No-one is here by chance. We don’t get involved in peacebuilding without having a story linked to it.

Emilie Tankora, Caux Forum, 12 July 2019

It is 12 July 2019 and the last session of the Towards an Inclusive Peace conference. While attention has focused successively on the prevention of violent extremism, community resilience and the protection of peacebuilders, today’s plenary is highlighting a holistic approach to the promotion of peace, taking Mercy Corps as an example. Represented at the Caux Forum by Emilie Tankora and Alliou Traore, Mercy Corps works in almost forty countries. The international non-governmental organisation works in the areas of humanitarian assistance, food security, conflict management and peacebuilding.

Two Faces of Mercy Corps 

Emilie Tankora is a programme specialist for social cohesion, peace and conflict in Niger, while Alliou Traore is coordinator for peacebuilding programmes in Mali. As part of the regional strategy in the Sahel, Mercy Corps’ programme teams work together to strengthen the organization’s cross-border collaboration.

Emilie studied philosophy before getting involved in the area of migration in France. In 2007 she moved to Niger to work in the area of development with the NGO EIRENE. She joined Mercy Corps in 2019.

Alliou comes from Côte d’Ivoire. A decade ago, he was involved in the mediation of a land dispute which made him realise his professional purpose: work for justice and the communities. ‘Peacebuilding has human beings at its core,’ explains Alliou. This helps him in the work he does at the moment which is in a difficult context.

In Mali, in addition to armed groups, there are rebels, jihadists and radical groups as well as rivalries between communities and attacks on the United Nations mission (MINUSMA), and the French and Malian forces. ‘Giving hope to local communities’ is the mission he gave himself almost a decade ago.

A Holistic Approach

Mercy Corps is working both on a humanitarian response looking at subsistence methods, agriculture and access to water, and on a longer-term approach. It is trying to strengthen community resilience and promote social cohesion.

The approach is localised and integrated. Initially the aim is to identify the communities’ points of resilience and vulnerability. The communities then implement, in partnership with Mercy Corps, projects to strengthen their resilience. ‘What’s most important is understanding. Each village has its own story,’ says Emilie.

In the Tillabery region in Niger, Mercy Corps studies highlighted the vulnerabilities and resilience of local communities. The main points of vulnerability are due to a weak state presence which negatively impacts education as well as a lack of economic opportunities and difficult access to resources. Resilience comes from intra and inter community dialogue and religion which allows actors to connect around central values of peace and love.

Two projects have been set up by the community: Youth ACT which is about the development of economic opportunities and the inclusion of young people in the decision-making process, and the PEACE project which is an action research project. The hypothesis is that strengthening cohesion increases community resilience to violent extremism.

The Caux Forum as place for meetings and exchanges

Thanks to the contact between the Mercy Corps office and the Initiatives of Change office, Emilie and Alliou have been able to share their experiences during the Towards an Inclusive Peace conference.

Alliou tells me that this is the first time he has shared his personal experience. ‘The Caux Forum’s philosophy, which is based on human potential, is in line with Mercy Corps’ vision. Be the change you want to see in the world,’ he continues. Emilie agrees. She talks about her all-encompassing work promoting strong values such as tolerance, sharing and inclusion.

In 2019, Mercy Corps’ example highlighted the need to adopt a local approach. The participants of Towards and Inclusive Peace all agree: we need to go beyond security approaches to prevent violent extremism and promote peace.

Text: Apolline Foedit

Photos: Paula Mariane

How can the alienation felt by so many young Muslims be healed? Imam Ajmal Masroor believes that the alienation stems largely from the inner conflict generated by feeling caught between two value-systems: the way their parents want them to be, and the way the society they are growing up in wants them to be.

Imam Ajmal Masroor experienced that dilemma himself, and discovered that the key to reconciling these two identities, European and Muslim, lies in the realization that peacemaking is the very heart of Islam. Mohammed, the holy prophet of Islam, said ‘Spread peace among you!’ Imam Masroor designed a five-day ‘Learning to be a Peacemaker’ (LPM) course to help young Muslims discover that secret for themselves.

