Contents:

How it works
Peace and trust building
Transforming society and culture 
Global economy & sustainability
Training and capacity building

How it works

Shortly after the massive stroke which almost killed him, Frank Buchman, the initiator of Initiatives of Change, said: ‘I have been organizing a movement. But a movement should be the outcome of changed lives, not the means of changing them. From now on I am going to ask God to make me into a great life-changer.’ In practice IofC is both. But Buchman’s insight remains central to how IoC works.

For example, the launch of Initiatives of Change Ethiopia, 16 October 2009, in the historic hall of the African Union, came after decades of steady IofC work in the country going back to the 1960s – including times when it could not operate openly. The President of Ethiopia said that IofC is meeting a need to mold ethical citizens in order to face the challenges posed by conflict, corruption, climate change and injustice. The launch was followed by a six-week ‘Harambee leadership programme’ for 18 young people from seven African countries, undertaking outreach to schools and universities. This was the fifth IofC programme of ‘Harambee’ (a Swahili word meaning ‘working together for a common purpose’).

Similarly, when IofC’s Foundations for Freedom (F4F) programme was officially registered as an independent international Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) based in Ukraine in September 2009, it was the culmination of several years work by IofC in the region. F4F started in 1993, by IofC-UK, with the aim of training a new generation of leaders based in Central and Eastern Europe. The mission of the new organization is, ‘to promote development of truly free, democratic and fair societies where citizens understand and practise the values on which freedom thrives, in particular honesty, integrity, personal responsibility and servant leadership’.

Through a range of public forums, competitions, street activities and media coverage, this young team organized a national ‘week of trust’, timed during the visit of IofC President Rajmohan Gandhi to Ukraine. Getting ‘trust’ onto the national agenda is no easy task in this divided nation where corruption is widespread and the wounds of history run deep. Some of the team are now building a sustainable community house as a permanent base for dialogue, training, and trust-building in the region.

In each case, the organization or programme is the visible fruit of something less tangible – a deep sense of commitment and responsibility born of faith and moral change in individuals. In countries such as Ethiopia and Ukraine, organizations spring up like mushrooms wherever there is aid money – and disappear just as quickly when aid dries up. But a movement which is the outcome of changed lives, endures.

Back to top

Peace & trust building

At the core of IofC’s approach to peace building is the practice of listening to the inner voice of conscience and a readiness to take responsibility rather than blame others. The following are some of the activities conducted by IofC during the year.

At a time of heightened tensions between Sudan’s Muslim north and Christian south, Nigerians Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye shared their interfaith mediation experience with religious and political leaders in Khartoum and White Nile State. The story of how these former militia leaders and sworn enemies reconciled and now work for peace is told in the film The Imam and the Pastor, made by IofC’s FLTfilms. Their visit to Sudan in January, assisted by IofC, was to launch the Arabic version of the film, and followed a similar visit to Egypt in May/June 2009. In November the pair were presented with the first Fondation Chirac Prize for Conflict Prevention.

Creators of Peace is a women’s initiative which challenges and empowers women to become active peace-makers. The fifth Creators of Peace international conference took place in Australia, starting in September, 2009, bringing together 235 women from over 30 countries. Forgiveness was ‘a golden thread weaving through every session’ as Aboriginal Australians, Afghanis and Russians, Indonesians and Timorese, Europeans and Africans shared stories of breaking out of conflict.

Hope Sierra Leone, a Freetown-based NGO affiliated to IofC, works to implement recommendations from the nation’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It has coordinated a series of reconciliation and symbolic reburial ceremonies over eight months in 17 chiefdoms around the country. A decade of brutal civil war, ending in 2002, left 50,000 dead and thousands more traumatized – destroying the economic and social fabric of the country. One part of the the government’s reparations programme involves payments or services provided to victims. The other, coordinated by Hope Sierra Leone, addresses the emotional wounds through age-old practices rooted in the local culture.

An initiative described by the BBC as ‘groundbreaking’, brought 65 young Muslims from across Europe for a five-day programme of ‘Learning to be peacemakers’ in the IofC conference centre in Caux, Switzerland in August 2009. It was the brainchild of British Imam Ajmal Masroor Masroor after an earlier visit to Caux led to ‘a profound change’ in his thinking. Masroor wants to train 1,000 young European Muslims, supporting them to better understand their own faith tradition and to become involved constructively in the wider community.

