International Day of Conscience

PROGRAMME

Conscience, Love, Peace

05 April 2024

10:00 - 17:00 CEST

Let's work together to open up new paths of awareness and love, so that together we can build more just and happier societies.

We would love you to join us on 5 April, 2024, in the presence of Mr Alfonso Gomez, Mayor of the City of Geneva and of UN and UNESCO officials, to celebrate the International Day of Conscience that we dedicate to the youth of the world. This event will be taking place at the Palais des Nations, United Nations in Geneva or can be followed on-line.

DATE: 5 April 2024, 10:00 – 17:00 CEST
LOCATION: Building A, Room VII, United Nations - Palais des Nations, Geneva/Switzerland

What is the Day of Conscience?

"Be the change you want to see in the world," the Mahatma Gandhi asserted in the last century. At the dawn of the new millennium, we answer him with Sofia Stril-Rever, "Be the love you want to see in the world."

Love is not just a feeling, experienced individually. It is also a collective force for social justice, world peace, and human evolution. History proves that leaders of conscience and love, such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Wangari Maathai, Nelson Mandela or Malala can shape a future of peace, solidarity, and human rights.

According to the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 19 July, 2019, the International Day of Conscience is dedicated to “the promotion of a culture of peace with conscience and love”. It calls us to rethink and rearchitect the way we can build a lasting peace based on conscience and love.

Why do we celebrate the International Day of Conscience?

As we witness the escalation of wars and settle into the normality of deadly conflicts between peoples, the trivialization of large-scale massacres of civilian populations and a losing war against nature, we want to remember that we are part of the indivisible community of the living. Therefore, on the International Day of Conscience, on 5 April, 2024, we will say with Renaud Ruhlmann: "Nature speaks, listen to her!", and we will reassert that the war of humanity against itself and against life is not a fatality.

Non-killing societies and non-violent economies are possible, as demonstrated by the WHO’s World Violence and Health report. It depends on us to make peace a reality, under the roadmap of the Agenda 2030, the IDGs framework and the UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women and Peace, reaffirming the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, and post-conflict reconstruction.

The celebration of the International Day of Conscience on 5 April, 2024 is therefore a call to realize the power of our interconnectedness and take urgent action to open new pathways of conscience and love for fairer, happier, and peaceful societies.

To shift our mindsets that condition our vision and therefore our action in the world, on 5 April, 2024, in the presence of Mr Alfonso Gomez, Mayor of the City of Geneva, and of UN and UNESCO officials, we are bringing together physicists and biologists, representatives of ancestral traditions, experts in sustainability, the IDGs and the 17 SDGs, peace activists, artists, writers and meditators, with the participation of young global actors of change that will give the event a transgenerational dynamic.

Download the full concept note

Programme

10:00 - 10:30 WELCOME & KEYNOTE MESSAGES

Lidiya Grigoreva, Cheffe de Cabinet, Office of the Director-General of the United Nations in Geneva (UNOG)
Hasan Moosa Shafaei, Chargé d'Affaires of the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the UN & other International Organisations in Geneva / Vienna
Alfonso Gomez, Mayor of Geneva
Gerald Pillay, President Initiatives of Change International

followed by:

The Caux Palace - a centre for dialogue and peacebuilding to practice the Inner Development Goals by Ignacio Packer, Executive Director of Caux Initiatives of Change

The speakers will address the 3 themes of the International Day of Conscience: CONSCIENCE, LOVE, PEACE

PART 1: CONSCIENCE, A NEW PARADIGM TO TAKE CARE OF ONESELF, OTHERS AND THE PLANET

Moderator: Celina Rocquet, Molecular biologist, prof. University Paris 1, France

10:30 - 10:40: Nassim Haramein, Physicist, creative leader, USA

10:40 -10:50: Eric Julien, Spokesperson of the Indian Kogi community, anthropologist & business consultant, France

10:50-11:00: Renaud Ruhlmann, Founder of Naturasounds, musician, independant researcher on plants consciousness, author, France

11:00-11:07: Concluding Remarks: Celina Rocquet (France)

11:07-11:10 Music: The Song of the Sequoia, score by Renaud Ruhlmann, performed by Francisco J Fernandez Benitez, First Violin of the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra

PART 2: LOVE, A FORCE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE, PEACE & HUMAN EVOLUTION

Moderator: René Longet, Mayor of Onex 1999-2011, expert in Sustainable Development, author

11:10-11:20: Sofia Stril-Rever, Author and spiritual activist, founder of BE THE LOVE, France

11:20-11:30: Naresh Singh, Professor and Executive Dean, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy

11:30-11:40: Hajar Bichri, Creative Leadership Youth Programme of Caux Initiatives of Change, Morocco

11:40-11:50: Jonathan Belolo, CEO Village People Company, founder of THE PEOPLE, France

11:50 - 12:00: WALK THE TALK

11:50-12:00: "Be the Love" medit-action guided by Sofia Stril-Rever

11:57-12:00: Music: The Song of the Blue Pine of the Himalaya, score by Renaud Ruhlmann, performed by Francisco J Fernandez Benitez, First Violin of the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra

PART 3: CONSCIENCE & LOVE FOR PEACE

Moderator: Sarah Noble, Peace Activist, Head of Global Engagement, Caux Initaitives of Change, Canada/Switzerland

12:00-12:10: TAHA, a poem of Palestinian author Taha Muhammad Ali, interpreted by actor Sylvain Machac (France)