He delivered it in Caux for the sixth time this summer, to a group of students and young professionals from Albania, France, Turkey, the Ukraine, and the UK – both Muslims and non-Muslims.

In a fast-paced and interactive manner – including a session at the top of a nearby mountain! – Imam Masroor took participants through the key Quranic texts relating to averting war and building peace, and the Prophet Mohammed’s own peacemaking initiatives. Topics included current misconceptions about Islam and what Islam actually teaches about violence and extremism; issues of responsibility and belonging under the heading of ‘Loyalty and citizenship’; the ‘Inner dimensions of peace’ on the sources of inner contentment; and the ‘Characteristics of peacemakers’. The course ended with a session in which each participant designed a project that they will carry out back home.

This was complemented by evening sessions, open to everyone in the house, on such themes as ‘Relationships’, ‘Overcoming barriers’ and ‘Discovering anger’, during which he drew honestly on his own experience.

Imam Masroor appreciates being able to deliver the course in Caux because it provides an opportunity for participants to go on to take part in one of the Caux Forum conferences – in this case Tools for Changemakers. There they can put into practice the peacemaking understanding and skills they have learnt with people of all ages and backgrounds from across Europe and beyond.

At the opening plenary of the Tools for Changemakers conference, Maryam Shah, a law student from the UK, spoke about LPM. ‘The course emphasized the importance of being an active citizen,’ she said. ‘Instead of allowing any feeling of isolation or not fitting in to lead to sadness or violence, we were taught to channel these emotions into something far more constructive, and to work for the societies we live in to become more inclusive, understanding and tolerant. This course has helped me to become a lot more at peace with myself and a lot more excited to be a tool for change and to contribute to the global society that we live in.’

Read Maryam Shah’s summary of the Learning to be a Peacemaker programme

Text: Peter Riddell

Photos: Paula Mariane and Leela Channer

The Caux Artists Program is an interdisciplinary course in drama, musical theatre, music and the humanities: an opportunity to experience two weeks of an artist’s routine of daily practice and rehearsals, culminating in performances for an audience from all over the world. Our schedule was intense. It included ensemble work with musicians from different countries and cultural backgrounds. I've met artists from the US, the UK, India, Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Armenia, Lebanon, Germany.... It seems like the whole world is located there on the mountain in Caux! It was a great experience to meet people from different corners of the world, with a similar desire to create something valuable.

I started singing at the age of 17 when I was studying journalism at university. I had been too shy to sing in public before. Today I still struggle with my fear of performing, but I want my life to be dedicated to music as I understand its influence on people's lives. As I had no chance to study music in my childhood, I seize every opportunity now.

Ukraine has an ancient ethnical and cultural heritage. Unfortunately, we have no efficient facilities to develop musical theatre in our country, so I am grateful to Bev Appleton for giving me a better understanding of the genre.

This year was my most valuable CAP experience yet, because I was more involved in activities and workshops within the Caux Forum. I was deeply impressed by Carl Stauffer’s workshop on ‘Art as a peacebuilding tool’. The breathing techniques and physical exercises which I learnt at the workshop on ’Being ourselves: beyond individual and collective trauma’, led by Daya Bhagwandas and Dida Guigan, were very helpful both for personal and musical development.

My main conclusions from CAP are that the boundaries are just in our heads and that art is one way to make the world live as one.

Text: Svitlana Gordiienko, Kyiv, Ukraine 

Photos: CAUX-IofC - Paula Mariane

On Thursday 4 July at the Caux Forum I met a group of four women involved in the peace circles in Mali: Boye Diallo, Mamou Soucko, Kadidia Djenepo and Kadidiatou Mint Hanka. Peace circles is a project based on Creators of Peace, started by the organization Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF) and since 2015 it has been supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA).

Boye is sat next to me. She starts talking and tells me about the discussion groups that she organizes under the programme to strengthen social cohesion. She has been coordinating these groups for almost two years and bases her meetings on the model for peace circles provided by the Initiatives of Change programme, Creators of Peace. For three days a dozen women meet to explore their contribution to peace not only at the family level but also the community and national levels. This meeting model for peace circles is now used globally.

