Thirty people, aged from five weeks to 78 years old, from 10 countries gathered for the Week of International Community (WIC) from 19 to 26 June, to prepare the Caux Conference and Seminar Centre for this summer’s Caux Forum. Priority had been given to family groups, and nine took part. Their aim was to serve, live and grow as a community in order to foster and develop intercultural and intergenerational trust. 

After breakfast every morning participants split into smaller groups for a period of quiet reflection and sharing. The groups included different nationalities and ages, to encourage dialogue across cultures and generations. Then participants set to work to prepare for the upcoming conferences, polishing silver, preparing bedrooms, gardening, setting up the dining area or the IT and technical services, or helping with the administration or archives.

The community came together during the day and in the evenings to bond and build trust, to share their stories and to deepen their understanding of the ‘spirit of Caux’.They saw an IofC film on the impact of personal change, took part in a scavenger hunt within and beyond the Caux Palace and performed in a talent show on the last night. There was also free time, particularly on the Sunday, to relax and explore Caux’s beautiful surroundings or to swim in the lake at Montreux.

The week fostered sincere encounter and exchange, encouraged us to listen to others and to our deepest selves, and to start being the change that we want to see in this world.

Text: Lorna Annovazzi

Photos: Apolline Foedit

The trees of the garden of Caux

Apolline Foedit, 2019 Communications intern, meets some of the participants of the Week of International Community (WIC).

Participants in the Week of International Community are now preparing the Caux Conference and Seminar Centre for the Caux Forum. Some polish the cutlery and prepare the tables, while others take care of the garden. From the top of a ladder, Ruth tells me about Caux, while Maria describes her impressions of the Caux Palace.

Ruth heard about IofC from friends: Barbara and David Down, engaged in the movement in England. This is the third time she has been to Caux, first for a seminar on change and then to participate in the Week of International Community. Ruth is excited about this place, which she calls both global and human. That's why she comes back: to continue these encounters and to be inspired. Her husband, John, accompanies her. He walks past us, greets me, then continues to prune the next tree.

Maria, who is clipping the trees with Ruth, comes from Romania. She has not started her studies yet. She is 15 years old and is hesitating between several options. ‘Everything interests me,’ she says. ‘Science, physics, chemistry, languages, art... I would like to have an impact.’ She smiles. This is her third time at Caux, and this year she is here with her brother, Andrei, and mother, Liliana, an opera singer who will perform for us later this summer.

Ruth says that one of WIC’s missions is to create dialogue between different communities and different groups, so as to try to bridge divisions. ‘Every country has a particular kind of conflict... In England it's Brexit.’ She draws a parallel between the desire of some Scots to leave the United Kingdom, and the desire of some British to leave the EU. She understands and shares the frustration of Europeans over the result of the referendum. She understands that some who voted to leave have their reasons. She wonders how to find a compromise. ‘What are we going to do?’

When I ask Maria what Caux represents for her, she smiles again. Caux is like a dream, she tells me. ‘It's a special place I think about all year and that's how I never get bored.’ Maria knows she will come back next year and the year after, and the year after...

The large green bag at their feet continues to fill with branches and leaves. The tree is majestic, in front of the mountains, overlooking the lake. Another participant approaches us and points out an uncut branch. Ruth laughs, ‘He is a perfectionist!’ She takes the ladder and climbs again.

Text and photos: Apolline Foedit

When people say that Caux is a life-changing experience, it is not just a cliché. For some, this is their first time out of their countries. For many, it is an opportunity to work with their traumas and fears and to create a safe space for growth, hope and maturity. After such deep experiences, going back down the mountain is not easy, particularly for those returning to conflict areas or grappling with inner conflicts.

The Caux Forum Director, Nick Foster, reinforces the importance of maintaining the connections made at Caux. ‘The networking we do here is important. These connections can support and assist us as we go on. When we are connected, we are stronger, resilient and more capable than if we stand by ourselves. Having people here for one week or four weeks is an incredible way to build a community.’

The programme coordinator of the Caux Scholars Program (CSP), Osama Alrintisi, is a second-generation Caux participant. His father, Mohamed Alrantisi, first came to Caux in 1997 and was a Caux Scholar in 2001. ‘When I grew up, he told me about it,’ says Osama.

