Opening of Just Governance for Human Security 2016 Conference

“We want a world that is just, peaceful and sustainable, this is the dream that gives us, Initiatives of Change, our raison d’être. In order to achieve this, we must start with ourselves.” - Barbara Hintermann, Secretary general of the CAUX-Initiatives of Change Foundation (CAUX-IofC), opening plenary

The fourth annual Just Governance for Human Security conference opened on Tuesday, 12 July 2016, at CAUX-IofC’s conference centre in Caux, Switzerland. CAUX-IofC is celebrating seventy years of trustbuilding, with an overall conference season themed around migration. Caux places a strong emphasis on personal responsibility through creating a space for meaningful dialogue, which sparks individuals towards a more peaceful and just world. The tone was set for a week focusing on the importance of the human factor across a diverse range of governance-related issues, from the challenges of migration fuelled by environmental factors and extremism to issues around integrity in business and community, and the vital importance of healing the wounds of the past in order to move forward towards a better future.

Change leaders Cornelio Sommaruga, honorary President of Initiatives of Change International (IofC) and Barbara Hintermann, Secretary-General of CAUX-Initiatives of Change Foundation welcomed over 200 participants, representing sixty-nine countries to the opening plenary. They shared their hopes for a fruitful conference, imploring all to begin at the individual level when looking at how movement towards a more positive future can be achieved. Sommaruga emphasised encouraged participants not only to discuss issues with vigour during their time at Caux, but to take firm action grounded in ethical principles upon their return to their respective homes. Hintermann too spoke of the need for a system based on values and people who live by these values, noting that Caux is one such place – a place for those of integrity, and for open and honest discussion.

Conference co-convenor John Bond reiterated the importance of everyone playing their part to empower ordinary people in creating a just world, declaring his delight at the wealth of conviction, experience and wisdom present at Caux this year: “There are many complex challenges today: migration, extremism, and healing the wounds of history. The hope for this conference is that everybody leaves with more clarity on how he or she can make a difference in their situation.”

A considerable number of individual change initiators, along with a wide selection of delegations will feature at this year’s conference, presenting and dialoguing across plenaries, workshops and other dynamic activities. Groups from Ukraine, Armenia, Turkey, the Sahel region, Senegal, and a large contingent from Tulsa, Oklahoma make up just some of the participants working towards change this week.