Boye, Mamou, Kadidia and Kadidiatou are at the Caux Forum for the Just Governance for Human Security conference to share their experiences and listen to other men and women committed to peace and social justice. They also hope to increase their skills and knowledge in areas such as leadership, team work, tolerance and social inclusion.

‘To learn about others.’ This is how Mamou Soucko summarises her main reason for participating. Involved in the programme to build social cohesion and peace circles since 2016, she has discovered during the conference that the problems the women face are not unique to their country. ‘By talking to the other participants, I have come to realise that it is a question of governance, violence and social peace,’ she continues.

Kadidia Djenepo also highlights the organisation of the programme and the serenity of the place. ‘It’s all natural here. I’d like to return and spend my holidays here every year!’

Kadidiatou Mint Hanka talks to us about the discussions that made an impression on her including the story of the indigenous peoples discussed in a documentary and the values expressed by India’s Minister of Happiness. During the conference she has learnt to stretch her limits in terms of forgiveness, peace, acceptance of others and commitments. This is a commitment she would like to strengthen within her community.

Boye Diallo then speaks about the situation in Mali and the insecurity which negatively impacts their actions. The example she gives of the difficulties linking the south and the north is striking. Due to security problems and roads littered with explosive devices, the women have to use internal flights provided by the United Nations Mission in Mali or pass by the neighbouring borders of Burkina Faso and Niger. These are sometimes depressing and demotivating obstacles ‘in the 21st century!’.

For Kadidia the only way to work for peace is through self-management, which is achieved through silence, forgiveness and making others aware. She therefore starts every day with a moment of silence to free her spirit and help her concentrate. She sits on her roof, listens to the birds and to the running water.

Text: Apolline Foedit

Photos: Apolline Foedit, Paula Mariane

Hasan Davis is a self-proclaimed ‘hope-dealer’, who has dedicated his life to engendering purpose, confidence and determination in young people across the United States and the globe. His son, Malcolm, himself an aspiring young leader, took part in this year’s Caux Scholars Program. Hasan, who is a Rockerfeller Fellow, spoke at the Caux Forum’s Towards an Inclusive Peace (TIP) conference on the importance of personal and community resilience in the face of violent extremism.

As a Caux Scholar, Malcolm facilitated some of the TIP sessions and so the pair had the chance to work, learn and grow together at the Caux Forum. This cross-generational collaboration was encouraging, at a time when intergenerational disparity and disillusionment are rife.

Hasan is committed to reforming the US juvenile prison system (achieving a monumental piece of legislation in his home state of Kentucky in 2014) and to the training and education of young people and their teachers and mentors. He sees the Initiatives of Change core values of honesty, love, purity of intention and unselfishness, along with the vulnerability which accompanies their application, as the cornerstones of his work. He promotes education programmes which offer young people the space to explore their idiosyncrasies, strengths and weaknesses in a safe and accommodating environment. The values fostered throughout the Caux Forum are fundamental to constructive intergenerational dialogue, Davis says, as they are founded upon trust and openness.

As Malcolm sits cross-legged on the floor looking up at his father addressing the Forum’s plenary, you can see the gleam of admiration in his eyes. Hasan is grateful that his son has made his own choice to work towards inclusive peace in his community, and is delighted at the way the Caux Scholars Programme has reinforced his sense of confidence and purpose. The mutual trust and respect which underpin their relationship was inspiring to see.

Text: Emma Beuster

Photos: Paula Mariane, Emma Beuster

Marc Isserles’s poignant one-man show, We Must Save the Children, comes to life when you discover that his grandparents sought shelter at the Caux Palace in 1945 as Jewish refugees. The play took place as part of the Tools for Changemakers conference. Its message is that you have to reconcile your past if you want to change the future.

Marc Isserles is not the only one person at the Caux Forum this year whose relatives lived at the Caux Palace during World War II when it acted as a house of refuge for persecuted minorities. Shoshana Faire also walks the halls where her grandparents once sought refuge.

