Louise Helen Brown is a climate finance expert based in Windhoek, Namibia. She is the recent founder of a small business, Triple Capital, which develops financial and economic solutions to environmental and social challenges.
Alan Channer is a project director, documentary film producer, writer and researcher on peacebuilding and the environment. He was a runner-up for the 2019 Bremen International Peace Prize; co-designer of a programme on 'pastoralist-farmer conflict transformation' in Nigeria which won a United Nations Intercultural Innovation Award in 2017; speaker at the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Forum; and producer of the award-winning film,The Imam and the Pastor, which premiered at the United Nations in 2006.
During the Second World War, my father served in tough places – behind the enemy lines in Burma, then amidst the brutal conflicts in Waziristan on what was then the border between India and Afghanistan. It was harsh treatment for a sensitive young man just out of university and he paid a price. His explosive temper in the following years was probably a symptom of what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder.
Jessie Bond, 1945
Reg Bond, 1945
My mother found this hard to endure. Trained as a doctor, she had been drafted into the army and sent to India. There she met my father and they married at the end of the war. By 1957, struggling to cope with four children and her husband’s frequent outbursts, she was seriously thinking of leaving him. That year they went to Caux.
A conference was in full swing, and they lived into it all, though my mother was still wrestling with her despair. One morning she was in their room, taking time in quiet. My father was out on the balcony, looking out over the Lake of Geneva. They could hear a Muslim participant saying his prayers in a nearby room. Perhaps this reminded her of the happy times of their engagement and marriage in what is now Pakistan.
I saw his greatness, and I knew I would never leave him.
Whatever it was, as my father stepped back into the room, my mother told me that she suddenly saw him in a new light. Whereas she had been preoccupied with his faults, now – as she described it – ‘I saw his greatness, and I knew I would never leave him’.
The Bond family with German and British friends, Berlin 1961
She learnt not to let his explosions depress her. And there were less of them, as my father discovered a new peace of heart. There was greater harmony in our home. This made a considerable impression on me, at the age of seven.
In the following years my father, still serving as an army officer, had his full share of stressful and dangerous assignments. But he coped with them differently. His Christian faith was real to him, and his love for my mother, and hers for him, was unshakeable. Probably this was a considerable factor in my decision, as a young man, to devote myself to the work of MRA – as it was known then – and Initiatives of Change. I knew first-hand that wounds of the spirit could be healed.
Jessie and Reg Bond, 1984
I doubt if I could have coped, had I not seen my parents cope.
In my work I have taken part in numerous initiatives which have helped reconcile communities in conflict, and advance social justice. None of this has happened easily. I have had to face setbacks and challenges of many kinds, sometimes with traumatic events.
I doubt if I could have coped, had I not seen my parents cope. During their married life they worked in 10 countries on four continents. They faced hardship, danger and disease, but never lost their zest for life, and their spirit of appreciation which built warm friendships across cultural differences.
Caux played its role in this, and I will forever be grateful.
John Bond is the Secretary of Initiatives of Change International. He lives in Oxford, England, and has worked with Initiatives of Change in over 30 countries. For five years he coordinated the Caux Forum for Human Security. Previously he was the Secretary of Australia’s National Sorry Day Committee, which enlisted a million Australians in initiatives to overcome the harm done to Aboriginal Australians by cruel and misguided past policies. For this he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. His latest book, Sorry and Beyond, co-authored with Aboriginal leader Brian Butler tells the story of the campaign.
This story is part of our series 75 Years of Stories about individuals who found new direction and inspiration through Caux, one for each year from 1946 to 2021. If you know a story appropriate for this series, please do pass on your ideas by email to John Bond or Yara Zhgeib. If you would like to know more about the early years of Initiatives of Change and the conference centre in Caux please click here and visit the platform For A New World.
When we launched the 75 Years of Stories series in February 2021 about 75 years of encounters at the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux, we had no idea what an adventure we had embarked o...
As our series of 75 stories for 75 years of the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux draws to an end, the President of Initiatives of Change Switzerland, Christine Beerli, and its two Co-Di...
In 2020, the Caux Forum went online in response to the pandemic. Its organizers found that this made Caux accessible to people all over the world who could not have taken part in normal circumstances....
During World War II, the Caux Palace (later the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Switerland) provided a refuge for Jews fleeing the Shoah. Over the years, some of them – or their descendants...
When Tunisian economics graduate Wael Boubaker joined the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP) in 2018, he expected a conference which would look good on his CV, and some beautiful scenery. Inst...
Tanaka Mhunduru from Zimbabwe is one of the organizers of the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP), a one-month programme for young people from around the world. He first took part in 2017....
