The Caux Conference and Seminar Centre already saves energy in many ways. It has also installed wood-chip fuelled heaters, which use local resources rather than importing oil. Now Caux is becoming even greener.

Initiatives of Change (IofC) Switzerland will offset the carbon footprint of the 2019 Caux Forum by planting 2,000 rubber trees in Meghalaya. (You can contribute your share if you wish – it’s just a few francs per person).

IofC wants to take full responsibility for the CO2 emissions it generates. Just running the Caux Conference and Seminar Centre emits about 160 kg of CO2 per person per day. The Caux Forum also contributes to global warming by encouraging travel. The average participant will send 1,400 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere – though, of course, an individual’s contribution can vary between as much as 6,700 kg for those who fly long distances to under 10 kg for those who travel by regional train.

In total, the Caux Forum 2019 will be responsible for some 1,900 tons of carbon emissions. To compensate for this, 2,000 rubber trees which will be planted in Meghalaya, a state of North-East India which has had a longstanding relationship with IofC since the 1960s.

The trees will be planted by the Worldview Impact Foundation, which uses drones to plant seeds in the cloud forests of Meghalaya and the mangrove forests of south-west Myanmar.

Worldview Impact’s founder and Chief Executive, Dr Bremley WB Lyngdoh has a long family connection with IofC. In the late Sixties, when Meghalaya was seeking independence from the state of Assam, Bremley’s great-uncle BB Lyngdoh went to Asia Plateau, IofC’s conference centre in Panchgani, India, to have frank discussions with other political leaders. At the same time, Bremley’s father, Eric B Lyngdoh, led young volunteers into the non-violent Hill State Movement, following IofC principles and convincing Assam’s political leaders to allow the birth of Meghalaya without bloodshed. And more recently Bremley himself helped to organize an international conference for IofC in Shillong, Meghalaya’s capital.

Bremley Lyngdoh came to Caux in 2017 and 2018 to participate in the Caux Dialogue on Land and Security (CDLS). He came back for this year’s CDLS in late June with Conrad Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya. They welcomed IofC’s help with their initiatives to restore fragile cloud forest and mangrove ecosystems.

Read more about IofC’s efforts to make the Caux Forum more sustainable

The Caux Forum 2019 kicked off last week with the Ethical Leadership in Business (ELB) conference which ran in parallel with the Caux Dialogue on Land and Security. The Ethical Leadership in Business conference took place from 27-30 June and centred on 'Rethinking trust in the digital age’.

Day 1

Amandeep Singh Gill, India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, opened the conference by sharing some conclusions of the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, whose secretariat he heads. The panel’s report, The Age of Digital Interdependence, indicates that the opportunities for human progress in the digital age ultimately outweigh the challenges – if we join together in a spirit of cooperation and inclusiveness. The report identifies good examples of cooperation across sectors, disciplines and borders to address challenges in the digital age, and makes proposals for the way forward.

Fr Eric Salobir, Founder and President of Optic Technology, took the group on a digital adventure, to explore what daily life might be like in an increasingly tec-heavy world. His scenarios pointed to the potential dark sides of over-reliance on smart phones, watches, devices and AI. He encouraged participants to trust in the resilience of humanity.

 

Day 2

The morning’s panel discussion asked ‘Will technology improve digital trust?‘. Click here and watch the whole session on our Facebook page.

Anne-Catherine Melnotte, from Firmenich, the world’s largest privately-owned fragrance and flavour company, underscored the need to be clear on what data is collected and for what purposes.

Jowan Österlund, CEO of Biohax International, talked about Blockchain solutions which enable individuals to own and, potentially, monetize their own data.

Sébastien Fabre rom SITA, the world's leading air transport IT and communications specialist, spoke of the need for frameworks to enable individuals to manage their data and options. He said that regulation is evolving and cited the example of San Francisco, where a local ordinance prohibits the use of facial recognition technology by city departments and requires them to seek approval before deploying any other new kind of surveillance technology.

