Usually, Swiss National Day on 1 August is an opportunity for Caux Forum participants to discover some Swiss traditions, including cheese fondue. This year, it looked like the Caux Palace would be empty, and most celebrations in the area were cancelled. However, the large terrace of the Caux Palace was a perfect place to throw a party where locals could celebrate at a safe distance from each other. IofC Switzerland partnered with the Society for the Development of Caux and L’Artisan Glacier to offer a festive programme.  

During the warm summer day, more than 300 people came at different times to enjoy the beautiful view and the entertaining programme. Following Swiss tradition, the day opened with a concert of alp horns in the gardens. Delicious food prepared by our dedicated team was available all day long, as was the bouncy castle for younger visitors. In the afternoon, we offered discovery tours of the Caux Palace in three languages. Most were fully booked, showing how eager locals are to learn more about this magnificent Belle Epoque building and its rich history. In the late afternoon, the Lounge Band jazzed up the party that went on through the evening.

We would like to thank all those who visited us on this Swiss National Day and look forward to other opportunities to celebrate in the Caux Palace gardens.

Can you truly listen? What if we all had the power to make our communities more cohesive and inclusive by starting to deeply listen to each other? The Tools for Changemakers conference was a three-day experiential journey designed to equip participants with the powerful tool of dialogue. More than 180 active or aspiring changemakers from all over the world and from all ages joined the online event from 17 to 19 July 2020. They experienced first-hand how transformative it can be to authentically share with and listen to each other.

Despite being online, the conference was highly interactive. It successfully created a safe space and offered plenty of opportunities for participants to get to know each other, reflect on their experiences and share them. Words of gratitude flowed in, as participants left feeling inspired and connected. A Facebook group has been created to offer that community a new venue.

Let’s talk! – Exploring dialogue principles and learning from experienced practitioners

The first day of Tools for Changemakers introduced participants to the tool of dialogue. Experts  spoke about their approaches to dialogue and shared their vision for how these can play a significant role in responding to the challenges facing the world.

Dialogue is an enquiry into difference, not a decision-making process.

Simon Keyes

‘Dialogue is a process of thinking about differences,’ said Simon Keyes, Professor of Reconciliation and Peacebuilding at the University of Winchester. He said that dialogue enables us to see how our opinions are shaped by our environment and that it builds trust and relationships. The process is often not easy and requires us to suspend our judgments, to be honest and transparent and to free ourselves from the need to agree or make decisions. ‘The challenge comes from the fact that we are born in different places; it gives us misperceptions of each other,’ said Mohammed Abu-Nimer, professor at the School of International Service of the American University, and senior advisor at KAICIID. Dr Iryna Brunova-Kalisetska, researcher, trainer and dialogue facilitator, drew attention to the fact that dialogue takes time, which we don’t always have in the midst of a conflict.

Let’s listen! – Experiencing a dialogue

For the second day of Tools for Changemakers, participants had the opportunity to experience dialogue themselves. In small groups, they shared their experiences of privilege and discrimination. They learned to express themselves authentically, listen carefully to others and reflect on their experiences, which led to deep connection. ‘Recognizing my privilege has encouraged me to learn more about other peoples’ experiences of oppression and discrimination,’ stated a participant.

Ebony Walden, Matthew Freeman and Rob Corcoran, three dialogue facilitators from the United States, then discussed the role of dialogue in the #BlackLivesMatter context. ‘Often people think that we don’t need to talk, that we need action, but I think that this is a false dichotomy,’ said Matthew Freeman. Dialogue is a crucial step in taking action, as it can help us to get on the same page.

Watch the full discussion here.

Let’s reflect! – Taking inspiration from stories of impact, sense making and looking ahead

For the final session of T4C, two peacemakers shared the impact that dialogue has had on their lives. Angela Starovoytova, a trainer in effective communication from Ukraine, explained how she started her career wanting to ‘share her wisdom with the world’ and for others to adopt her values. She then came to realize that others are entitled to their opinions, even if she disagrees with them. When her father and she kept arguing on their positions regarding Russia’s annexation of Crimea, she decided that their relationship meant more to her than being right and chose the path of dialogue, reuniting the family.

Watch the replay here.

Janine Farah, who is doing a Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies in Australia, told of the courage it had taken for her to enable someone who had suffered deeply to engage in dialogue with a person from the same community as the perpetrators.

Participants had the opportunity to expand these discussions in smaller groups – talking about where they could use dialogue in their own personal and professional lives. Hearing stories from all over the world served as a source of inspiration to participants, bringing them closer together.

Participants’ words of appreciation showed that they found the experience inspiring and that they enjoyed connecting at a deeper level with others. We look forward to seeing how they will use what they have learnt about dialogue in addressing the challenges faced by their communities.