The Winter Gathering of 2016 was a special experience for Diana Damsa – not just because she experienced Caux in winter, but also because, for the first time in eight years, she had no responsibilitie...
Lisbeth Lasserre came from Winterthur, where her grandparents, Hedy and Arthur Hahnloser, had built up a private collection of art at their home, Villa Flora. Amongst their artist friends were Bonnard...
Catherine Guisan is Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota, USA. She has written two books on the ethical foundations of European integration. In 2014 she spoke at Caux’s first se...
2013 saw the first full-length Caux Dialogues on Land and Security (CDLS). These events, which took place at the Caux Conference and Seminar Centre, focus on the links between sustainable land managem...
When Merel Rumping from the Netherlands first visited Caux in 2012, she had a goal in mind – ‘to explore how I could contribute to a more just world through my professional activities’....
For many years, Lucette Schneider from Switzerland organized the team which gathered in the early mornings to wash, peel and chop vegetables for the kitchens of the Caux conference centre. ...
Mohan Bhagwandas is all too aware of his carbon footprint. In the 13 years from 2006 to 2019, he flew 17 times from his home city of Melbourne, Australia, to Switzerland to take part in the Caux confe...
25 distinguished Indians and Pakistanis came to Caux in 2009 with the aim of building bridges between their countries. The man who initiated the gathering was Rajmohan Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Ga...
2008 saw the launch of an unusual course on Islam’s approach to peacemaking for young Muslims and non-Muslims, devised by Imam Ajmal Masroor from the UK. The course’s coordinator, Peter Riddell, descr...
Temantungwa Ndlangamandla was born in the Kingdom of Eswatini but lives in Taiwan. She participated in the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP) in 2017, which she describes as a life changing experience. She enjoys discussions on women, culture and language and how they shape societies. This is her story.
I've never felt safe as a woman in my society. There is a tradition in my culture, where a boy follows a girl home while declaring his love for her. It is an ancient custom whereby a man wins the love of a woman by wearing her down. For the woman, it is often exhausting and frightening to live through. I say this because, as a woman, the moment a man follows you home, you are struck by fear of what might happen next.
I remember going through this ordeal. A local boy had taken an interest in me. I communicated to him that I had no interest being with him, but that did not stop him from declaring his love for me. I kept saying no and he persisted. I stopped and looked at him, trying to explain how it would never work out with him as politely as I could.
My culture had trained me that whenever I was speaking to a male, I had to be polite, respectful and humble.
I went home, believing that I had laid his fantasy to rest. However, to my surprise, as I rushed to the grocery store the following morning, he followed me. This went on for three months, and while I felt stalked, it was a culturally appropriate thing to do. I felt cornered and had no other choice but to inform my brothers.They laughed at me to my face.
I get angry because no one listened, no one took me seriously.
Being in my community, I could not tell my brothers the complete story. I could not tell them the hurled insults I had to endure every time I refused his advances. I could not tell them how he looked up my boarding school, and then came and asked to see me. I could not tell them how he got my number and threatened to hurt me. And when I dared to tell anyone my story, they laughed to my face.
They told me they would deal with it like men, but it never happened. I endured the harassment for a year until he moved away. I thought I had gotten over the ordeal until I saw him again in town. I froze and couldn't move. My body was stiff and heavily perspiring. It felt like a lifetime. I stayed like that until he left. I took another bus home as I was staying with my aunt and did not want him to know my new address. I could not sleep that night; all I could think was ‘Am I safe?’.
I still get angry when his name is brought up in conversation. I get angry because no one listened, no one took me seriously. It seemed like no one valued my safety, and I think of all the women who feel the same way.
I wish the world had more safe spaces for women and for men, to work together to build safe communities.
It wasn’t until I went to Caux that I found my voice. I discovered how to speak up against such unjust traditions and actively create safe spaces for women to talk about issues affecting them within their culture. Through reflection and open dialogues, I’ve found there are opportunities for men and women to address cultural stereotypes that affect them.
I wish the world had more safe spaces for women and for men, to work together to build safe communities.
The Caux Peace and Leadership Talks (CPLP Talks) are an online space where stories can be shared and connections made. This series is hosted and facilitated by the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme Alumni as a two-way discussion. It offers an opportunity to listen to young voices from around the world, get inspired and engage with one another.
If you wish to be part of the next CPLP Talks on 1 May 2021 at 1:00 pm GMT and share your thoughts and feelings on the topic of gender and safety you can sign up here:
The eighth edition of the CPLP Talks recognizes the courage shown by CPLP alumni in responding to the challenges that the world is facing. Below alumni from Eswatini and Colombia describe intiatives t...