Susanne Emonet, a Vice President at the Kudelski Group, talked of the risks to people in the new digital world. She pointed out that everything was hackable, from the connected hoover at home to the national power grid. Her company is a global leader in digital security and convergent media solutions and is based in Switzerland. Education and understanding are needed to build trust, she said, and to increase cybersecurity standards. People don't often know where data goes and where it is being collected and stored; they need to be more aware of how their devices expose them.

The afternoon’s Tech & Trust Talk featured Kaspar Kork from the Estonian Investment Agency and Marylaure Bloch from Optic Technology and the University of Geneva. They spoke about the digital culture in Estonia and China. For example, the Chinese government is developing the 'social credit system' to standardize assessment of citizens' and businesses' economic and social reputation. The system uses big data analysis technology and can be seen as a form of mass surveillance. Its accuracy is not 100 per cent and a uniform national system is not yet fully in place.

Estonia is known as a ‘cool and digital society’, said Kaspar Kork. Electronic ID cards are used for various government services. People trust the government and believe that their data is secure thanks to the decentralization of data, high security and protective legislation. The system eases registering companies and doing business at home and abroad. Estonia’s e-residency system allows citizens to use services wherever they are located in the world. All personal data is available to and controllable by the individual. Estonia was first country to use Blockchain on a national level. (e-Residency is a government-issued digital identity and status that provides non residentials access to Estonia’s government services).

The Human Library in the evening gave participants a chance to hear individual stories shared in depth. Brian Iselin gave gripping accounts of human rights violations that his organization slavefreetrade has uncovered in their pursuit of ethical consumerism. Suat Topsu, the President of SATT IDF Innov, described how he co-invented LIFI, a revolutionary wireless technology that uses LED light sources instead of microwaves to transmit data.

Day 3

The morning plenary opened with the question: ‘Will the digital transformation humanize work?’

The panel included Peace Kuteesa from Uganda, the founder of Zimba Women. She spoke about what she has learnt through coaching and working with women who are building their own businesses. (Zimba means to build.) She talked about empowerment, the fears that prevent women from doing their best and the cultural elements that can sometimes slow women down (for instance, male-dominated households where women have to ask permission to access the computer or are not supposed to speak out).

Bram Jonker from Deloitte (Netherlands) shared his belief that automation can free people to do more human-related work. He referenced Future of the Professions by Richard and Daniel Susskind, which predicts the decline of today's professions and describes the people and systems that will replace them. He sees robots 'partnering' with humans even more in the future as repetitive and manual tasks are automated. AI will provide things we couldn't possibly do.

The afternoon session on ‘New professions bring new opportunities and responsibilities’, featured Morgan Gray, who leads Global Digital Listening and Insights at Corteva Agriscience (the agricultural division of DowDuPont). Her role includes finding, tracking and analyzing social media conversations with the aim of bringing public discourse into the company. She works with digital tools and AI to monitor online conversations, analyze data and identify key themes for her company.

Carolyn Moncel is Senior Communications Manager with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), an international foundation that promotes peace, security and stability. She said her role is all about 'digital amplifying’, working with teams to align content (video, web, social media, etc) within their communication channels.  She challenged people go into the unknown and see where it leads them. Women are often scared away from IT by the assumption that it requires a high level of digital skill. She urged both young and old to stay open and keep learning, in the belief that there will be jobs for those who keep their skills updated.

Watch an online interview of Carolyn Moncel and Morgan Gray by Rainer Gude, IofC Switzerland.

Day 4

ELB concluded with a silent 'mindful' walk to a tranquil meeting point with scenic views to Lake Geneva. During the ascent, participants were invited to reflect on what they had learned at the conference, both professionally and in terms of personal purpose, values, change and choices. They were also encouraged to define next steps and commitments. In doing this they could draw on the daily Trust Incubator session, led by Tom Marshall from Deloitte (Netherlands), which helped participants generate ideas, insights and tools and to reflect on their purpose and values.