Thank you to the team for the seamless organization, and to all the participants for their vulnerability and willingness to dialogue, to listen and to share openly. It was a true privilege to be part of this event.

 

So much gratitude and inspiration! Thanks to the organizers for such a wonderful opportunity to connect with so many change-makers from the world!

Watch the replays on Youtube

Know more about Tools for Changemakers

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The Creative Leadership conference took participants on a six-day journey of personal inquiry to discover what creative leadership is and what kind of leaders they are. More than 120 passionate changemakers joined the adventure, where they were inspired by impactful stories and given the space to create a strong virtual community.

Creative Leadership is a new initiative launched by alumni of the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP) and their first venture involved the major challenge of bringing the conference online. The young team, clearly well-versed in technology, managed to offer participants an experience that was deep and powerful. They created a safe space for sharing and bonding during dialogue groups and tea times, led participants on the path of self-reflection in quiet times and invited social entrepreneurs who are making a difference in the world to teach them about leadership through human libraries and webinar sessions. They even accommodated time differences by offering two programmes, in the ‘morning’ and ‘afternoon’. Participants showed their gratitude to the organizing team during the closing session and expressed their desire to stay connected and to support each other as they step further into creative leadership.

Creating a space for change

The conference started by opening a safe space for sharing, so as to create a community and allow participants to feel secure enough to explore how they could bring change into their lives.

The first keynote speaker, Maria Paula Garcia Romero, explained how after participating in the CPLP, she wanted to do something for her community and became a social entrepreneur. She started the Suuralairua Library programme, which aims at empowering isolated indigenous communities in Colombia by providing them with a library and enabling them to teach each other how to read and write down their own ancestral stories. Starting from this experience, she explained how the leadership model of any enterprise needs to be customized to the project and to the community involved. In fact, she said, ‘the communities need to be involved in the creation of the project’, so as to ensure that it serves them and respects their identity.

Leadership from the self

Through the quiet times, human libraries and dialogue groups, participants grew in their understanding of it means to lead from the self. One of the most powerful sessions of the conference was led by four life travellers, who introduced the concept of spiritual politics, encouraged leadership through example and service and generated the atmosphere for mindfulness. Rodrigo Martínez Romero, Harmen van Dijk, Pepe García and Lázaro Valiente allowed participants to reflect on their own purpose and cultural heritage, and inspired creativity to unite their separate worlds.

Who we are is how we lead

The first webinar on this theme was led by Sonita Mbah from Cameroon, who delved into the connection between culture, identity and leadership and shared practical tools. Sonita has dedicated more than seven years to building the Better World Cameroon non-profit and the Bafut ecovillage. She is now the Executive Secretary of GEN (Global Ecovillage Network) Africa. She also received the Gender Just Climate Solutions Award from Women and Gender Constituency in 2017.

She stated that her connection to her roots, culture and environment is the basis of her leadership. ‘Whatever has come out which is good has come out from a place where I am grounded in my culture,’ she said. This isn’t without its challenges. Her culture also implies trauma from colonization which needs to be healed, and she has had to fight against sexist cultural norms. The work and difficulties are sometimes overwhelming, but her practice of meditation and journaling keeps her centred, while her vision for a better world keeps her inspired.

Who you are is how you will lead, but also how you live and how you will die.

Jin In

Jin In, founder of 4 Girls GLocal Leadership, returned to the theme in the fourth webinar of the conference, where she spoke of igniting the fuel in youth to turn their words into action. She shared her personal story of empowerment, and how she got to be the leader she is now. She encouraged participants to build their courage, hope, focus and unity.

The power of our network

The final webinar was given by Tony Sakr, a senior transportation engineer who created a crowd-sourced campaign to support young people affected by the ongoing crisis in Syria. ‘Success is a team sport,’ he said, explaining that networking is an important component of success, because we cannot do everything on our own. At the heart of a powerful network is trust, since we cannot collaborate with others without trusting them. For that, accountability is vital: he advised participants to always fulfill their promises. Successful networks are also based on reciprocity. We have to see what we bring to the table. Most important, a successful networker remains humble and listens, because there is always something to learn!

Many other inspiring young leaders shared their stories during the human libraries. ‘Books’ included Maria del Pilar Aristizabal, founder of Life Academy, a social enterprise which delivers leadership workshops in Columbia; Anubha Sharma, a senior analyst who builds gender-inclusive business strategies across the value chains of small and medium enterprises in India; and Ary Marrufo, a fashion designer who seeks to preserve culture, support artisans and create awareness of their potential to create a different future in Mexico.