One year after the devastating explosion in Beirut, we meet Zeinab Dilati (also known as Zee) who took part in the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as a participant, practiti...
'How do I talk about peace in what feels like the most unequal country in Latin America? How to generate social and sustainable development in a country with an internal war lasting more than 60 years...
Manuela Garay from Canada was part of the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme in 2017 and reflects on the impact her participation has had on her and her perspective on life and other people ever sin...
'I wouldn’t have imagined that with a piece of paper, a pencil and a little bit of your time and effort, you can really make a difference in someone else’s life!' - Georgina Flores and Lorena Mier y T...
How can we all contribute to building a sense of safety for everyone within our communities? The CPLP Talks team convened a dialogue space where they asked men for their perspective on the topic of ge...
'I now look at myself in the mirror differently. I am slowly getting comfortable under my skin.' - Tinotenda Dean Nyota from Gweru, Zimbabwe, took part in the CPLP in 2018. He is an Economics graduat...
'I realized that having two cultures is not a burden but a richness and that I am lucky to be able to take the best of both.' - Charlotte Rémié discovered Initiatives of Change through her parents in ...
'I realized that I could make a difference in the world.’- Find out how Maria set up a library in a remote community in Colombia to fight illiteracy and help children write stories which transmit thei...
Abeda Nasrat came to Denmark as a refugee from Afghanistan at the age of two. She now studies Law at the University of Copenhagen and works as a student assistant at the Danish Institute for Human Ri...
"Time and again, encounters with people who have different cultural roots from me have challenged and often overwhelmed me. But it is these encounters that have allowed me to keep growing, both in my ...
"One act of compassion continues to have a great impact on my life." - Redempta Muibu from Nakuru, Kenya, describes how taking part in the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme in 2015 inspired her to s...
A conversation between men around gender and safety
15/04/2021
Featured Story
Off
The CPLP Talks team convened a dialogue space, where we asked men for their perspective on how we all can contribute to building a sense of safety for everyone within our communities. The dialogue was underpinned by the tragic attacks on women across the world. We share some of what was said below.
Tinotenda Mhungu, Zimbabwe
I am a product of patriarchy. My normal was to expect respect purely on the basis of being a man. My entire upbringing was based on being located in a position of privilege, because I was a man.
This comes to me with a sense of guilt. I feel sorry when I speak or act in a manner which carries historical grief and pain for women, as a result of the pedestal that was built for me to stand on as a man. I feel sad for the many instances where women continue to have to fight for safety. I however feel a sense of hope, because every day, I am confronted with a choice, and hence an opportunity to do better, to learn more.
Antoine Chelala, Lebanon
As a man, I am proud of my upbringing and education around amazing girls and women who helped me shape my personality and how I see the world. Thanks to the female perspective, I am better able to understand the gender dynamics of our society.
Open conversations with female friends have shown me the advantages that the patriarchal society grants me and helped me understand that I have a role in fighting gender inequality. Most of the time, I am confident enough to defend this cause and break the cycle of toxic masculinity. However, I sometimes betray the better man in me: I am not always brave enough to call out a sexist joke. Sometimes I laugh awkwardly at a joke that does not align with my values. I also find it difficult to reshape locker room talk.
I believe that it is important to have safe spaces where men can talk about their worries, share their feelings and celebrate their successes. This space can easily turn into a toxic masculine space that degrades women in an unacceptable way. I am convinced that my responsibility is to take the role of party pooper and stand up for my morals. These spaces must be made safe, so that safety can spread within our community.
Sebastian Hasse, Germany
Time and again, I am surprised by the difficulties that women face in the world just because of their gender. And I understand that I need to be more aware of these difficulties. At the same time, I think that we are living in a world where a small group of rich Alpha males control almost everything.
Most men and woman seem to suffer from that. Knowing that I am not and do not want to be an Alpha male I feel helpless about it. But through speaking out and acknowledging the discrimination that is happening, we can be a good example to others and begin to breed a change in behaviour and in character.
Omar Madani, Syria
I believe that all men who advocate for gender equality feel guilty about the inequality that our male ancestors have practised towards women throughout history. As men who respect and honour women today, we may be considered innocent, but because we share our ancestors’ masculine identity, we have a responsibility to correct what has happened in the past. Gender equality is the natural and healthy path that individuals must follow in order to build a harmonious and productive society.
The Caux Peace and Leadership Talks (CPLP Talks) are an online space where stories can be shared and connections made. This series is hosted and facilitated by the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme Alumni as a two-way discussion. It offers an opportunity to listen to young voices from around the world, get inspired and engage with one another.