Back to top

Transforming society and culture

IofC programmes empower individuals and teams to help shape the societies and cultures they are part of. By bringing people together in ‘honest conversations’ ways are found to address social ills such as racism, corruption, family breakdown and selfish materialism.

Former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, chair of the Democratic National Committee in the USA, launched a book on Trustbuilding: an honest conversation on race, reconciliation and responsibility, in the Library of Virginia, on 15 March. The book, written by Rob Corcoran, founder of IofC’s Hope in the Cities programme, tells how Richmond, a city starkly divided by a history of slavery and racism, has modelled approaches to facilitating honest and inclusive dialogue and building diverse partnerships. ‘Listening is a lost art in this world,’ said Kaine. ‘Hope in the Cities is creating a space where people can talk.’

IofC participated in the fifth Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia, 3–9 December 2009, with over 6,000 from 200 countries representing all the world’s major faiths. IofC’s contributions included a Creators of Peace workshop, sessions on forgiveness and screenings of The Imam and the Pastor by IofC’s FLTfilms. Outside the official programme, the IofC centre in Melbourne, hosted two occasions with speakers from the Parliament.

In France, a ‘Dialogue Initiative’ has held several conferences involving public figures such as Professor Tariq Ali around the crucial themes of intercultural communication and diversity. Three dialogue groups remain active, giving people of different cultural origins and generations the opportunity to create a society that is totally inclusive and founded on a shared citizenship.

In December, 100 students representing 50 different schools and universities launched SAVE Indonesia (Students Against Violence and Extremism). A 10-point declaration, drafted by students, calls on them to respect differences, refuse discriminatory behaviour, speak out against violence and promote a spirit of brotherhood. The declaration was the product of two Youth Peace Camps organized by IofC Indonesia and the Center for Pesantren and Democracy Studies.

Back to top

Global economy and sustainability

From the earliest days of IofC, people from all sides of economic life – workers, management, farmers and financiers – have found common cause in working together to meet the needs of humanity. New energies and creative teamwork emerge when people look beyond their own self-interest, or the narrow interests of their group.

In July 2009, the second Caux Forum for Human Security was opened by Prince Hassan of Jordan suggesting that 2009 was the year ‘to change our mindset’ in response to challenges of water and food security, and dwindling natural resources. ‘Thinking supra-nationally and intra-dependently is essential,’ he said. The Forum, in Caux, Switzerland, brought together peace-makers, politicians, environmentalists and campaigners from both governmental and grassroots organizations to explore the interconnectedness of human security, climate change, good governance, corruption and the business sector. In this context there were dialogues between Israelis and Palestinians and between Indians and Pakistanis. Young environmentalists at the forum formed an IofC ‘Environment and Economic’ group. Five of them went on to attend the COP15 conference in Copenhagen, working to try to build trust between the parties.

Also in Caux, a conference on Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy took up the challenge of building a people-focused sustainable approach to globalization. Among the industrialists attending, Rajeev Dubey, President of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, India’s largest tractor manufacturer, told of his company’s investment in bio-diesel and hybrid electric vehicles, and community programmes including planting more than a million trees across the country. A Food and Sustainability Network was launched at the conference, connecting farmers and consumers to promote just and sustainable strategies for food production, water use, health, the soil and the environment.

Back to top

Training & Capacity building

Change requires people with a passion for a cause, resilience to keep going when things seem impossible, and moral qualities to inspire others to give their best. IofC training programmes aim to nurture a visionary, inclusive and humble leadership.

Thirty nine training programmes of IofC are being offered around the world, three of which have continued for more than 30 years. Vital elements of these training programmes are tools such as inner listening, sharing stories of change that lead to change in the wider community or society, and living a values-guided life where motives and values are shaped by absolute honesty, purity, unselfishness and love.

The 17th Caux Scholars Program, for instance, gave 20 post-graduate students an intensive summer school in the theories and practice of conflict prevention, embedded with the basics of IofC. Weekend ‘Youth changing lives’ programmes take place through the year in Brazil. And a second ‘Tools for Change’ conference in Malaysia combined basic tools of personal change with professional skills training for 80 NGO and community activists.

This year the Office of International Training, based in Geneva, launched the IofC Trainers Certification process and the formation of country-based Trainers’ Hubs, making programmes and designs available to local, regional and international organizations. The Office conducted trainings on Leadership, Culture, Conflict and Team-building to national and international organizations in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sierra Leone, Lesotho and South Africa. As a result the Minister of Gender in Lethoso asked IofC International to conduct training to female members of parliament as well as those in the ten district councils before the end of 2010.

Back to top