As the conference was closing, participants shared how the dialogue groups had given them a sense family and support and how excited they were to be part of this journey.

We are impatient to discover what all these leaders will bring forth in the world!

• Discover Creative Leadership
• More on the Caux Forum Online

If you take care of nature, it cares for you

The Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security (CDES) 2020 aimed high in its first online edition, with more than 15 sessions and a cumulative total of 450 participants. Experts discussed the connection between security and the environment, with a focus on conflicts between farmers and herders and on the importance of involving local populations and their ancestral knowledge in land restoration projects. Visionaries presented their initiatives, and a group of artists, the IofC Bards, helped participants reflect on the conference and unwind. Fruitful conversations developed, which will be continued in monthly calls. We look forward to witnessing and supporting the collaborations and initiatives that grow out of the dialogue!

Most of the sessions have been recorded and you can watch the replays here.

Empowering local populations to restore their ancestral land

The conference started with four plenaries, three of them livestreamed on Facebook and on our website and shared with the Summer Academy on Land Security and Climate.

The first plenary, ‘Anticipating the security risks of land degradation and climate’, took place on 1 July. It started with a challenging and informative introduction by Oli Brown, Associate Fellow at Chatham House and at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). Dr Bishnu Raj Upreti, Advisor to the Nepal Centre for Contemporary Research, then explained that, important though science and modern technologies are, learning from local communities is essential to fighting land degradation. Sustainable solutions can only be developed with their collaboration and by integrating ancestral wisdom.

The second panel, on ‘Community Action: entry-point to holistic solutions’, explored concrete solutions to land degradation through cases studies. Tony Rinaudo, Senior Climate Action Advisor at World Vision Australia, is know as the ‘forest-maker’, because of his work to restore 200 million trees in Niger through farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR). He explained how a lot of his work in Niger consisted of ‘mindscaping’. ‘Everything you need is already in the landscape,’ he said. ‘You only need to make people friends of trees. Once you take care of nature, it cares for you. Even the poorest people can implement this technique.’ Read more here.

Himanshu Kulkarni, Executive Director of the Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM) in India insisted on the importance of restoring traditional practices and of empowering communities so that they can participate. He said: ‘Communities have the answers to their challenges and with the right support, incentives and policies environment, they can be implemented and bring positive outcomes.’

The last two plenaries dived deep into the practical problems of the pharmaceutical industry and climate finance and discussed initiatives to overcome them, such as the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative.

Workshops and community building

After the four plenaries, ten workshops were offered, including the very first Caux Ocean Dialogue. More interactive than the plenaries, they allowed time for discussions with the speakers. Most had a structure similar to the plenaries’, with high-level speakers such as Larry Gbevlo-Lartey, CEO of Human Security Research Centre of Ghana and former AU High Representative for Counter-Terrorism; Dr Raphaëla le Gouvello, expert in marine coastal zone management; and Mukhtar Ogle, Secretary for Strategic Initiatives in the President's Office of Kenya. They all gave a short presentation before answering questions. Recurring concerns were conflicts between farmers and herders and the importance of collaborating with local population and integrating their traditional knowledge and practices. 

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The only workshop in French was held on 10 July, in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, on the topic of ‘Land and Security in Sub-Saharan Africa’. The speakers included Oumar B Samake of the Malian Association for Awakening to Sustainable Development and Dr Mahamadou Savadogo, consultant on questions related to violent extremism in Burkina Faso. They  explained how land degradation is directly related to the rise of armed groups and how it is crucial to restore land and make it accessible to women and young people. (Read the complete report here).

Another highlight was the session on ‘Land Degradation and Remediation: latest developments and best practices’, which was full of hope. The four speakers inspired participants with their success stories of land restoration. For example, Neal Spackman, Founder and CEO of Regenerative Resources Co, explained how, working with local people, he managed to transform desertified land in Saudi Arabia to savannah. Josef Garvi, Founder and CEO of Sahara Sahel Foods, spoke of how his company is reintroducing the population to nutritious traditional foods, which grow more easily than cereals in their region.  

Participants also had the opportunity for hands-on learning. The workshop on ‘Enterpreneurship and Innovation: building the world you want to live in’ taught them how to plan future actions by framing their hopes for the world and ’retrocasting’ to determine what steps were needed to achieve them. They created a 90-day plan for action.

Lastly, the Caux Ocean Dialogue was launched, with a first exploration of the role that sea ecosystems play in the environment and of the actions needed to protect them.

Environment, security and the arts

The conference also explored the connections between art and environment. The IofC Bards, a network of poets, composers and musicians, took part in the Dialogue and created inspiring artworks to reflect their impressions.