If you wish to be part of the next CPLP Talks on 1 May 2021 at 1:00 pm GMT and share your thoughts and feelings on the topic of gender and safety you can sign up here:
The eighth edition of the CPLP Talks recognizes the courage shown by CPLP alumni in responding to the challenges that the world is facing. Below alumni from Eswatini and Colombia describe intiatives t...
One year after the devastating explosion in Beirut, we meet Zeinab Dilati (also known as Zee) who took part in the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as a participant, practiti...
'How do I talk about peace in what feels like the most unequal country in Latin America? How to generate social and sustainable development in a country with an internal war lasting more than 60 years...
Manuela Garay from Canada was part of the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme in 2017 and reflects on the impact her participation has had on her and her perspective on life and other people ever sin...
'I wouldn’t have imagined that with a piece of paper, a pencil and a little bit of your time and effort, you can really make a difference in someone else’s life!' - Georgina Flores and Lorena Mier y T...
'I wish the world had more safe spaces for women and for men, to work together to build safe communities', says Temantungwa Ndlangamandla in her article about gender and safety and explains how her cu...
'I now look at myself in the mirror differently. I am slowly getting comfortable under my skin.' - Tinotenda Dean Nyota from Gweru, Zimbabwe, took part in the CPLP in 2018. He is an Economics graduat...
'I realized that having two cultures is not a burden but a richness and that I am lucky to be able to take the best of both.' - Charlotte Rémié discovered Initiatives of Change through her parents in ...
'I realized that I could make a difference in the world.’- Find out how Maria set up a library in a remote community in Colombia to fight illiteracy and help children write stories which transmit thei...
Abeda Nasrat came to Denmark as a refugee from Afghanistan at the age of two. She now studies Law at the University of Copenhagen and works as a student assistant at the Danish Institute for Human Ri...
"Time and again, encounters with people who have different cultural roots from me have challenged and often overwhelmed me. But it is these encounters that have allowed me to keep growing, both in my ...
"One act of compassion continues to have a great impact on my life." - Redempta Muibu from Nakuru, Kenya, describes how taking part in the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme in 2015 inspired her to s...
The 10th anniversary of the Moral Re-Armament (now Initiatives of Change) conference centre in Caux was a big moment for Eugen and Anneli Zeller. ‘We had the great joy of deciding to sell our house and give the money to Caux,’ Anneli told the conference on the 29 July 1956. ‘The man we sold it to was so impressed that he gave 10,000 Swiss francs to Caux as well.’ It was an elegant villa in the centre of Zurich. They were already living in a flat in order to let people who worked full time for Moral Re-Armament (MRA) live in their house.
We had the great joy of deciding to sell our house and give the money to Caux.
Eugen Zeller was a school teacher, with a reputation for being rather strict. In 1946, he had invited a number of his pupils to help with the preparations for the opening of Caux. At least two of them – Rita Fankhauser and Suzy de Montmollin – later decided to spend their lives working with Moral Re-Armament.
Eugen and Anneli’s three children, Berti, Hildi and Robi, also worked with MRA and became familiar faces in Caux over the next six decades.
Berti, Robert and Hildi Zeller
Berti Zeller spent a lot of time in Rome, introducing the ideas of Caux to Italians – working with colleagues from Britain, who, to her mystification, insisted on serving Yorkshire pudding to their guests on Sundays. She then looked after her parents for the last years of their lives.
When they died, she joined the team which bought and managed the food stocks for the Caux conferences, often catering for 800 to 1,000 people at a time. She was a gentle person, but could be quite outspoken: ‘She would tell me what she thought I needed to hear,’ one of her colleagues told me.
Robert Zeller in his sound studio
Robert Zeller, known to his friends as Robi, was a sound technician. He had his own electronics firm where he did a lot of editing and transferring tapes and songs from the Caux conferences. Earlier he helped to build the film studio at the Moral Re-Armament centre on Mackinac Island, in the United States, where a number of MRA films were produced. Back in Caux, he helped to construct and maintain the sound equipment and translation cabins, above the meeting hall.
Hildi Zeller worked with MRA in South Africa, France, America, Canada and other countries, before coming home to settle in Switzerland. She took charge of the baking kitchen in the conference centre in Caux, producing delicious cakes for tea and delighting in teaching groups of children how to make them. She was also the flower lady, arranging big bouquets in the main hall and elsewhere.
Hildi and children in the baking kitchen
In her later years, she lived in a little flat in a chalet not far from the conference centre and invited countless people to tea, with the inevitable home-baked cookies. She put together 25 albums of photos, leaving a mine of information, which are now on their way to the archives.