When Osama left Palestine to study in Sweden, he became involved with IofC there. He came to Caux for the first time in 2017 as a participant in the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP), returned in 2018 as a Caux Scholar and again this year as programme coordinator.

‘In CPLP, I learned to serve others,’ he says. ‘I met people from different backgrounds and learned how to build a dialogue with someone who disagrees with me. It was one of the most important learnings. CPLP helped me in personal issues, such as how to build relationships, serve and host people. It was helpful for me in Sweden.’

The more academic Caux Scholars Program taught him to ‘look carefully at conflicts and how to approach these issues with others’, he says. ‘It gave me technical and practical development which allowed me to put this knowledge into practice in peacebuilding in my personal and professional life. It had an impact on my way of thinking.’ He finds it hard to leave the peace of Caux, but he goes with hope. ‘I am thinking about what to do next in my country.’

Saba Gül, a 2019 Caux Scholar from Pakistan, is leaving with the same question. For her, the first step towards inclusive dialogue is to stop stereotyping. ‘There is ethnical and religious diversity in my country, especially where I live, in Karachi,’ she says. ‘Pakistan is ready for a real transformation. We need to prepare our generation, especially women.

‘Self-care is undervalued in our community,’ she continues. ‘I had never heard about trauma healing until I came to Caux. Things happen in childhood or adolescence and we keep those traumas for the rest of our lives. Then, self-care is important. For the first time in years, I thought about its importance.’

Alina Shymanska, a 2019 Caux Scholar from Ukraine, says the experience has transformed her. She is going home to base her work on ethics and values she gained in Caux. ‘In conflict zones, we usually discuss justice,’ she says. ‘Forgiveness is the last point we think about. After the Caux Scholars Program, forgiveness will be the first. This process of going down the mountain is not easy, as you need to face reality when you come home. The conflict in my country is still going on. I can have a peaceful dialogue with my community about starting the reconciliation process.’

Text and Photos : Paula Mariane

The Armenian-Kurdish-Turkish Dialogue took place during the Tools for Changemakers conference, bringing together people of Armenian, Kurdish and Turkish backgrounds to explore sensitive issues that affect the relationships between their communities. John Bond gives an overview of the dialogue and its progress in the past four years.

During the First World War, 1.5 million Armenians were killed and left to die on the orders of the rulers of the Ottoman Empire. Ever since, Armenian communities all over the world have kept alive their hatred of Turks, successors to the Ottomans. The attempts of Turkish governments to deny the genocide has only served to exacerbate Armenian feelings of hatred of the Turks.

In 2015, a mix of 15 Turkish and Armenian young professionals met at Caux to search for ways to break the deadlock. These discussions have since become an annual event at the Caux Forum. Members of the Kurdish community have joined in, so it is now an Armenian-Kurdish-Turkish dialogue.

Many Armenian participants have come from Lebanon, where their forebears fled in 1915. ‘I am a fourth-generation genocide survivor,’ said Arshalouys Tenbelian, who has taken part in three dialogues and is back as dialogue co-coordinator. ‘The Lebanese kindly gave us Lebanese nationality. In Beirut I went to an Armenian school, and we spoke only Armenian at home to maintain our culture.

‘For us, Turks were always the enemy. So when my professor urged me to attend the dialogue at Caux, I resisted. She pointed out that I am studying journalism, and that a good journalist should sit with everyone. So I agreed to come, purely to fight for our cause.

‘At Caux, when we introduced ourselves, I only said my name – I didn’t want the Turks to know anything else. Then we started the dialogue. Among the diaspora in Lebanon the history is fresh and bleeding. We argued, we yelled, we screamed. Years of suppressed emotions poured out.’

‘It was like a cold war,’ says Turkish participant and dialogue co-coordinator Burak Cevik. ‘The Armenians fired questions at us. “Will you give my grandmother’s house back? Will you apologize for the genocide?” An Armenian girl said, “I am only here to hear an apology from a Turk so that I can move on.”

‘A Turkish girl stood up, went to the girl and made this apology. That made me leave the room. After the session I asked her why she had apologized for something she did not do. She replied, “This is not about what I did, it is about what happened to them. It is about caring for someone who wants understanding from our side.”

