As 2024 draws to a close, we reflect on a year that has reinforced the connection between inner development and global action. Our commitment to inspiring, equipping, and connecting individuals to make meaningful change has resonated with many, taking shape through initiatives aimed at tackling urgent and complex challenges.

This year our flagship event, the Caux Forum, welcomed over 850 participants from more than 70 countries. The inaugural Caux IDG Forum highlighted the role of inner development in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. The Caux Democracy Forum and Geneva Democracy Dialogues, key components of our three-year Democracy Programme, facilitated important conversations on democratic governance, human rights, and sustainable social cohesion.

These sessions emphasised skills and mindsets necessary to revitalise democracy in Europe and across the world. Additionally the Nordic-led Caux Intergenerational Forum united different generations to explore shared European values and address global challenges threatening community peace and solidarity. 

In 2024, we celebrated our rich artistic heritage by exploring art’s potential as a catalyst for social transformation and conflict resolution. A charity concert, generously given by world-renowned pianist Khatia Buniatishvili at the Caux Palace, launched our new Caux Arts and Peace Encounters programme, underscoring the role of artistic expression in promoting understanding and peace. This theme continued with a special event during Geneva Peace Week. Throughout the year, the Caux Palace hosted over 60 events and groups, welcoming over 4500 guests, and a rich array of cultural events such as concerts, exhibitions, and guided tours.

We are deeply grateful to our partners across the Lemanic region, International Geneva, and beyond. These collaborations have been fundamental in our pursuit of innovative and sustainable solutions to today’s global challenges, creating a more interconnected and supportive environment for positive change.

Looking ahead, we are excited to announce some key events for 2025 including:

4 April, 2025: International Day of Conscience in Geneva
12 - 14 May, 2025: Caux Arts and Peace Encounters in Caux
8 - 12 July, 2025: Caux Democracy Forum
28 July – 1 August, 2025: Caux IDG Forum

This year has also brought immense global challenges, from devastating conflicts to mounting threats to democracy. These underscore the critical relevance of the Caux Foundation’s mission: reconciling differences and creating safe spaces where individuals from across the globe can engage effectively in the promotion of ethical leadership, trust, sustainability, and peacebuilding.

Thank you for your trust and support. We wish you a joyful holiday season and look forward to welcoming you to Caux in 2025.

Warm regards,
Your Caux Initiatives of Change Team

We are delighted that Maruee Pahuja from our Creative Leadership youth programme received the inaugural Love Force Awards at Kanha Shanti Vanam, Hyderabad/India.

Organized by Sofia Stril-Rever, founder of BE THE LOVE and translator for the Dalai Lama, the event brought together panelists, award-winners and participants from diverse countries, including India, Brazil, Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Congo, the UK, France, and the Netherlands, as well as representatives from the Deaf Enabled community in India.

The 5-day event revolved around the theme of "Compassion in Action", focussing on the core values of Being, Interbeing, Loving, Serving, and Uniting. Panelists and guest speakers exchanged knowledge and wisdom across fields ranging from farming and forestry to regenerative business, fostering an environment of shared purpose, and the participants joined a kaleidoscope of activities and followed motivational talks, including a talk by the Dalai Lama.

During her presentation, Maruee passionately shared her personal journey, emphasizing her work with the Creative Leadership youth programme and the Foundation's new Caux Arts and Peace Encounters programme: "I am deeply commited to using arts and leadership for a transformative impact in peacebuilding."

One example of this commitment was her recent participation as a panelist during the Kofi Annan Peace Address and co-moderating the Arts and Peace Encounters special event alongside Sarah Noble, our Head of Global Engagement, at Geneva Peace Week 2024.

In Hyderabad, Maruee also co-moderated a session alongside Mark Milton from the Spirit of Humanity Forum on fostering dialogue for impactful leadership.

The Love Force Awards event celebrated impactful initiatives tackling key global challenges, such as indigenous advocacy, drug abuse prevention, climate crisis solutions, youth empowerment, and peace education and the participants went back home motivated to bring compassion in action in their work and projects.

Thank you to the organisers for pioneering this ground-breaking Love Force event, offering a transformative space for inner growth, actionable love and contributing to the implementation of the SDGs.

• Learn more about our Creative Leadership youth programme for young leaders
• Discover our new Caux Arts and Peace Encounters programme and find out more about our next event in May 2025

The arts have a knack of connecting people, no matter their background or walk of life, and last week's series of concerts at the Caux Palace, organised during this year's edition of Les Émergences musicales Montreux-Riviera 2024, was no exception.

On Tuesday, 3 December, the young French singer Anne Sila kicked off the concerts with poetic texts, subtle humour and charisma, ballads and jazz, and a mesmerizing voice. The finalist in the French edition of 'The Voice' in 2015 and winner in 2021 of the 'All Stars' version, Anne Sila took the audience in the fully-packed Caux Palace theatre on an artistic journey about the ups and downs of life which left nobody untouched.