When Cornelio Sommarugabecame the President of the Caux foundation, he spoke of coming to Caux for a meeting of the Council, and meeting a little old lady in the train. They started to talk and she invited him to tea and told him something of the history of Caux.
It was Hildi Zeller.
Hildi (centre) and some of her colleagues in the baking kitchen
This story is part of our series 75 Years of Stories about individuals who found new direction and inspiration through Caux, one for each year from 1946 to 2021. If you know a story appropriate for this series, please do pass on your ideas by email to John Bond or Yara Zhgeib. If you would like to know more about the early years of Initiatives of Change and the conference centre in Caux please click here and visit the platform For A New World.
When we launched the 75 Years of Stories series in February 2021 about 75 years of encounters at the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux, we had no idea what an adventure we had embarked o...
As our series of 75 stories for 75 years of the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux draws to an end, the President of Initiatives of Change Switzerland, Christine Beerli, and its two Co-Di...
In 2020, the Caux Forum went online in response to the pandemic. Its organizers found that this made Caux accessible to people all over the world who could not have taken part in normal circumstances....
During World War II, the Caux Palace (later the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Switerland) provided a refuge for Jews fleeing the Shoah. Over the years, some of them – or their descendants...
When Tunisian economics graduate Wael Boubaker joined the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP) in 2018, he expected a conference which would look good on his CV, and some beautiful scenery. Inst...
Tanaka Mhunduru from Zimbabwe is one of the organizers of the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP), a one-month programme for young people from around the world. He first took part in 2017....
The Winter Gathering of 2016 was a special experience for Diana Damsa – not just because she experienced Caux in winter, but also because, for the first time in eight years, she had no responsibilitie...
Lisbeth Lasserre came from Winterthur, where her grandparents, Hedy and Arthur Hahnloser, had built up a private collection of art at their home, Villa Flora. Amongst their artist friends were Bonnard...
Catherine Guisan is Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota, USA. She has written two books on the ethical foundations of European integration. In 2014 she spoke at Caux’s first se...
2013 saw the first full-length Caux Dialogues on Land and Security (CDLS). These events, which took place at the Caux Conference and Seminar Centre, focus on the links between sustainable land managem...
When Merel Rumping from the Netherlands first visited Caux in 2012, she had a goal in mind – ‘to explore how I could contribute to a more just world through my professional activities’....
For many years, Lucette Schneider from Switzerland organized the team which gathered in the early mornings to wash, peel and chop vegetables for the kitchens of the Caux conference centre. ...
Mohan Bhagwandas is all too aware of his carbon footprint. In the 13 years from 2006 to 2019, he flew 17 times from his home city of Melbourne, Australia, to Switzerland to take part in the Caux confe...
25 distinguished Indians and Pakistanis came to Caux in 2009 with the aim of building bridges between their countries. The man who initiated the gathering was Rajmohan Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Ga...
2008 saw the launch of an unusual course on Islam’s approach to peacemaking for young Muslims and non-Muslims, devised by Imam Ajmal Masroor from the UK. The course’s coordinator, Peter Riddell, descr...
1955 - Freedom: 'Do you think you could write a play?'
By Mary Lean
12/04/2021
Featured Story
Off
By Mary Lean
After a week at the Caux conference centre in July 1955, the African delegation was ready to move on. They told their hosts, ‘We’ve enjoyed Caux. Now will you please arrange for us to see more of Europe?’
The next morning, 28 July, the founder of Initiatives of Change (then called Moral Re-Armament),Frank Buchman, called the group together. They came from several countries, most of them struggling for independence, and included politicians, trade union leaders, business people and students. ‘I spent much of last night in Africa in my thoughts,’ Buchman told them. ‘Africa is not meant to be torn apart between East and West, but to speak to both East and West with an answer. I think that it may come in the form of a play. Do you think you could write a play?’
Africa is not meant to be torn apart.
‘Thirty of us Africans met after lunch,’ remembered Ifoghale Amata, a young Nigerian graduate. ‘Soon we started quarrelling about what should go into the play. Then someone called for a time of quiet.’ When they pooled their thoughts, they found they had the skeleton of a plot.
Ifoghale Amata
Manasseh Moerane
Manasseh Moerane, a South African teachers’ leader, Abay-Ifaa Karbo from Kenya and Amata volunteered to write an act each. Next morning they read their drafts to the rest of the group and by five o’clock they told Buchman they had a finished play.
A week later, on 5 August, the Africans presented the play in the Caux theatre, with Amata and Moerane playing barnstorming roles as the leaders of two political factions in an African nation on the verge of independence.