Four key projects emerged for implementation the coming year. Teams were established and first steps were defined:

1. The creation of a platform, where participants can keep connected, share projects, discuss issues and produce a digital newsletter.

2. A bi-monthly conference call to share knowledge and skills and to encourage a continuous learning mindset.

3. A monthly open call to address themes raised by the platform team.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What 2019 participants said

The Ethical Leadership in Business conference equipped me with the mindset, knowledge and connections to contribute to ensuring that our digital transformation benefits humankind.
Tom Marshall, Innovation Community Ambassador, Deloitte (Netherlands)

Caux is such a humbling place, providing you with a safe space to experiment with different topics and flourish in bold-thinking, all while staying true to yourself.
Michelle Rickenbach, IT Project Management & Ecosystem Relations at Panter AG

By James Macsay

• Watch the video on 2019 Ethical Leadership in Business's highlights
• Discover the pictures of the event
• Relive some of the moments by watching our interviews and coverage on Facebook.
• Read our partner organization OPTIC's report on (Re)building Trust in Technology

Since 2013, activists, experts, farmers and leaders have come together at the Caux Dialogue on Land and Security to explore the potential of land restoration in peacebuilding. This year, from 27 to 30 June, the focus was on governance, the environment and finance. The conference was filled with plenaries, workshops, dialogue groups and times for reflection.

The opening plenary on Thursday 27 June began by retracing the history of Caux and inviting reflection on future initiatives to protect the environment. Antoine Jaulmes, board member and former president of Initiatives of Change Switzerland, linked the organization's historic mission of reconciliation with theme of land  restoration. ‘Human security depends on soil security,’ said Luc Gnacadja, former Secretary General of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Attention then shifted to Kenya, with a presentation from Mukhtar Ogle, the Executive Officer of the President of Kenya, and then to India. Conrad Sangma, Chief Minister of the state of Meghalaya, and Chris Evans, farmer and IofC worker, described how Meghalaya gained independence from Assam without the anticipated violent conflict. Deepak Jadav gave his perspective as an activist engaged in Grampari, the rural development and environmental centre of Asia Plateau, IofC’s centre in India.

The themes of environment and governance were central in speeches and workshops. Elisabeth Labes described how the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation works with communities to protect orangutans. Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, showed how the ambitious guiding principles of the 2015 Wales Act, relating to  environment, culture and well-being, can inspire other legislation.

The second day’s plenary focused on the concept of resilience – the ability to adapt to new conditions – in the context of climate change. Sue Riddlestone spoke of the experience of her organization, BioRegional, in promoting sustainable lifestyles on the local level. Roger Leakey, Vice Chairman of the International Tree Foundation, focused on agroforestry and land rehabilitation on a larger scale.

Peter Bucher, Officer in the Agriculture Development Programme of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), shared his passion for the soil and highlighted our connection to it. ‘We are part of nature and we have a role to play in it,’ said Christian Shearer, CEO of Regen Network, which uses blockchain to connect farmers and businesses.

The third theme of the conference, finance, was discussed in the plenary on Saturday, which focused on how to value and protect ecosytems. Louise Brown, Senior Climate Change Expert of the African Development Bank, described the potential of the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM) which helps to certify and value the social, economic and environmental benefits of projects to adapt to climate change. It provides an effective and innovative tool for mobilizing new funding from both the public and the private sectors.

‘We can shift from an extractive economy towards a regenerative economy,’ said Alan Laubsch, CEO of Generation Blue, explaining how to grow an Earth Positive economy.  

At the heart of this discussion was the idea of attracting investment by rewarding conservation and regeneration activities. Such new technologies as Blockchain, which directly connects individuals and investors, offer transparency and efficiency.

