Save the date for the Caux Forum 2024! This summer Caux Initiatives of Change, in partnership with Initiatives of Change International and supported by other civil society networks, UN agencies, phila...
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Ambassador Patricia Danzi has been with the International Committee of the Red Cross since 1996, serving as a delegate, with increasing responsibilities, in the Balkans (Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo), Peru, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. At head office, she was appointed Deputy Head of Operations for the Horn of Africa and Political Advisor to the Director of Operations.
Ambassador Thomas Guerber was appointed Director of DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance on 24 November 2015 and took up his function on 1 July 2016. He brings to the position extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy and policy development relating to human security, human rights and sustainable development.
How do I talk about peace in what feels like the most unequal country in Latin America? How can we generate social and sustainable development in a country which has been at war with itself for over 60 years? These are some of the questions I ask myself when I think about my country's socio-political situation. As a Colombian woman, I have grown up surrounded by many questions about war, social inequality and unfairness.
The social, economic and political crisis of the last few years has further complicated matters. Violence has flared up, especially in rural areas, following the failed peace agreement while inequality and poverty have been brought to a tipping point by the COVID pandemic. This has created a climate of uncertainty and indignation. The resulting national strikes, which began on 28 April, have now lasted for more than a month, underlining the historical wounds which the country must heal in order to move forward.
Given this situation, feeling hope and believing in change may seem meaningless. A few years ago, this is what I would have thought; however, despite everything that’s happening, I do believe that positive action can be taken. Part of this belief is thanks to the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme. This experience was a turning point in my life. Finding myself in such a diverse space where people talk from their hearts about leadership and social change made me rethink the issues that have accompanied my life and realize the enormous power we all have within us.
I have always liked the quote 'One cannot pluck a flower without troubling a star'; however, it was not until my Caux experience that I genuinely understood its depth and strength. Seeing my peers' different projects and initiatives in their communities inspired me and showed me that so-called “small actions” can transform lives and societies. Change can, without doubt, come in different ways and from different places, often ones that are not very visible.
Change can, without doubt, come in different ways and from different places, often ones that are not very visible.
My time in Caux inspired me to get actively involved with various social initiatives. Nowadays, I work for a local NGO which has a network of hundreds of leaders from vulnerable communities. During the current crisis, I have seen up close the positive impact that these leaders’ roles and actions have on their communities. Beyond the different obstacles, they look for ways to protect and care for their people. This has confirmed my belief that leaders are like raindrops in times of drought: they bring hope.
Indeed, what is happening in Colombia has been painful and frustrating. Nonetheless, the Colombian people have come together through demonstrations, community actions and collaborations to show that a better future can be created. We can all draw strength from a series of “small actions” despite the violence my country faces. I find it hard to believe, but together we are shaping a different reality, a reality based on the principles of justice, equity and dignity.
Valentina Poveda is from Bogotá, Colombia. She is a political scientist with minors in Sociology, Social Development Studies and Literature. Currently, she works as a project coordinator for educational programmes at the NGO Manos Visibles. Valentina participated in the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme in 2018 and 2019.
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The Caux Peace and Leadership Talks (CPLP Talks) are an online space where stories can be shared and connections made. This series is hosted and facilitated by the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme Alumni as a two-way discussion. It offers an opportunity to listen to young voices from around the world, get inspired and engage with one another.
If you wish to be part of the next CPLP Talks on 26 June at 1:00 pm GMT and share your thoughts and feelings on the power of young voices, you can sign up here.
Discover inspiring initiatives of Caux Peace and Leadership alumni from Mexico, Colombia and Germany....
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