The play shows change of heart bringing unity between people divided by ideology, personality and tribe. This disarms the prejudices of the arrogant colonial governor, and eases the country’s path to freedom.
We were catapulted into history.
Buchman promptly announced that the play, which they called Freedom, would be presented in London the next week. ‘We were catapulted into history,’ said Moerane. ‘Within a few months Freedom was seen by 30,000 Europeans in London, Paris, Bonn, Berne, Geneva, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo and Milan. Demand was so great that we decided to make a film.’
Scene with Lionel Jardine (right)
Film crew
Filming took place in Nigeria in 1956. Over 2,000 people contributed money. Some of the actors and crew gave up their jobs to take part, without pay. The actors came from all over Africa, apart from a retired British colonial administrator, Lionel Jardine, who took the role of the governor.
The cameramen were both from Scandianvia: the Swede Rikhard Tegström, who had worked for Disney, and Aimo Jäderholm from Finland, who was contracted to Suomi Filmi, Finland’s biggest film company. One scene involved a canoe race, with 10,000 extras.
‘Much of the filming had to be done at night because of the heat and noise,’ wrote director’s assistant, Loël Ferreira. ‘Film was kept in a cold room in a butcher shop to prevent expansion in the heat and was flown back to London for processing.’
Freedom is thought to have been the first full-length feature film written and acted by Africans and filmed in Africa. It was dubbed into many languages and shown all over the world. In Kenya, alone, a million people saw it in the run-up to independence in 1963.
The cast and company of Freedom in Kiruna, Sweden, wearing army clothes they were given against the cold
After the apology, what?
Wherever Freedom was seen, it impacted people’s lives, with lasting consequences. Robert Webb, a young journalist in Jackson, Mississippi, saw it at a conference in 1957. He wrote later that it drove ‘a stake into my racist heart’.
After the film he apologized to ‘the first black person I saw’ who happened to be African. ‘I will never forget his response: “After the apology, what?” I have been trying to answer that question ever since.’
Webb went on to a distinguished career on the Cincinatti Enquirer. When he died in 2018, his obituary spoke of his ‘vision for journalism as a force that could help heal the deepest hurts and bridge the most bitter divides’.
This story is part of our series 75 Years of Stories about individuals who found new direction and inspiration through Caux, one for each year from 1946 to 2021. If you know a story appropriate for this series, please do pass on your ideas by email to John Bond or Yara Zhgeib. If you would like to know more about the early years of Initiatives of Change and the conference centre in Caux please click here and visit the platform For A New World.
Film Freedom: Initiatives of Change & For a New World Archives
Film opening of Freedom in Los Angeles 1961: Initiatives of Change & For a New World Archives
Photos: Initiatives of Change & For a New World Archives
When we launched the 75 Years of Stories series in February 2021 about 75 years of encounters at the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux, we had no idea what an adventure we had embarked o...
As our series of 75 stories for 75 years of the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux draws to an end, the President of Initiatives of Change Switzerland, Christine Beerli, and its two Co-Di...
In 2020, the Caux Forum went online in response to the pandemic. Its organizers found that this made Caux accessible to people all over the world who could not have taken part in normal circumstances....
During World War II, the Caux Palace (later the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Switerland) provided a refuge for Jews fleeing the Shoah. Over the years, some of them – or their descendants...
When Tunisian economics graduate Wael Boubaker joined the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP) in 2018, he expected a conference which would look good on his CV, and some beautiful scenery. Inst...
Tanaka Mhunduru from Zimbabwe is one of the organizers of the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP), a one-month programme for young people from around the world. He first took part in 2017....
The Winter Gathering of 2016 was a special experience for Diana Damsa – not just because she experienced Caux in winter, but also because, for the first time in eight years, she had no responsibilitie...
Lisbeth Lasserre came from Winterthur, where her grandparents, Hedy and Arthur Hahnloser, had built up a private collection of art at their home, Villa Flora. Amongst their artist friends were Bonnard...
Catherine Guisan is Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota, USA. She has written two books on the ethical foundations of European integration. In 2014 she spoke at Caux’s first se...
2013 saw the first full-length Caux Dialogues on Land and Security (CDLS). These events, which took place at the Caux Conference and Seminar Centre, focus on the links between sustainable land managem...
When Merel Rumping from the Netherlands first visited Caux in 2012, she had a goal in mind – ‘to explore how I could contribute to a more just world through my professional activities’....
For many years, Lucette Schneider from Switzerland organized the team which gathered in the early mornings to wash, peel and chop vegetables for the kitchens of the Caux conference centre. ...
