Initiatives of Change Official Day of the International Caux Conferences 2009 Saturday 11 July, 2009 Welcome by Rajmohan Gandhi, President, Initiatives of Change International Your Majesties, Your Excellencies, leaders of organizations and communities in Vaud and Geneva and elsewhere in Switzerland, leaders in international organizations in Geneva, and dear guests, whoever you are: On behalf of Initiatives of Change International and on behalf also of the Caux family of Initiatives of Change, I welcome each and every one of you most cordially to this official day. Today we formally mark the start of the 2009 series of Caux’s international summer conferences, even though two of the conferences actually began on the 9th. Thank you very much, friends, for taking the time and making the exertion to come. I hope that each one of you will enjoy the experience. I flew myself into Geneva a couple of days back, not long after I had witnessed, on a TV set in India, the Wimbledon tennis final. Let me, on this Swiss soil, salute a son of Switzerland who has become not only the champion of the world, but also the champion of history. In the hands of Roger Federer the impossible looks not only easy but also graceful, and this incredible athlete-artist has nerves of steel as well. “What we should learn from Roger Federer” might be an interesting theme for businessmen, politicians and even diplomats. Some of you may not be aware that the work of Initiatives of Change, known once as Moral Re- Armament, and before that as the work of the Oxford Group, was started by an American, born in Pennsylvania. This man, whose name was Frank Buchman, was wise in his choice of ancestors. They came from St. Gallen. Frank Buchman died in 1961. Wise, as I said, in his choice of ancestors, he was also fortunate in his Swiss friends and colleagues. Reflecting on the fact that Switzerland was largely spared the destruction that the Second World War had caused throughout Europe, these Swiss associates of Frank Buchman acquired this Mountain House, as it is called, to serve, they hoped, as a venue for reflections and dialogues that might help bring peace to our world. Built in 1902 as a hotel for the rich, the famous, and the royals of our planet, during the Second World War this house, then known as the Caux Palace Hotel, sheltered internees and refugees. The Swiss women and men who acquired the Caux Palace Hotel in 1946, after the war, were neither royal nor famous nor particularly rich. But they gave to this space their resources and their toil, and the result was this magnificent centre for creating a more peaceful world. They believed they would create a more peaceful world by applying a simple idea. What was that idea? It was that people wishing to diagnose the world’s ills should be willing also to look at their own hearts to see if any prejudice or resentment or greed lurking there was making them part of the world’s problem, rather than making them part of a solution. The idea of looking in had a corollary: be ready to reach out, including to a seeming enemy. Initiatives of Change Since 1946, every single summer and many a winter has seen conferences and dialogues in Caux for restoring trust and goodwill between divided camps, and for strengthening the integrity of individuals and institutions. At times it happened that a firm handshake that Caux made possible between two estranged individuals became the foundation for a building of national or even regional unity. During your visit today you may learn of the remarkable consequences of some of the conferences and dialogues held over the last 63 years. This July and August Caux will again host a fascinating range of conferences, including one on the not-so-easy question of living in a multicultural world, another on leading change for a sustainable world, then a forum on human security, an oft-ignored but perhaps central dimension of the security question, another on the world’s shaken economy, and one on how each of us as individuals can learn to be peacemakers. The Forum for Human Security was initiated last year by Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun of Algeria, my distinguished predecessor as the President of Initiatives of Change International, who, to the gratitude of all of us, continues to steer and chair the Forum this summer. We don’t nurse the illusion that these conferences of July and August will make a significant dent on our world’s violence, corruption, or poverty. But we know that among the participants will be individuals who are sufficiently caring, and sufficiently bold, to search for fresh approaches. We will make the attempt to provide here the perspectives and the atmosphere that may encourage or even inspire such individuals. Perhaps some of you who have come today will return to take in one or more of these conferences during the coming days and weeks. In any case today, not long after I sit down, you can enjoy a guided tour of Mountain House or take in a short portion of the ongoing conference on living in a multicultural world. And later we will all benefit from the panel discussion in which three fascinating personalities will discuss a hardly easy question that so many nations face today – migration. This is a word of welcome, not a lecture. But please allow me to make two more points before I sit down. One, I would recommend that all of you keep this place in mind and regard it as a resource that might be of use for addressing a question that weighs on your heart. If a fresh approach is called for, the Caux ambience is not a bad place for seeking it. Finally, I would like, on behalf of Initiatives of Change International, to acknowledge what is owed to Switzerland by the international community at large, and especially by the community of ordinary citizens worldwide who are interested in justice and reconciliation. By enabling a centre like Mountain House in Caux to play its part but also in other ways, the people and authorities of Switzerland have helped the world’s races, cultures and nations to come closer to one another. We who are associated with Initiatives of Change International are particularly grateful to one Swiss personality who led us as President for several years, not long after he had led the International Committee of the Red Cross, and who continues to guide us, a distinguished son of Initiatives of Change Europe, Cornelio Sommaruga. I would like to request Mr Sommaruga to add his word of welcome to all of you. .