Marc, a Genevan lawyer and musician, and Shoshana, an Australian peacebuilder and activist, lead very different lives. But their shared history left Shoshana moved and ‘inarticulate’ after seeing Marc’s play. Its stirring story of persecution was also her grandparents’ experience, she says.

People from the Middle East, Germany and further afield approached Marc after the play to tell him how moved they were by his performance. This, he says, reiterates the fact that the labels and categories we subject ourselves to should not rob us of our capacity to be human. The only way we can work towards peace and reconciliation is through meeting people at the human level, regardless of interests, faith or ethnicity. This applies not just to the so-called refugee crisis, but also within conflict-ridden societies from Syria to Tibet. Breaking down the barriers which dismantle our ability to connect with others is the first step in dissolving hate-crime, violence and discrimination.

Marc cites the 2002 romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding as an example of the need to recognize past prejudice, labels and stereotypes in the interest of creating peace. We must understand and reconcile with those who have been labelled as ‘others’. One of the best ways of doing this, Marc and Shoshana tell me, is through storytelling.

Shoshana tells her story through training peacebuilders. Marc tells his through musical theatre. They both admire the storytelling ethos fostered at the Caux Forum and say that is essential to help emerging generations to understand their past, so that they can incite the right type of change. Learning historical facts at school and being immersed in the reality of another person’s story are two very different methods of learning, with different outcomes. Stories can equip changemakers with the compassion they need to work for positive change.

The trauma attached to Shoshana’s family history meant that their stories were not often talked about. She tells me how important it is that trauma-healing and storytelling are fostered from a young age.

Looking forward, Marc and Shoshana agree that intergenerational dialogue is essential to forming the next generation of ‘ambassadors of tolerance’. Storytelling enables empathy and openness toward others, and so the three processes of telling personal stories, breaking down stereotypes and passing on the torch are inextricably connected. The Caux Forum fosters these processes, and that is why Marc and Shoshana come back.

Front stage at the Caux Forum we have plenaries, workshops, tasty meals and rooms with a view. Back stage are the 22 people who run the departments which provide beds, food and beverages, clean rooms, front desk services and technical support. Without them, there would be no Caux Forum. Nicole Walther talked to some of them.

Khadija Hajoui from Morocco

Activity: You will find Khadija at reception, working at the front desk or the cash desk. She manages, supervises and trains the 14 junior managers and interns who serve in her department. 

When not at the Forum: She recently graduated as a work and organizational psychologist.

Favourite part of the day: Mentoring the participants in the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme who work with her. She loves to witness how they grow as they face the different challenges that arise at reception.

Caux story: Khadija first worked at reception five years ago, as an intern. The following year she was offered the job of front desk manager: a responsibility which took her out of her comfort zone and which she still holds.

Why does Khadija come back to Caux?: ‘Caux is a school for me,’ she says. ‘It helped me to grow into the woman I am today.’ She sees Caux as a safe space which gives her love, coaching and the opportunity to discover herself.

Her success: She managed 28 people in five different departments last year.

If she were an animal, she would be a bird because it can fly by itself but still enjoys being in a group.

Victor T Nyanhete from Zimbabwe

Activity: Victor mostly works in the dining room, but is in touch with all departments. He manages the setting up of the dining hall, the food service and the cleaning up. He is the person who makes sure that everyone gets what they need at mealtimes. He gives management training to the junior heads of service.

When not at the Forum: Victor recently graduated with a Masters in food biology. He now works in South Africa as a chemical scientist.

His favourite part of the day: Being responsive in helping people.

Caux story: This is Victor’s fifth time at Caux. He has always worked around the dining room. He began as an intern, came back as a sponsored participant and then as a trainer for the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme. Last year he was the buffet manager and now he is Head of Service in the hospitality department.

Why does Victor come back to Caux?: ‘Caux means to create and recreate,’ he says. ‘You create friendships and internal peace. However you can also recreate yourself by fixing the things that have gone wrong.’

His success: Last year he served 30,000 meals.

If he were an animal, he would be a koala because he likes to raise himself out of his comfort zone.