Lisa Yasko, a Ukrainian MP and the Founder of Yello Blue Strategy, led a workshop on ‘Art and love in politics’, in which she shared her experience of making politically engaged artwork.

A two-day workshop on ‘Creativity for Sustainability’ led participants on a journey towards deeper connection with sustainability in their daily life. Finally, participants unwound through an interactive sound meditation led by flautist Žofie Kašparová.

• Read more on the Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security
• More on the Summer Academy on Land, Security and Climate
• Discover the CDLS Emerging Leaders Programme

The Ethical Leadership in Business conference, on 25 and 26 June 2020, kicked off the first Caux Forum Online. It offered a diversified experience with panels livestreamed from the Caux Palace, networking times and an introspective workshop. Even though participants could not meet on the terrace as they usually do in Caux, they remained very engaged throughout the conference and were inspired by the deep conversations that took place. Monthly conference calls will be organized to sustain this inspiration and support participants as they implement changes in their practice.

Innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa

The first panel of the conference explored the topic of innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa.

Angelica Kiboro, Acting Principal/Registrar at Strathmore Institute in Kenya, who lectures on entrepreneurship, led the three speakers – Dina el-Shenoufy, Chief Investment Officer at Flat6Labs; Peace N Kuteesa, Founder and Chief Operations Officer of Zimba Women; and Darlene Menzies, CEO at Finfind – on an exploration of the difficulties and opportunities arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

They all agreed that digitalization has become essential. Online businesses and e-commerce are thriving and many entrepreneurs are seizing the opportunity to make the shift. This reveals how important it is for entrepreneurs to be agile in adapting their businesses to new situations, but also to have back-up plans, as Peace Kuteesa pointed out.

Although the pandemic presents huge opportunities for some, many face difficulties with the collapse of supply chains. Communities have had to find ways to rebuild supply chains locally and to accommodate curfews. Darlene Menzies described how the situation is deepening the digital divide in Africa. Those who do not have the technical or financial means to operate the digital shift find themselves marginalized. Angelica Kiboro concluded by stressing that in times of such hardship, it is crucial for entrepreneurs to be reactive and creative, as the effects of their innovations can ripple out and benefit many.

Lifelong learning for a resilient economy

The second panel was livestreamed from the Caux Palace with some speakers also joining via zoom. As the pandemic changes the world, we need constantly to learn new skills. The capacity to remain curious and learn throughout our lives is important in increasing resilience. The panel investigated what we should learn and how.

Annika Hartmann de Meuron, Managing Director of Ethical Leadership in Business, moderated the panel: Danièle Castle, Senior Director, Education and Talent, at Digital Switzerland; Andrea Kuttner, Head of Digital Learning at Credit Suisse; Nazrene Mannie, Executive Director at GAN Global; Naureen Nayyar, technology consultant at H&M Group; Ivan Primachenko, Co-Founder of Prometheus; and Olga Strietska-Ilina, Team Leader, Skills Strategies for Future Labour Markets, at the ILO.

Danièle Castle opened the panel by quoting Einstein: ‘Once you stop learning, you start dying’. Although grim, this emphasized a recurring idea throughout the whole conversation: we all need to learn, at all times. Panelists showed that this does not just mean sitting at a school desk or following an online programme. Rather, there is a great diversity of skills to learn, from professional to interpersonal ones. There are also different ways of learning. Although the online offer has been booming recently, in-person and practical learning will remain essential. Each person can create her own curriculum and learn what she needs in the way that suits her, depending on her situation in life. Life-long learning is really, as Olga Strietska-Ilina put it, life-wide learning.

To make this possible, it is important to create both educational and professional environments that encourage curiosity and learning, and to make sure that no one is left out. Diversity in learning needs to be complemented by inclusivity. This involves ensuring that new technologies are inclusive, and that they aim at cognitive diversity and at bringing our cognitive blindspots to light, as Naureen Nayyar pointed out. Lastly, learning should always remain a pleasure.

Leadership for a moral renewal in the economy

How can we build an economy that is sustainable, resilient and that, most importantly, serves people?

Sarah Schwab, CEO of The Experience Accelerator, moderated an inspiring session with Vivek Asrani, Managing Director of Kaymo Fastener Company; Kristin Engvig, Founder and CEO of Global WIN&WIN Conference; Isabella Phoenix, Senior Manager of HP Global Channel and Co-Founder of Architects of Air, and Guillaume Taylor, Founder of Quadia. Due to technical issues, Brendan Kelly, Global Head of Leadership and Professional Development at Credit Suisse, was unfortunately unable to join the discussion.

