This past weekend, Jane Royston and Emmanuel Mutisya shared their stories of personal development at the 9^th annual ‘Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy’ (TIGE) conference in Caux, Switzerland. Both faced difficulties establishing themselves and staying true to their identities and values in the business world.

Whilst Royston had difficulties accepting that employees could be treated as disposable resources in big corporations, Mutisya was troubled by the corruptive behavioural norms in his home country, Kenya.

Royston eventually founded her own successful IT company, NatSoft, which strongly incorporated her own ideals and values. Much of it was based on her unequal treatment at her previous employer, DuPont France. For her, teamwork and dedication took top priority; profits became secondary.

Mutisya, on the other hand, had always been aware of and, to an extent, part of the corruptive standards in Kenya. His need for honest business became apparent after gaining a new perspective whilst pursuing his Master’s studies in Sweden. Although he was confronted with criticism and disapproval, he stayed true to his values and was able to establish a sustainable business model in his home country.

Read the full articles by downloading the PDFs below:

Jane Royston:  ‘Swiss founder of NatSoft was no soft touch’

Emmanuel Mutisya: ‘How a Kenyan businessman made a stance against corruption'

Ambassador Ahmet Shala, the Economics and Finance Minister of the Republic of Kosovo from 2008 to 2011, following the country’s declaration of independence from Serbia, lost many members of his close and wider family during the Kosovo War 1998-99. ‘For six months I didn’t know if my wife and family were alive or dead,’ he told the annual conference on Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy in Caux, Switzerland, on 30 June 2015. On his return home, on 16 June 1999, he found that ‘my flat and my house were burned.’

Yet Ambassador Shala appealed for a spirit of apology and forgiveness. ‘We should not get angry, we should not loose trust, we should find strength and get beyond the pain. We should apologize and forgive,’ he said. ‘I am proud of my people and my nation – the nation of Mother Teresa. Her spirit, soul and heart are present – today and forever. Today, in Kosovo, families and people who lost everything are now calling for peace, forgiveness and reconciliation. It is everybody’s business to help to change things for the better. Truth telling is very important in life. You should listen to others too. There are sufferings on the other side too. That is why we have to start with an apology, even for the smallest “thing” you might have done wrong to others.’

He again quoted Mother Teresa who had said, ‘Do not wait for leaders to change things. It is everybody’s business to help to change things, person to person.’

Through a story, Shala introduced the three questions 'Who are you? Where are you going? Why are you going there?' that according to him one should ask oneself every day. He continued: ‘Do we do enough to change for the better? Change starts at the very grassroots with your own family.’

His father had told him: ‘There are only two nations in the world—good people and bad people.’ Shala added that ‘we are not here to judge who is good or bad; but we are here to be an example of change, to love our neighbour and even our enemy. Only with love, care, genuine dedication and respect can you win against hate.’ His father had also told him: ‘The wings of man are good friends. You should be the wings of the friend in need.’ He spoke proudly of how today in the Kosovo Parliament the nation’s two million people now are well represented, even the smallest minorities such as Roma, Ashkali, Gorani etc. Even those who make up 0.5 per cent of the population have a seat in parliament, he said. Over five million Kosovars are scattered in the diaspora around the world, including 850,000 in the USA and probably more in Europe and Turkey. Though Serbia does not yet recognize the independence of Kosovo and it is not yet a member of the United Nations, Kosovo has gained significant diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state from 110 UN member states so far.

Ambassador Shala, who was Kosovo’s ambassador to Japan from 2012 to 2015 and is now a visiting lecturer at three US universities, announced his plan to launch a Foundation for Peacebuilding and Sustainable Development in the Balkans and South East Europe, by 2017. His aim is to encourage the regeneration of the Balkans on the basis of healing the past and creating economic wellbeing for everyone. ‘You cannot expect peace from an empty stomach,’ he said. The foundation will be built on four Ts, he said: think, talk, trust and team. He appealed to the conference for support in this. ‘I am here to ask you for team-building. I am searching for partners to make it happen,’ he said.

He received an immediate response from a British member of the audience who has conducted Foundations for Freedom training courses in central and eastern European countries, including Ukraine, in recent years.

Shala told a story from 1999 about an old villager he had met in the streets of Kosovo. He asked him if he could forgive someone from Serbia. Holding up his stick, he replied: ‘Listen, I lost 18 members of my family. They took my 12-year-old nephew and pushed me to watch how they massacred him and the others. How can I forgive now? But if a Serbian child comes through my village, I’ll protect him as if he were my son and nobody could touch him’. Shala said that the old man had given him hope for forgiveness and hope in the generation to come. ‘The struggle is between mercy and revenge,’ he concluded'.

by Michael Smith and Sherif Rizq

By Doris Okenwa

It’s been 15 years since Wendy Addison spoke truth to power. In the year 2000, while working as the international treasurer of the publicly listed South African company LeisureNet, regarded as the darling of the Johannesburg stock exchange, she spotted and exposed backhand dealings within the organization. But whistleblowing comes with a heavy price tag. ‘The focus is often on shooting the messenger and not to examine the message,’ she told the annual conference on Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy (TIGE) in Caux, Switzerland, on 29 June.