Mohan Bhagwandas is all too aware of his carbon footprint. In the 13 years from 2006 to 2019, he flew 17 times from his home city of Melbourne, Australia, to Switzerland to take part in the Caux confe...
25 distinguished Indians and Pakistanis came to Caux in 2009 with the aim of building bridges between their countries. The man who initiated the gathering was Rajmohan Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Ga...
2008 saw the launch of an unusual course on Islam’s approach to peacemaking for young Muslims and non-Muslims, devised by Imam Ajmal Masroor from the UK. The course’s coordinator, Peter Riddell, descr...
A year ago, video conferencing became the new normal in our work lives. It was the safest place for us to meet and collaborate. It seemed so easy: just invite someone to join the call and continue as usual. However, after a while, many of us began to feel zoomed-out. Too many, too long video calls lowered our energy, performance and sense of connection.
One reason for this is that our brains are not wired to read so many faces at the same time. This makes group video calls much more tiring than face-to-face meetings, where we can focus on one person at a time. In real life we also get more cues from each other. We can shake hands to build connection and trust, we can see all of a person’s body-language and we can even take in olfactory cues. Being together physically forces us to be attentive. Alone in our home offices, it is easy to multitask, to the detriment of attention, connection and productivity.
During the Initiatives of Change Ethical Leadership and Business Talks in February 2021, we asked: How can we increase attentive presence, human connection and productivity in video calls? Here are some recommendations we came up with.
Getting started
Before scheduling a video call, ask yourself if you could complete the task as efficiently with an email or a phone call. For example, do you really need to see the person if you are only going to share factual information?
If a video call is the right choice, make sure that everyone invited has a good reason to be there and knows what they are expected to contribute. Participants who find themselves in the role of ‘passive listener’ are far more likely to get frustrated and end up multitasking.
Put agenda points in the form of questions. For example: How can we increase the conference centre’s sales? Ask participants to write their answers in a shared online document a few days before the meeting. This will enable them to connect before the meeting and save time during the meeting, as discussion can be built on the responses that have already been provided.
Avoid PowerPoints, as they tend to cut connection and are rarely comprehensive. Instead, invite people to send out written documents in advance and ask participants to comment and provide feedback on them.
Photo by Dylan Ferreira on Unsplash
Timing is key
If you are the moderator, there is an art to defining and sticking to a realistic timeframe for each agenda point. It’s crucial to run to time, as most people will have several video calls during the day and need breaks between them. Commuting only takes seconds when you work from home, and we all spend too much time sitting. As a meeting host you need to make time in the agenda for a pause of at least five minutes after every 50 minutes, for people to stretch. You can find some ideas for stretches here.
Realistic numbers
It’s not only important to consider who should be there, but also how many participants can realistically be productive. According to Jeff Bezos’s two-pizza rule, there should never be more participants than can be fed by two pizzas. However, if you always meet with the same people, this can reduce ‘out of the box’ thinking and awareness of the needs of different groups. Breakout rooms can be an efficient way of having a larger meeting which is still productive and inclusive. Splitting a meeting into small groups gives every participant the chance to voice their opinion. This can then be fed back to the main meeting via a debriefing session. Many participants enjoy these small groups. They allow for human connection and getting things done together, something we miss when we are alone in our home offices.
Set ground rules
If you meet regularly with the same group of people, it is crucial to agree on ground rules so as to create a safe space. Some questions to think about are: Do you want cameras on or off, and microphones on or off? Is it OK to arrive late or to leave a meeting early? Do you want to invite participants to comment and ask questions? Are you going to allow PowerPoints? How are you going to stop monologues? These ground rules need to be co-created by everyone taking part in regular meetings and reviewed from time to time to make sure they are still relevant.
Photo by Gabriel Benois on Unsplash
The role of the moderators
In addition to keeping to time, moderators also need to ensure that everyone participates and feels connected. Prepare yourself by allowing time between meetings, to stretch, take a moment of quiet, connect to your emotions, and ask yourself how you want to show up and what you want to bring to those who join the meeting. Several studies prove that humans bond through laughter, so maybe watch something that will make you smile before you start the meeting. It may also help to hide your video as watching yourself can be distracting and make you act unnaturally.
Some tips on successful moderation
When people arrive, welcome everyone by name and allow five minutes for informal conversation. To encourage active participation during the meeting, it’s important to let everyone speak briefly at the beginning. You can try some icebreakers to launch a lively conversation.
During longer meetings, you can increase attentiveness and participation by giving people roles, such as putting them in charge of the breakout rooms, time-keeping or mood-tracking. You can also call on individuals for their opinions, but always give them the option to pass as it’s not about putting someone on the spot. To avoid group thinking, ask regularly: Who’s got a different answer? This creates a bit of tension and increases attention.