Welcoming artists to the Caux Palace also means giving a platform to the unexpected and to reimagine and see the world from a different angle!

French folk/jazz singer and songwriter Cali's concert at the Caux Palace theatre on 4 December was an evening full of surprises, cleverly orchestrated by the talented and passionate entertainer who, accompanied by outstanding pianist Steve Nieve and a guest appearance by Anne Sila, captivated his audience and had them dancing and singing along right from the start.

Cali, who emerged as one of French pop's biggest new stars with his song "C'est Quand le Bonheur?" (When is Happiness?), is actively engaged in supporting many humanitarian causes. He helped set up the L'Amour parfait association, which raises funds to support a range of local and national charities, has been a patron for foundations helping the poorly housed and homeless, and took part in the digital campaign #EnsembleSurInternet, to fight against all forms of discrimination and hatred on the Internet.

On the last day of the Emergences musicales 2024, the Caux Palace opened its doors to the public for two extraordinary moments.

At the Caux Palace theatre, a "place which breathes songs", Francis Cabrel, one of the greatest French-speaking artists, offered the audience the unique opportunity to ask questions and discuss key moments in his career as a songwriter and singer. Expertly moderated by journalist Katja Baud-Lavigne from Swiss magazine L'illustré, Cabrel spoke about the beginnings of his career, moments of doubts and inspiration, finding one's calling as a musician and the role of music in today's world to help people dream in spite of difficult circumstances: "A beautiful song...and the world changes!"

The evening continued with a musical firework, prepared by the nine young artists who had been working together all week to compose and write twelve brand-new songs for the final concert.

Pierre Smets, director of La Saison culturelle de Montreux which produced the Émergences musicales 2024 in collaboration with Francis Cabrel's association Voix du Sud, underlined the importance of teamwork for young artists to help "break artistic solitude" in a complex profession and working together, beyond all differences, in a safe and judgement-free space.

Talented French singer/songwriter Gauvin Sers took over the last part of the evening after a week of "humanity and creation". With humour and warmth, he presented a collection of songs in a "place charged with history for (...) reconciliation" and highlighted the importance that music is about "believing in a better world, in spite of everything and no matter who we are."

Thank you to all the artists who work tirelessly for positive change! The Émergences musicales 2024 might have come to an end, but at the Caux Palace, we now look forward to our upcoming Caux Arts and Peace Encounters (12 - 14 May 2025) which will be uniting artists from around the world in their commitment for peace and reconciliation.

Stay tuned for more and find out more about our new Caux Arts and Peace Encounters programme building on the significant artistic heritage in the service of peace of the Caux Initiatives of Change Foundation.

Christoph Spreng has been working with Initiatives of Change for many years in different capacities. He has been representing Initiatives of Change at the Council of Europe since 2006 and in his role has been entrusted a large variety of specific assignments, including Vice-President of CINGO and coordinating the INGO Dialogue Toolkit Hub. In June 2017 he was appointed INGO Special Advisor for Human Rights and Business and has been representing CINGO at the CoE North-South Centre since 2018. He is also a member of the Caux Democracy Forum organising team, co-leading a workstream on "Civil Society fostering Dialogue: From Polarization to participation - A Guide to Action".

On 25 October 2024, the Caux Round Table (CRT) - Japan hosted the 13th Business and Human Rights Conference in Tokyo with 225 corporate leaders, executives and experts from several Asian countries participating online.

Executive Director Hiroshi Ishida of Caux Round Table - Japan set the scene for the event with the following remarks: “In 2011, the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) were approved by the UN Human Rights Council, establishing a framework for respect for human rights in business activities. The Guiding Principles comprise three pillars - ‘Duty to Protect’, ‘Responsibility to Respect’ and ‘Access to Remedy’ - and call for concrete action by governments and companies. In the 13 years since the Guiding Principles were approved, legislation and regulations requiring companies to implement and disclose their supply chain management practices around the world have accelerated. Under these circumstances, it is important for companies to promote initiatives based on the UNGPs, not only to comply with laws and regulations, but also to improve corporate credibility, risk management and sustainable growth “. 

These last three areas of improvement formed the core content of the Tokyo CRT Panel discussions with overseas experts, the examples of corporate initiatives as well as the exchanges of views between the experts and the partners.

Worth mentioning in this context is the Japanese principle of kaizen (Japanese: 改善, "improvement"), referring to business activities that aim to continuously improve all functions and involve all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers. In Japanese factories they have been practiced over the past 70 years whereas Western approaches, like the UN Guiding Principles or the more recent EU CS3D, set out rules on accountability and responsibility through legal instruments.