Watch a video about how Caux has inspired Victor

Liliana Neciu from Romania

Activity: During the Caux Forum conferences, Lilana Neciu sits behind a big desk covered with switches, buttons and cables. She manages the light, sound and room display as part of the technical team.

When not at the Forum: Lilana is a professional opera singer. This makes her appreciate her work in Caux even more. Here she is not on stage under the spotlight but doing the work that others normally do for her.

Favourite part of the day: Having talks with people.

Caux story: This is Liliana’s third time at the Caux Forum. She first came in 2017 for the Week of International Community which prepares the Caux Palace before the conferences begin. Last year she participated in the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme and she is now Head of Service Junior of the Technical team.

Why does Liliana come back to Caux?: She loves the energy, the view and the Caux Palace. She first came to Caux at a difficult time in her life: ‘It came into my life when I needed it.’

Her success: She gave an opera concert at last year’s Addressing Europe’s Unfinished Business conference.

If she were an animal, Liliana would be a dog, as she is a faithful person who keeps her friends for life.

Wanda Iwan from Poland

Activity: Wanda is a Head of Service Junior in the dining hall. She prepares the food and tables, and makes sure that everyone knows what to do before the big rush starts. She enjoys her work and the running around it involves.

When not at the Forum: Wanda is studying Economics with an interest in International law. She has set herself the goal of visiting every country in the world.

Favourite part of the day: She likes giving out the tokens that indicate participants’ diets. At breakfast she gives the participants a big smile, because ‘we are the first people they are seeing today’.

Caux story: Wanda came to the Caux Forum for the first time in 2018, as a participant in the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme. She was an intern in the dining hall.

Why does Wanda come back to Caux?: Her face lights up: ‘It is hard not to come back: partly for the people, partly for the place. Here you can give 200 per cent of yourself.’ She likes the way people support the ideas and projects that emerge during her time of silent reflection.

Her success: For her every day is a success, as she knows that people love to come for food and are happy afterwards.

If she were an animal, Wanda would be a black Robin.

Text & Photos: Nicole Walther

After fighting against the German occupation of his country, Norway, Jens Wilhelmsen worked with Initiatives of Change (IofC) in Germany and Japan. In over 70 years of fulltime work for IofC on three continents, his focus has been on trustbuilding and reconciliation. Nicole Walther met him at the Caux Forum 2019, where he spoke at the opening of the Tools for Changemakers conference.

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Jens Wilhelmsen was not the only person to feel a strong sense of hopelessness and dissatisfaction after the end of World War II and as the cold war began. He was losing hope that Europe would reconcile. But instead of slipping into political and personal lethargy, he came across the IofC standards of living: honesty, unselfishness, love and purity of intention. Because he could not change society around him, he used them as a tool to change himself. This gave him energy: ‘At least there is something I can do!’

Jens sat on his bed with four sheets of paper, one for every value, and started to write down all the situations where he had failed to be honest, unselfish, loving or pure. ‘As the list grew longer I had alarming thoughts: I had fooled my stepfather, stolen money and told lies to my friends in order to put myself in a good light.’ Even though it was terrifying to tell the truth to all these people, he decided to do so: ‘I had to come off my pedestal.’ As a result, his friendships got more real and he was able to reconcile with members of his family.

Jens says these standards are not a panacea and cannot instantaneously solve everything, but they ‘stir up the pieces and cause the patterns to change’. He sees such change as essential in the current social and political context, where Europe is seeing a rise in nationalism and time is running out to address the climate crisis.

‘The European Union was built on reconciliation as a promise of a pattern of nations against nationalism,’ he says. ‘At the moment economics has taken the upper hand over reconciliation. This is due to a demand for increased living standards.’ With prosperity as the focus of Europe’s society and actions, unity has been lost and nationalism rises. This pattern has to be broken, and Jens believes the four IofC values can be a powerful tool in that process.

The values of honesty, unselfishness, love and purity should not to be seen as a dogma, he says, but as a tool to frame actions related, for example, to the future of Europe and the environmental crisis. ‘They are an attempt at summing up ethics and a practical searchlight to find a better path.’

Text: Nicole Walter

Photos : Nicole Walther and Leela Channer