Exposing the two Chief Executive Officers in one’s own organization could be considered at least as a maverick move, especially as they had been her personal friends. Addison was the only woman on the board and became known as ‘Wendy the wildcard’.

It took 11 years for her to secure justice amidst death threats and loss of income. She was fired from the company and much of her social circles, to the point of fleeing, under death threats, with her young son from South Africa to the UK.

The corrupt executives eventually landed jail terms. But deprived of an income and with no savings or pension, the messenger was left in the cold. Addison begged on the streets of Kingston upon Thames, South-west London, for several months to survive and cater for her 12year old son prior to the legal enquiry and court case beginning back in South Africa. From 2012 till today, she says, ‘it’s been a matter of rebuilding myself, initiating Speak Out, SpeakUp (her support organizations for whistleblowers), and then starting to be of service to others.’

Alia Ben’s story, which she told publicly for the first time during the TIGE conference, rings with the same moral conviction. Ben was part of her family’s long established flourmill in Casablanca, Morocco, the largest such enterprise in the North African country, with over 1000 employees. Rather than engage in unethical business practices, Ben disclosed information to her grandfather, the original owner of the business. 

She found family members blurring the line between company finances and their personal wealth. With the support of her grandfather, Ben exposed corrupt practices, despite the patriarchal ties that bind many Moroccan business ventures. ‘Moroccan businesses are family businesses,’ she says, making deviation from the status quo akin to the betrayal of one’s kith and kin. But to maintain the reputation of the family business, she felt she had no other option. Since, the company has been bought and she remains in the organization as a key consultant.  

What stands out from Ben’s story is the desire to stand up for what us right against all odds, even if it involves family. These women are not ignorant of the devices employed against perceived traitors.

Addison understands the psychological implications of whistle blowing as she explained to TIGE participants who questioned her about its ideological and moral underpinnings. ‘No one is born a choker,’ she says. ‘I believe we all know what’s right and wrong from a very innate, primitive sense. The problem is we don't know how to act on what we see as wrong doing.’ Analysis and speculation is easy; action is harder. ‘So while the whistle blower or the messenger, or the person having the courage, might be seen to be altruistic or naive in terms of their action, I believe it’s an absolutely necessary step for us, specifically if we look at the messages that are coming out from whistle blowers.’

Addison, who has recently completed a Courageous Leadership course in Berkeley, California, has developed what she calls ‘a social psyche model that trains individuals and builds the brain’s neuro-muscles’ through a program called Social Fitness Training. The idea is to enable candid conversations by building confidence through objective dialogues. ‘Just like training for a marathon,’ she says. People are trained to speak up from a less emotional or subjective standpoint and also fortified against possible backlash.

She cautions that ‘there is also work to be done on the recipient of the bad news, so that we support their sense of self-worth as well in terms of how they hear that bad news, how they frame that bad news and what actions they take afterwards.’ The natural inclination is often to silence the messenger and erect walls to prevent further scandals. This defeats the aim. For in the end, whistle blowing should not be a witch hunt. It is a quest for ethics, conscience, fairness; a quest to put the humane factor back into business. 

On 28 June 2015,  Laurent Wehrli, mayor of Montreux, Anne Lugon-Moulin, ambassador and representative of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, joined Mohan Baghwandas, vice-president of IofC International, and Antoine Jaulmes, president of the CAUX-Initiatives of Change Foundation, to welcome participants and guests to the Official Opening of the Caux Conferences 2015.

The programme of the day included a guided tour of the former Caux-Palace, an overview of IofC’s activities around the world and a presentation of the Caux Programmes and Conferences.

On Wednesday March 25, Cornelio Sommaruga was invited to participate as the honorary President of Initiatives of Change International (IofC) at side-event during the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.  The event was entitled, From early warning to early action: how to make early warning mechanisms more effective.

It was co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Italy and Sierra Leone as well as the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.  UN was launching a new early warning mechanism against atrocities which will be accompanied by seminars and training sessions in various parts of the world to put it into good use.

The other speakers included International Law Professor Marco Sassoli, Mr. Adama Dieng, Special Advisor of the United Nations Secretary-General on the prevention of Genocide (who presented his office’s new Framework of Analysis) as well as representatives from Human Rights Watch, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the two Ambassadors of the co-sponsoring missions.

