The Caux Foundation hosted some 1,200 visitors this summer in its International Conference Centre at Caux, above Montreux. Sessions on multiculturalism, human security, business ethics and training modules in change-making and peace-building were held from 1 July to 8 August. Over a hundred delegates of the Initiatives of Change international network, from 42 countries, are now meeting in Caux for their annual Global Assembly.

‘They killed my dad and I have been carrying a lot of bitterness and hatred, but I now feel I should put that burden down. I have decided to forgive those who murdered my dad.’ These were the words of one of the many women who participated in Creators of Peace Circles (CoPC) in Rift Valley region, Kenya in the last three months.

IofC has in the past been involved in advocating for clean elections that are free, fair and devoid of violence. IofC Kenya is still determined to reach out to Kenyans with a message of not just taking part in the voting process but also voting for the right people and avoiding violence.

For the first time in its five years, the Caux Forum for Human Security welcomed a delegation of six from Burma/Myanmar to the conference centre in Caux, Switzerland. The members of the delegation grappled with the complex issues facing Burma/Myanmar’s multi-ethnic communities in their struggle for rights and demand for a genuine federal union with the majority ethnic group, post military rule.

Corruption is a huge threat to human security, especially in Africa, writes Ann Njeri. But despite its pervasiveness, there are examples of companies doing business in a clean way and making a success of it.

Micheline Calmy-Rey, twice President of the Swiss Federation, told participants in the Fifth Caux Forum for Human Security, in Switzerland, that dialogue represents the political realism necessary to resolve global challenges. With her was Swiss Ambassador Claude Altermatt who described the Caux center as ‘a haven of peace and inspiration’.

Jeudi 12 juillet, le Forum de Caux pour la sécurité humaine se concentrait sur la guérison les blessures de l’histoire. Durant la session plénière de la matinée, Daphrose Ntarataze Barampama a présenté son travail au sein des cercles de paix au Burundi. Lors de la session de l’après-midi, Angelo Barampama et Laurien Ntezimana ont raconté leur parcours personnel et professionnel. Ils sont tous deux co-auteurs du livre « Dépasser la haine, construire la paix » qui rassemble des témoignages des années 1990 dans la région des Grands lacs africains.

A high-level South Sudanese delegation, brought to Caux in collaboration with the Swiss Foreign Ministry, led a ceremony celebrating the first anniversary of the independence of their country. In his speech, Deputy Foreign Minister Elias Nyamell Wakoson asserted that South Sudan 'is not out of the woods yet, but we are getting there.'

The 5th Caux Forum for Human Security at the Initiatives of Change centre in Caux, Switzerland, started on 9 July with a special one-day event on Restoring Land, Restoring Lives. The event was co-organized by the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the Restoring Earth’s Degraded Land initiative of Initiative of Change International.

There was a lively panel discussion, with a flood of questions from the audience, on the theme of ‘Inclusive economics’ and tackling corruption at the 5th Caux Forum for Human Security at the Caux conference centre in Switzerland on Tuesday 10 July 2012.