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Exactly 30 years ago, the unique approach of the Caux Round Table (CRT) Principles for Business was based on the fact that the principles were based on both Eastern and Western approaches. These seven Principles were featured in The Financial Times, under the headline ‘The search for universal ethics’. The paper’s Management Editor, Tim Dickson commented that it was possibly the first time that "a document of this kind has attracted influential supporters from Europe, Japan and the US’". 

Tim Dickson wrote: "The Principles are said to be drawn from two ethical traditions: the Japanese philosophy of kyosei, described by Canon’s Ryuzaburo Kaku as 'living and working together for the common good of mankind' and 'human dignity' which refers to the sacredness or value of each person as an end, not simply as a means to the fulfilment of other’s purposes or even majority prescription."

Later translated into 12 languages, the Principles laid an emphasis on identifying shared values, reconciling differing ones, and developing a shared perspective on business behaviour acceptable to and honoured by all.

Read more about the pioneering years of the Caux Round Tables

Fast forward to this year’s Tokyo conference. Eleven Japanese corporations partnered with CRT-Japan for this occasion, representing a variety of sectors, such as heavy industry, manufacturing, transport as well as the insurance and food industries. Here follow some salient points:
 

• Dr. B. Ling, Taiwan: explained that the Guidance Model (collaborative peer to peer learning by CRT-Japan, ed.) can help the legal process of Europe (…) to reach a smart mix.
• Lailani Tolentino, Philippines pointed out that the maritime & shipping sector is still forgotten and underslined that here, the rights holder’s engagement requires preparatory empowerment meetings.
• The 134-year-old Kubota Corp. Farming & Water Machinery has translated its Human Rights Policy into 23 languages. It has also improved foreign employees’ conditions.
• Foreign employees’ conditions have also been addressed by the Worlding Inc., in particular the related malpractice of excessive brokers fees.
• Yokohama Rubber is engaging with natural rubber smallholders in southern Thailand, regularizing the local worker’s conditions on a higher level.
• Nissin Foods has Indonesian palm oil suppliers and explained it made a 50km radius risk assessment with each of them and began its redress-work at the least scored place.
• The ANA Holdings presentation was given by Mrs. C. Miyata, EVP & Chief Sustainability Officer, explaining how the Group began with B-HR policies in 2015 and has added the UN Sustainable Development Goals to its perspectives. By now 180 suppliers are feeding their input to a central assessment system.
• Talya Swissa explained how World Benchmarking Alliance has acted to have excessive recruitment fees repaid and comments that in countries of the Global South environment issues are impacting the right to life.
• Rishi Sher Singh pointed out that CRT-Japan is enabling a Safe Space for Corporates to learn from each other.

These are twitter-style glimpses from a 4.5 hour session, leaving out the many presenters’ slides, that were detailing their management processes. The slides gave insight to the multinational corporate policy learning, which is under way with the support of this event in Tokyo. A key take-away from it is the “engagement with the rights holders”, today’s embodiment of the twin origin of ideals as expressed in the above quoted Financial Times article. 

Caux Initiatives of Change is honored to have been invited to attend the 13th Business and Human Rights Conference in Tokyo and gratefully looks back on many years of productive collaboration with CRT-Japan. One sequence of this collaboration ran during ten years under the title of ‘Personal Social Responsibility’ (PSR) for groups of Japanese mid-career executives who joined the conferences at the Caux Palace. In Switzerland, on its home ground, Caux Initiatives of Change has resumed supporting the Swiss civic Initiative for Responsible Multinationals.

Read the full conference report

We hope that this conference will contribute to the realization of sustainable corporate growth and social responsibility.

Hiroshi Ishida, Executive Director, CRT-Japan about the Business and Human Rights Conference 2024 in Tokyo

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What oversea experts and participants said about the Business and Human Rights Conferences in Tokyo

Did you know? On 26 December 2024, the highly-anticipated new RTS series "Winter Palace”, in collaboration with Netflix, will hit the TV screens, featuring the Caux Palace which was chosen as a location to be part of the backdrop of the series!

The series, directed by Pierre Monnard, a prominent figure in the Swiss audiovisual landscape, was partly filmed at the Caux Palace and we were thrilled to welcome the team in Caux where they did an amazing job recreating in detail the atmosphere of the late 19th century, including a ballroom scene.

It is not surprising that the Caux Palace was chosen as a location to be part of the backdrop of the series. With its high local visibility, perched up above the Leman, and classified as a building of national interest, this former Belle Époque hotel is a unique piece of Swiss heritage. Its architecture, history and cultural role make it a fascinating place and we are very proud of our team of highly-skilled craftsman who are doing an amazing job maintaining and restoring the Caux Palace's rich heritage.

On 2 November, the first two episodes premiered at the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF). 

Save the date and watch the full series, starting 26 December 2024 on RTS 1 and Play RTS and broadcast early 2025 on Netflix.

• Read more
• Watch a short video on the filming of "Winter Palace"