‘Slowly we started to connect. At one point a girl sang an Armenian song. A Turkish girl said, “I know that song in Turkish.” Five minutes later we were all singing it. That was when we started making peace with each other.’

‘We learnt how to listen,’ says Arshalouys. ‘I accepted that I cannot force anyone to recognize the genocide. I will continue to work for this recognition. But now I can accept the other as he or she is.

‘This was a huge breakthrough. At Caux I realized that if I can learn to hate, I can learn to unhate. To do this, I need the other. I need Burak and he needs me to reach this healing of memory that will liberate us from the burden of hatred.

Many Armenians see us as traitors because we are friends with Turks. But I reply that it takes more courage to love than to hate.’

Over the past four years several participants have visited each others’ countries. Burak went to Beirut earlier this year. At an Armenian museum, he read a letter from a Turkish mother in 1915 to the Armenian children in her care. ‘Amidst tragedy, she turned hate into love,’ he said.

Arshalouys says this is what they are working to do today. ‘The bleeding will continue until we discover that the other is also a human. This is why dialogue is so important. We can get rid of our hatred; love is the greater weapon.’

Text: John Bond, Secretary of Initiatives of Change International

Photos: Paula Mariane and Leela Channer

 

The programme gives a fresh perspective on the Initiatives of Change (IofC) model of change beginning with yourself and moving outwards. Our commitment is to equip young people to become changemakers and make a difference in the world, unleashing all of our potential to create a new world through reflection, sharing experience, learning and servant leadership.

CPLP Faculty Team

 

The Caux Peace and Leadership Programme (CPLP) is way more than just a four-week training programme. It is a platform where young leaders from all over the world explore personal and global change. It is a place where they can exchange ideas, seek inner wisdom, learn about peacebuilding and develop personally. It is a chance for people from over 35 countries to connect, learn and reflect with one another. In 2019, 48 people, aged from 20 to 40 took part.

The programme is an integral part of the Caux Forum and contributes to countless aspects of the Caux Forum, as well as the running of the Caux Conference and Seminar Centre. It offers training on peacebuilding, leadership and inner development, through the lens of IofC values. Participants apply what they are learning in service to the different departments of the Caux Forum.

In 2019, particpants in the CPLP second year programme had the opportunity to facilitate sessions and tell their stories of change in the Just Governance for Human Security and the Caux Dialogue on Land and Security conferences. They took greater responsibility in their departments, acted as mentors to first year participants and discussed the future of the CPLP in their countries and internationally.

CPLP is guiding me to discover my potential and to lead with my heart as well as my mind. It is giving me wings to go forward in deepening and widening peace and is teaching me how to provide opportunities for the silent voices in my country.

Marla, Lebanon, first year CPLP participant

 

Highlights of CPLP 2019 included exclusive conversations with such inspiring visitors as Amy Peake, founder of Loving Humanity; Kojo Annan, businessman and son of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; Suresh Vazirani, Founder and Executive Chairman at ERBA Diagnostics and President of IofC International; Hiroshi Ishida, Executive Director of the Caux Round Table Japan; and Bogdan Klich, former Minister of National Defence of Poland.

The Caux Peace and Leadership Programme continues to guide my work in the field of peacebuilding and restorative justice, through connecting to my innermost values. We all come here to soar to our highest and we leave here bringing that focus and energy back to our home communities.

Aaron, USA, member of the CPLP training team

 

The Manager of CPLP, Phoebe Gill, welcomes the readiness of this year’s participants to explore IofC and themselves, as well as to give back to the programme. ‘These are future leaders and anything I can do is important,’ she says. ‘For me it’s also the feeling that you’re making a difference in 35 countries.’

Caux is a place that acknowledges and celebrates each individual’s uniqueness and challenges us towards being the best version of ourselves

Maruee, India, first year CPLP participant

What next? CPLP alumni are exploring ways of supporting IofC in their home countries and participating in IofC programmes in other countries. They are also looking at new young leadership projects for CPLP, maybe even a conference in Caux. Watch this space for exciting new activities and events!

• Follow the Caux Peace and Leadership Programme on Facebook
• See pictures of the 2019 programme
• Read the interview with Jonas Truneh, CPLP 2019 participant

Text: Sabrina Thalmann, Communications Officer

With contributions from DJ Bergo, 2019 Communications Intern

Photos: Paula Mariane

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