If there are important decisions or questions to address, give some time for silent reflection and a round of thought sharing. In a virtual space, it’s so much harder to sense the mood in the room, so offering everyone some time to reflect gives space for unspoken elements to pop up. You can also use tools like mentimeter to capture the mood. Always start and end the meeting in gallery view so that everyone can see each other and feels connected.
Finally, take time with your colleagues, every now and again, to review their experience of remote working and video conferencing. This will help you collectively to define the best formula for attentive presence, human connection and productivity.
Annika Hartmann de Meuron is in charge of Initiatives of Change Switzerland’s Ethical Leadership in Business and Trustbuilding programme which aims to contribute to a better future by offering international business representatives a safe space for sharing leadership experiences, personal stories and expertise. In addition, her work focuses on the human impact of digitalization and trustbuilding in the digital age. Annika Hartmann de Meuron has an MA in International Relations and a MA in International History and Politics. She worked for many years as a Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for the Philias Foundation, prior to which she worked in the communications sector at the Global Humanitarian Forum and the PR-Agency Rochat & Partners.
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1954 - Saidie Patterson: ‘Bury the hatchet or bury the dead’
By Andrew Stallybrass
29/03/2021
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By Andrew Stallybrass
When Saidie Patterson, a trade union organizer from Northern Ireland, spoke at the conference centre at Caux in 1954, she was keen to point out thatMoral Re-Armament (now Initiatives of Change) had not weakened her fighting spirit. ‘I thought this was something that made you soft, and I kicked against it for a long, long time. But believe me, friends, I have found that it is much harder to love a person than to hate them.’
Saidie became her family’s breadwinner at the age of 14, caring for her seven siblings and her invalid stepfather after her mother died in childbirth because they couldn’t afford to pay the doctor. She went to work in a linen mill and, in 1940, led a strike calling for full union membership for its women employees. Two years after her speech at Caux, she became the first woman to chair the Northern Ireland Labour Party.
I have found that it is much harder to love a person than to hate them.
She told her audience at Caux that she had direct contact with some 90,000 women through the trade union and labour movement. Then she described an experience she had just had at the conference. ‘A person said something to me the other day which I resented very much. You know the way the British have a habit sometimes of saying the right thing, but at the wrong moment! He was lucky he didn’t get a clip on the ear!’ After some time alone, she had apologised for her reaction because after she left Caux, she would be meeting people in the British cabinet. ‘If I couldn’t say I was sorry here, well, I couldn’t go back to have the answer for those people.’
On another occasion she’d found herself sounding off during tea at the conference centre, about the behaviour of Americans in Northern Ireland during the war. ‘I’m criticizing the Americans again and I discovered that the four ladies that I was having tea with were all Americans! Then they started telling me that all their grandparents had come from Ireland. So they were just exported from Ireland! I never forgot that lesson.’
Saidie Patterson planting a memorial Peace Cross for
her great-nephew, Belfast 1979 (photo: Bleakley Collection)
Saidie had spoken recently at a Labour Party conference where she’d been shocked by the hatred expressed for Germany and the Germans. She had told about how she had been invited to go to Germany with Moral Re-Armament in 1950. ‘I didn't want to go. My own home was wrecked. A nephew was killed on his 21st birthday and I had terrific resentment in my heart, but my friends said resentment’s not going to build a new Germany. When I was in Germany, I met many women in positions like myself. One had been in a concentration camp for her trade union convictions and her two sons were killed by the British. I told that story at the conference and I told them, you need more than a gun in your hand. You need an idea.’
If I couldn’t say I was sorry here, well, I couldn’t go back to have the answer for those people.
In 1973, after retiring from union work, Saidie became the chair of Women Together, working to cure the divisions between Protestants and Catholics in her country. ‘There’s no such thing as “orange” or “green” tears (the colours of the two communities); we all weep together,’ she said. ‘We must decide which we prefer, to bury the hatchet or bury the dead.’
The year before her speech at Caux, Saidie had been decorated by Queen Elizabeth for her work. The Queen asked her how things were going for the women. Saidie replied, ‘Well, ma’am, once our women were just pairs of hands. Now ma’am, they are royal souls like yourself!’
This story is part of our series 75 Years of Stories about individuals who found new direction and inspiration through Caux, one for each year from 1946 to 2021. If you know a story appropriate for this series, please do pass on your ideas by email to John Bond or Yara Zhgeib. If you would like to know more about the early years of Initiatives of Change and the conference centre in Caux please click here and visit the platform For A New World.
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