During the final plenary, the speakers reflected back on the conference and the two programmes which had run parallel to it: the Emerging Leaders Programme and the Summer Academy on Land, Security and Climate Change. The Summer Academy is organized in partnership with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP).

The coordinator of IofC’s International Farmers' Dialogue, Claude Bourdin,  emphasized the link between personal and rural development. ‘It's not just a question of techniques, it's also a question of commitments of motivation,’ he said. He spoke alongside Pierre Lokeka, a farmer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, demonstrating how CDLS  creates opportunities for passionate people to meet and discuss change.

The best technology for fighting climate change is not technology, but collaboration and the sharing of knowledge, said Anna Brach, co-director with Alan Channer of the Summer Academy. Two of the Academy’s 18 participants, from Kenya and Syria, spoke of what they had gained from it.

The programme for next year’s Summer Academy is already being prepared, and participants are returning home to apply what they’ve learned in their communities. Networks are being created and collaborations have begun.  

• Discover more photos of CDLS 2019 and the Summer Academy on Land, Security and Climate Change
• Watch the video on CDLS 2019.

Is Trustbuilding a forgotten factor in today’s world? With this question in mind, about 80 participants listened and reflected as the Opening Ceremony on the afternoon of 26 June kicked off the 2019 Caux Forum. Trustbuilding as a soft skill is often overlooked despite its importance as a determining factor for human relationships and for successful humanitarian, peace and development work which is why it is at the centre of the 2019 Caux Forum.

The ceremony began with a tribute to the late Mohamed Sahnoun for his involvement with Initiatives of Change and a short piano recital by Oana Dinea.

Laurent Wehrli, mayor of Montreux, then formally opened the ceremony and took the opportunity to remind the audience of the importance of Initiatives of Change’s work.

It was then the turn of Christine Beerli, President of Initiatives of Change Switzerland; Stéphane Rey, Deputy Head of the Human Security Division in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs; and Jitka Hromek-Vaitla, Director of the Caux Scholars Program, to offer their reflections on the different aspects of trust.

Rey explained that in human security trust is the foundation for discussion between parties in conflict. In this way communities, not states, are at the centre of any peace efforts. In response to Beerli’s questions as to why parties in conflict would trust Switzerland, Rey highlighted the historical role of Swiss diplomacy and its natural tendency to be transparent without any hidden agendas.

Trust has a very personal dimension. ‘Is knowing each other the beginning of trustbuilding?’ asked Beerli. During the Caux Scholars Program, led by IofC US, the diverse participants question their stereotypes ‘in order to start to understand the other’ explained Hromek-Vaitla. She talked about an Azerbaïdjani and an Armenian girl who grew up with strong stereotypes of each other’s countries and people. By sharing their story and realizing that the Armenian had lost her parents in the city where the Azerbaïdjani now lives, they found they could relate to each other.

In a wider perspective Beerli explained that ‘trust is a condition for our coexistence, without it our society falls apart ’. Indeed, in distrust we stop taking action, we don’t open the dialogue and we feel failed by the government.

In the afternoon a human library session was held where young people from the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme and the Caux Scholars Program told their personal stories. Nora Abdalaal from Canada, founded a non-profit organisation that will soon open its third chapter. She shared her experience in volunteering with refugees and immigrants and highlighted that she could only help these families because they trusted her with their most intimate stories. For her there is only one pre-requisite to help someone and care for them, and that is that they are a human being.

Tinotenda Mhungu shared how he became an activist for social and economic justice in Zimbabwe after being imprisoned for organising demonstrations and other actions against the government. Through Initiatives of Change he realized that spreading hate was not the solution for changing his country. He now aims to build bridges between polarized political communities by creating trust between them. 

The day ended with a cup of tea on the sunny terrace and a guided tour of the Caux Palace. The 2019 Caux Forum is now ready to welcome speakers and participants for the summer conferences.

• Click here for more photos of the 2019 Opening Ceremony.
• Watch the video of the 2019 Opening Ceremony

By Nicole Walther