All the speakers agreed that our current economy lacks vision. As Guillaume Taylor explained, our aim is profit in and for itself: ‘Form has become substance’. We need to come back to our original intent and realize that the aim is to create value for everyone around the table. As Vivek Asrani put it, we do what we do for and with the people. Only a clear vision can enable us to become clear on our values, said Isabella Phoenix, and to do business which is congruent with our values, we need to know what they are.

A lot of leaders focus only on the outcome and disregard how the profit is produced. But the ‘how’ matters. Vivek Asrani insisted that we need to start rewarding the ‘how’, rather than just the ‘what’. Our economy must undergo a complete shift of mindset. ‘We need to broaden the “what”, deepen the “why”, and adapt the “how”,’ said Guillaume Taylor.

To change the ‘how’, we need authentic and compassionate leaders. Contrary to what some may think, ‘the softer emotions don’t compromise business,’ maintained Vivek Asrani. In fact, compassion and authenticity cultivate trust and collaboration. He gave practical examples of how he embodies those values in his organization. For example, he rejected the opportunity to rent a cheap warehouse, because the sanitary conditions would not have been optimal for his employees. He also instituted paternity leave in his organization when that was almost unheard-of in India.

As Kristin Engvig said, ‘Love is not just a word, it is also a verb.’

Workshop: Leadership in the community

The conference closed with a workshop on leadership in the community, led by Gabriele Segre, Director of the Vittorio Dan Segre Foundation. He led the participants in a reflection on what identity is. We all have several identities which change with time and place. Their unique combination makes each one of us who we are.

Gabriele Segre invited us to celebrate those identities. They do not have to be in conflict. We can recognize that we all share a human identity and live alongside each other, while at the same time cherishing and maintaining the diversity of identities that we all have. Let us cultivate ‘convivenza’. Participants were invited to reflect on this question and to share with each other what that means, practically, in their daily lives.

Although it was a real challenge to move the conference online in such a short span of time, it was a complete success. Participants from all over the world enjoyed deep and meaningful conversations and reflected on what they can do to build a more resilient and inclusive economy.

We look forward to the Ethical Leadership in Business talks that will take place each month and are impatient to discover the fruits of the many seeds that were planted by the conference.

Learn more about Ethical Leadership in Business.

By Alan Channer and Karina Cheah

‘It’s one of the best ways ever with the present covid pandemic.’

 

‘We ended just when I was wishing we had more time to learn and interact.’

 

‘If possible I would like to go over it again.’

 

‘This will change the world.’

The effusive feedback from participants in the five-day 2020 Summer Academy on Land, Climate and Security vindicated the difficult decision to take the course online. Four months ago, this had seemed an impossible task to the academy’s co-directors Anna Brach and Dr Alan Channer. Thankfully, zoom calls and web-based learning platforms enabled Initiatives for Land, Lives and Peace, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and IofC Switzerland to host a successful event, with 28 participants from 20 countries. The Africa Climate Change Fund of the African Development Bank provided core funding.

‘What will it take to forge community-based solutions to deforestation, land degradation and massive flooding?

‘Why does only 1% of international funding to prevent and/or adapt to the effects of climate change reach the world’s poorest people?’

‘What part can each of us play in our own situations to safeguard the Earth?’

These and other questions were addressed by a panel of distinguished practitioners and academics. The participants joined the Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security (CDES) for high-level webinars featuring case-studies on:

• Community-based wildlife conservation in Namibia
• Participatory watershed management in India
• Civil society environmental action in Nepal
• UN-led dialogues on land rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Farmer-managed natural regeneration in semi-arid Africa.

The case-study on farmer-managed natural regeneration was picked up by the online magazine Geneva Solutions  under the headline, ‘Conquering deforestation with a pocket-knife’. It quoted the webinar’s moderator, Louise Brown from Namibia: ‘Communities have the answers to their challenges.... With the right incentives, simple solutions can be taken forward to improve the environment, society and the economy all in one go.’

The core of the Summer Academy was group work conducted in zoom breakout sessions. Participants on different continents were able to brainstorm and collaborate on environmental restoration in their own contexts, before presenting them in the plenary sessions for feedback and further discussion, including on how solutions could be ‘future-proofed’.

Land reclamation and inter-island migration in the Maldives; social entrepreneurship and waste disposal in the Comoros Islands; environmental peacebuilding on Akassa Island in the Niger Delta; and community forestry in Nepal and Bhutan were some of the issues explored. 

The online Summer Academy went so well that the organizers were close to tears during the final session and the participants didn’t want to leave. It faded out slowly, as everyone bade farewell. A Polish participant played Bach on the cello; a Bhutanese participant shared a folk song about the beauty of nature; a Nigerian sang, ‘We are the world’.