12:10-12:30: In conversation: Sidi Nabil Baraka (Morocco), Sufi spiritual leader & Moses Garelik (Belgium), spiritual conscious leader, UniOne, founder

12:30-12:40: Women Wage Peace (video clip) and The Sarah & Hajar Accords presented by Guila Clara Kessous (France), Ambassador and Artist of Peace for UNESCO, and Yael Deckelbaum, singer and peace activist

12:40-12:50: Lisa Yasko (Ukraine), MP, Parliament of Ukraine, Foreign Affairs Committee

12:50-13:00: The Prayer of the Mothers, World Premiere (lyrics: Guila Clara Kessous, music: Yael Deckelbaum), presented by Yael Deckelbaum and Guila Clara Kessous

13:00-14:00 LUNCH BREAK AT UN CAFETERIA

14:00 – 15:00 WORKSHOPS

WORKSHOPS

I. The Outer and Inner Meaning: How the IDGs accelerate the SDGs

Moderator: Louise Le Gat, President of A Purpose-led World

With:

Ignacio Packer, Executive Director Caux Initiatives of Change
René Longet, Expert in sustainability
Pascale Fressoz, President AIODD
Corentin Biteau, Independent researcher Effective Altruism
Naresh Singh, Professor and Executive Dean, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy

II. Talking Plants and Trees Workshop

Moderator: Yael Guillon, CEO Imfusio

With:

Renaud Ruhlmann, Founder of Naturasounds, musician, researcher on plants consciousness, author, France
Sylvie Rouen, Ph.D. in Microbiology and Aromatology, Agronomist
Celina Rocquet, Cellular biologist, Prof. University Paris 1, France
Bert Barten, Founder of Talking Trees, multi-disciplinairy artist, theater director, entrepreneur, The Netherlands
Aloe Vera, Vegetal speaker
Jean Fabre, UN Interagency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE)

CONVERSATIONS

I. Conscious Science

Moderator: Thibault Verbiest, International Lawyer

With:

Nassim Haramein, Physicist
Eric Julien, Anthropologist

II. Women for Peace: UN Resolution 1325

Moderator: Sarah Noble, Peace Activist, Head of Global Engagement, Caux Initiatives of Change

With:

Guila Clara Kessous (France), UNESCO Ambassador and Artist for Peace,
Lisa Yasko (Ukraine), MP, Parliament of Ukraine
Yael Deckelbaum, Singer & Peace Activist
Leopoldine Huyghues Despointes, Global expert and advocate of people with disabilities

III. We Are One

Moderator: Jean-Michel Amor, Founder of PACI

With:

Sidi Nabil Baraka, Sufi spiritual leader
Moses Garelik, Founder of UniOne

15:00 – 17:00 WALK THE TALK

Moderator: Jean Fabre, UN Interagency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE)

15:00-15:10: Keynote Message by Leopoldine Huyghues Despointes, award-winning actress and producer, global expert and advocate for people with disabilities

15:10-15:40: Public restitution of the workshops / Presentation of the Manifesto Peace and Sustainability by Pascale Fressoz, Founder of AIODD

15:40-15:50: Q&A with the public

15:50-16:00: Presentation of UniONE by its founder Moshe Garelik

16:00-16:10: Conscious Entrepreneurship: Jörg Schäfer, Founder of TREECYCLE & Fahed Qaswami, Founder of GOLDEFI

16:10-16:20: Conscious Art by Marc-André de Figueres (MA2F), Visual artist, PhD Art and Sciences of Art, UNESCO Prix Lumière, 2016 & 2023

16:20-16:30: The LoveForce Awards, by Khoa Nguyen, author, founder of BETTER WE BETTER WORLD

16:30-16:40: Humanity at a Crossroads: Concluding Remarks by René Longet, expert in sustainability & Jean Fabre, UNTFSSE

16:40-16:50: Thank You by global covenors, Ignacio Packer, Sarah Noble & Sofia Stril-Rever

16:50-17:00: Gospel "LOVE SHALL OVERCOME", an invitation to sing together in conclusion of the day

Download the full programme here

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Meet the Convenors

SOFIA STRIL-REVER is a public speaker, award-winning author, teacher and spiritual activist. Sofia is the biographer of the Dalai Lama and has co-authored four books with him which have been translated into over twenty languages. She is the founding President of Be the Love, a protocol of heart and mind-awakening for leaders and changemakers, encouraging them to shift from individualism to altruism and accelerate the implementation of the 2023 Agenda and the rise of a civilization of love.

IGNACIO PACKER is Executive Director of the Caux Initiatives of Change Foundation, a Swiss private charitable foundation with the mission to provide a safe and privileged space to inspire, equip and connect individuals, groups and organizations from around the globe to engage effectively and innovatively in the promotion of trust, ethical leadership, sustainable living and human security. Ignacio has over 30 years of experience in humanitarian work and development issues. He is an expert on human rights and social issues and has been strongly engaged in global advocacy on protection frameworks for migrants and refugees with a particular focus on children and youth.

SARAH NOBLE is Head of Global Engagement at Caux Initiatives of Change. She has dedicated her career to building a better world and is passionate about showcasing people's stories on how we can build peace with each other and the planet. Sarah has held leadership positions at international organisations focused on peacebuilding, humanitarian issues, and independent media. She is also co-founder and Curator of the Peace Talks at Interpeace that have taken place in more than 8 countries with over 8.000 attendees and more than 200 speakers from over 50 countries.