During the introductions, Mr. Sommaruga was referred to as the “Godfather” for all his important contributions to humanitarian work, not least of which being on a panel, led by Ambassador Sahnoun, that produced the original Responsibility to Protect concept.  All of the panelists were asked to comment on the new Framework of Analysis, and Mr. Sommaruga made reference to the work of IofC globally and to the Caux conferences with a special mention of how the work has built trust between people of different religions. He explained how IofC was actually made up of people of many different faiths and since it worked on the link between global and personal change naturally worked with different religions and the understanding between them all while remaining neutral and open to people of all backgrounds including those not adhering to any religion.  He mentioned the work in Lebanon and across the Middle East, in the UK, the work of the Imam and the pastor and the use IofC makes of their film, and of course mentioned some of the various inter-religious moments at Caux.

In the full room, a lively question and answer session followed the various presentations and copies of the new UN tool were made available. Though a small step, it is a step forward for the UN to produce hands-on practical tools and of course. IofC is of course delighted that to help promote this new tool through this side-event but has also been asked to see how it help promote it on the ground. 

On 3 May 2015 the Council of Caux-Initiatives of Change (IofC) decided to become a member of the Swiss Association that carries forward the Initiative multinationales responsables. The issue of Corporate Responsibility is close to activities and themes that have continuously been promoted by CAUX-IofC.

Switzerland has the highest per capita number of multinational incorporations. These Corporations are involved in global operations and face challenges related to human rights, labour law and environmental issues.

This recently launched Initiative is inspired by the UN Guiding principles on business and human rights, and ILO and environmental standards. It is of global relevance but will be implemented locally. The initiative aims to ensure that Swiss companies integrate the protection of human rights and the environment in their business practices by mandatory due diligence measures.

Cornelio Sommaruga, former Swiss State Secretary for Foreign Economic Affairs and subsequently also CAUX-IofC President in 2000-06, is a member of the Initiative Committee.  CAUX-IofC will integrate Corporate Responsibility topics in its action plan, as it is in line with one of the organization’s statutory purposes “to strengthen ethical commitment in economic life“.

As the Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy (TIGE) conference is increasingly attracting participants from Switzerland, the CAUX-IofC project manager for Switzerland and two volunteers joined hands to organise an information and networking event for professionals on 30 April in Lausanne.

Following a presentation of TIGE and the 2015 conference’s speakers, workshops and trainings, the 15 participants engaged in dialogues over an Apero and structured conversations, exploring connections and opportunities and addressing questions such as “What have I been working on that has marked me? How has TIGE impacted me? What have I been challenged with concerning notions of trust and integrity in Switzerland? And how have I been facing these challenges?”. They highlighted the importance of taking responsibility and action, sometimes even experimenting, and shared inspiring stories of engagement and success.

Further TIGE-Switzerland events will be held during the year in order to provide inspiration and support for people who wish to positively impact their environment, to capture and spread inspiring stories and, whenever relevant, plan for common actions.

Please write to events@caux.ch if you wish to receive information on future TIGE-Switzerland events.

IofC Workshop for AIESEC Students in Bern

After the IofC’s “Leading a Team” workshop last December, the students’ organization AIESEC’s Bern team asked the CAUX-IofC Foundation to create a follow-up workshop on “Dealing with Leadership Challenges”, which The CAUX-IofC’s project manager for Switzerland Brigitt Altwegg and two experienced volunteers designed and held on 27 April 2015 in Bern.

The interactive 1h30 workshop addressed leadership challenges such as managing team members' motivation, supporting team members with different levels of experience, prioritizing and delegating. Whereas the trainers shared stories from their leadership experience, the students brought in many ideas and engaged in deep dialogues on their current challenges, both individually and as a team, and how to tackle them. They walked away inspired after working on and sharing their motivations for working with AIESEC. 

We hope that the workshop will make difference for the new team leaders, announced the same evening, and wish them all the best for their leadership-year with AIESEC!

WEEKEND WITH "FRIENDS OF CAUX" ASSOCIATION

On 18 and 19 April 2015, the association “Friends of Caux” organized its annual assembly in Caux. We welcomed anyone interested in discovering Initiatives of Change and the power of open and honest dialogue that can build relationships of trust beyond differences.

The weekend was a great opportunity to meet people with different backgrounds, to share with them the vision and the mission of the Foundation Caux-IofC, and to relax in the spectacular surroundings of the Lake Geneva.

VIERI JEWELLERY - A VISION RENEWED: GUYA MERKLE'S REMARKABLE STORY

Discover Guya's incredible story on how she trusted her intuition to change her family's business into what she believed in. Guya Merkle was invited to speak at the "Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy" conference (TIGE) in July 2014.