Although the 2020 Summer Academy was vastly different from the 2019 edition, participant Nkatha Kobia from Kenya, who attended both, found that the wealth of experience from fellow participants was the same. ‘The energy and enthusiasm that was felt in the classrooms at Caux was also reflected across the computer screens via the virtual platforms,’ she explained, adding that coming to Caux in person brings an invaluable dimension of human interaction and inspiring physical location.

‘The 2020 Summer Academy on Land and Security will be memorable for being the pioneer online version of the course,’ Kobia concluded. ‘This opens new and expansive possibilities for the future of the dialogue series at Caux.’

• Find out more about the Summer Academy on Land, Security and Climate
• Find out more about the Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security

Photos: Leela Channer, Alan Channer

18 July was the birthday of Nelson Mandela and this year marked the end of the first Mandela Mile Leadership Programme (MMLP). This 14-week programme had 36 participants from 21 countries. Some of the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP) alumni acted as buddies, accompanying the participants on their leadership journeys. MMLP ended with a 24-hour Mandela Mile livestream, interspersed with videos from the participants telling of their experiences.

One of them was Romano Iluku from Kenya, who was also a buddy. He writes:

"I was brought up in one of the largest slums in Africa, Kibera in Nairobi. Life in the slum means you have no opportunity and no hope for the future. I was accustomed to living in a 10x10 single room with five family  members, going without food at times, walking barefoot and staying out of school due to lack of fees.

Life in this environment is indeed pathetic. But because I discovered the person I was capable of being, I rose above the walls and barriers to transform my personal life. I am currently pursuing a course in international relations, peace and security.

I’m passionate about education and transformation. It is what has made me what I am today. And my passion for transformation is guided by my desire to learn, love and serve humanity and so to change the narrative that nothing good can ever come from the slums. And the narrative that someone coming from a disadvantaged background will never have any opportunities.

My experience at CPLP 2018 was a life-changing one. Experiencing Caux’s values and interacting with great and inspirational leaders made me think of something bigger. This led me into starting an organization where I live, to create flourishing and resilient communities.  

The CPLP also opened the door for me to participate in MMLP.

MMLP nurtures the leadership skills of young leaders engaged in grassroots development initiatives around the world. My 12 weeks with MMLP were productive in many ways. I found the experience of being a buddy amazing and humbling. The experience borrowed much from Caux’s values: quiet time was central to helping young leaders reflect on their personal journeys. I got a chance to share with two other participants from different countries. In my turn, I was privileged to have Nick Foster, from IofC and Caux, as my buddy. I was so encouraged and motivated by his support and received great insight on my spiritual journey.

Access to experts and guidance through the programme has helped me to shape the development of my initiative in Kenya and to realign it with three of the Sustainable Development Goals: reduced poverty (SDG 1), zero hunger (SDG 2) and reduced inequalities (SDG 10).

Interacting with likeminded and visionary leaders through MMLP and learning from their inspiring experiences was indeed remarkable to me. It has helped to improve my confidence as a young leader. "

My experience at CPLP 2018 was a life-changing one.

Find out more about the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP).

Image: Mandela Mile

By Karina Cheah

Chau Tang-Duncan, co-founder and chief operating officer of Earthbanc, has been coming to Caux regularly since 2010. It was there that she first embraced the role she could have in connecting people and planet. She first presented the concept of Earthbanc (then called ‘Goodbanc’)  at the 2019 Caux Dialogue on Land and Security. ‘It’s about doing something for the earth, not doing something good,’ she explains. ‘Earthbanc is trying to reshape the whole financial ecosystem to support regenerative investment.’

Earthbanc’s other founder, Tom Duncan, took part in the 2007 Caux Scholars Program and went on to help launch the Environment and Economy Group, which was a precursor to the Caux Dialogue on Land and Security (CDLS). At CDLS in 2013, 2018 and 2019, he gathered people with a common vision who want to make systemic change. Chau explains that Earthbanc’s team members work in the private sector and with governments, but have also been involved in grassroots efforts, allowing them to bridge the gap between these two worlds.  Earthbanc works with a broad coalition of groups including Initiatives of Change (IofC), Initiatives for Land, Lives, Peace (ILLP) and CDLS. Among those involved are Jennifer Helgelson, a founding members of CDLS and IofC’s liaison to the United Nations Climate Change Conference; Rishabh Khanna from ILLP; Irina Fedorenko, managing director of the Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security (CDES), and Alan Channer, co-organizer of the Summer Academy on Land, Security and Climate. 

The Earthbanc team has brought knowledge-based concepts and ideas to the table as well as the dialogue-based approach that lies at the heart of Initiatives of Change. They deeply believe in Earthbanc’s ability to reshape the financial system to be fairer and more efficient for all. ‘All actors can work together to help capital flow from big institutions to small,’ Chau explains, ‘and then to help the small grow, so that the capital can be recycled and paid forward.’ 

Since the 2019 Caux Dialogue, Earthbanc’s team has engaged in dialogue with its partners on offsetting carbon and on  such regenerative finance instruments as green and blue bonds (bonds that are used to fund environmentally friendly projects). They are currently working to launch its digital platform and software for more widespread availability. If they are to succeed, Earthbanc’s  regenerative financing mechanisms must be accompanied by a change of hearts and minds: so that investing in environmental protection is seen as a benefit rather than a cost. ‘We have to change our way of thinking, from a “risk” to a “benefit” or an “investment,”’ Chau says. ‘Everyone invests in change and impact, and we all benefit from it.’

This principle, along with establishing ‘healthier and wealthier livelihoods’ to create stability in post-conflict regions where land is scarce or sought-after, lies at the heart of Earthbanc’s values. It’s no coincidence, then, that the concept was first presented at the Caux Dialogue on Land and Security, where these critical issues intersect. The initiative was driven by changemakers inspired by their time at Caux, who shared a desire to drive systemic change without facing the daunting task of creating a new financial system altogether. ‘We’re not reinventing the wheel,’ Chau explains, ‘we’re making it more efficient and interconnected.’

Chau Tang-Duncan was a speaker on the livestream panel on "Climate Finance: catalyst of holistic solutions" during the Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security 2020.  Watch the replay here.

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Karina Cheah is a rising senior at Colgate University (Hamilton, NY, USA) and is currently working for Initiatives of Change Switzerland as an intern for communications and the Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a double minor in French and Creative Writing and plans to continue with all three fields in her postgraduate education. Her academic areas of interest include the intersection between foreign and domestic policy and the politics of Southeast Asia. In addition to her work with Initiatives of Change Switzerland, she is finalizing a short story collection entitled This Side of the Veil, available for purchase in July 2020.

By Karina Cheah

I have never been to Caux. I had also never moderated a dialogue group before, in or outside of the Caux Forum. As I faced the prospect of co-facilitating an online dialogue group in the Caux Dialogue on Enviroment and Security (CDES), I asked myself how, without the experience of being in Caux, I could even begin to recreate the beautiful safe space that so many have experienced in Caux Forum dialogue groups – and in an online format.

Dialogue groups, where participants convene to discuss the day’s events or share their stories, are an integral part of the Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security (CDES). The smaller number, moderated by a member of the organizing team, allows for a more intimate space for sharing. As I was on the organizing team and am quite new to the Caux Forum, I was asked to co-facilitate a dialogue group. This gave me a chance to take part in the conference as well as help put it together.

I was lucky to have the support of Benjamin Callison as my co-facilitator. He has moderated several dialogue groups at Caux. Watching him establish the Zoom room as a safe space, guide the conversation, and encourage our participants to open up and share their stories and concerns was an invaluable learning experience. He opened our first session by asking each of us ‘Who are you?’ instead of ‘What do you do?’. This removed the surface-level awkwardness and allowed us immediately to know one another as people with interests rather than as professional titles.

The dialogue groups met for an hour each day between 1 to 4 July. Ben moderated the first two days and turned the session over to me for the third. I felt much more prepared to step up to the plate simply from having absorbed what I had seen him do. Moderating did not turn out to be as frightening as I thought it would be – and, for someone who is not a fan of public speaking, even in a small setting, I was surprised to find that I enjoyed it. We managed to achieve a level of unfiltered, honest conversation, providing space for different stories and opinions, similar to what I imagine we would have in person. Our dialogue group hailed from five countries. We shared the struggles of our regions, such as what to do about the palm oil industry in Indonesia or the continued environmental skepticism of many in the United States. Deeply personal stories brought us closer together.

There are still plenty of differences between convening in person and online. There’s an organic element to talking in person that is lost online. It's much harder to interject, so the dialogue becomes somewhat panel-like as people cycle through, sharing their thoughts for a few minutes. Connectivity can be a disadvantage – people can drop out of meetings unexpectedly, and there’s always issues of volume and of video freezing, all of which occurred during our meetings.

Even so, our online dialogue group was able to form strong connections, so much so that we still keep in touch via a WhatsApp group. I will take forward practical lessons about moderating conversations and action points on how to help our environment, five good friends and a strong feeling of connection to the spirit of Caux. The technology that kept us apart is also what ultimately brought us together, and I am deeply grateful for that.

You would like to know more about the Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security? Click here.

Karina Cheah is a rising senior at Colgate University (Hamilton, NY, USA) and is currently working for Initiatives of Change Switzerland as an intern for communications and the Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a double minor in French and Creative Writing and plans to continue with all three fields in her postgraduate education. Her academic areas of interest include the intersection between foreign and domestic policy and the politics of Southeast Asia. In addition to her work with Initiatives of Change Switzerland, she is finalizing a short story collection entitled This Side of the Veil, available for purchase in July 2020.

As part of the Caux Forum Online 2020, Initiatives of Change Switzerland and the Human Security Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs organized a video-conference in French on ‘Land and Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: assessing the risks and seeking an answer’.

As part of the Caux Forum Online 2020, Initiatives of Change Switzerland and the Human Security Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs organized a video-conference in French on ‘Land and Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: assessing the risks and seeking an answer’.

The event was moderated by Rainer Gude, Co-Director General of IofC Switzerland. The panel included:

• Olivia Lazard, Deputy Researcher at the Environment and Development Resource Centre, France
• Oumar B Samake, Programme Coordinator of the Association Malienne d'Éveil au Développement Durable (AMEDD), Mali
• Mahamadou Savadogo, consultant on violent extremism in the Sahel, Burkina Faso
• Abasse Tougiani, Senior Researcher at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN).

The conference provided an opportunity to explore the links between the impact of humans on their environment, globally and regionally, and the insecurity and violence experienced by the populations of sub-Saharan Africa. It showed that no approach, whether transnational or local, can escape the reality of the strong and increasingly obvious connection between climate change, insecurity and political responsibility.

Olivia Lazard stressed that (legitimate) research on subsoil and land resources related to climate phenomena (soil aridity, exploitation of mining resources, food difficulties, poor land management) should not overshadow the deeply worrying transformation of fertile land. Through deforestation, and the use of trees for firewood and construction, biodiversity is disappearing, soil fertility is collapsing and the water cycle is breaking down, causing conflicts and violence in huge, ever expanding, areas. As these local dynamics accumulate, they also cause serious disruptions between distant regional climate systems, for example between the Congo Basin and the Nile Basin (with consequent political tensions). Economic policies that affect land must therefore be viewed in a global perspective.

Since 2018 violent extremist groups located in protected areas in the Sahel, and in Burkino Faso in particular, have had a direct influence on the environment and even the climate, said Mahamadou Savadogo. Through their control over these areas and the fauna and minerals found there  and through their fighting, these groups unbalance not only local biodiversity but also the regional climate. Only the return of the State and a policy of equitable land distribution, taking into account the needs of local populations, can stop this degradation.

Oumar Samaké is interested in creating opportunities for women and young people to have access to land in Mali, a society largely dominated by men, social customs and population growth. Lacking work, young people in rural areas turn to gold panning (which also destroys arable land), migration or violent extremist groups. The response must therefore involve loans or donations of registered land, with a twofold aim: to limit environmental deterioration by encouraging sensitive modern farming practices and to generate remunerative activity.

Abasse Tougiani is deeply concerned about the situation of young people in his country, Niger. He said that everything must be done to give them work, land and hope for the future, otherwise they too will turn to migration, cities or violent groups. To keep young people in their communities, new land must be found for them, existing land must be improved and agricultural activities such as market gardening, cattle feeding or oil production must be developed. Village committees are responsible for this work and their experience has  been conclusive. These initiatives need to be multiplied and Niger’s government will soon be called upon to legislate on the basis of these successes.

Discrimination against women in relation to the granting of land, inheritance and the failure to apply laws passed in their favour featured prominently in the discussion which followed these contributions. It was also pointed out that, first and foremost, the search for solutions requires dialogue with local authorities, who have significant powers on land issues, and national legislation that grants equal rights to women and men. But it was also recalled that violent extremism in the Sahel directly affects women, either because they are left alone in the village when the men fight, or because their society ties them, through their economic and social activities, to land that is increasingly degraded and impoverished.

On the theme of dialogue, the role of politicians was highlighted. Climate, environmental protection, land, the role of women, dialogue are all political and are all linked. The current crisis in sub-Saharan Africa opens up useful perspectives: the speakers believed that the environment will be at the centre of socio-political events and concerns in the coming years. Local authorities seem to have understood this better than national authorities: mining permits are still granted by governments in a ‘conventional’ way, without respecting the needs of the population and those of nature. There is still room for action!

In conclusion: the speakers agreed that values were crucial to preserving the environment on which the security of populations depends so profoundly. These ‘true values’ include education, sharing, communication with all segments of the population, thoughtful local governance and the mobilization of civil society and, in particular, the people most directly affected.  

The urgent need to awaken governments was the final word.

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Report: Human Security Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs