Forum Team | CAUX FORUM for Human Security

ABOUT

FORUM TEAM

Support Group

Yara Zgheib
William Bett
Andrew Stallybrass / Philipp Thüler, Media Contacts
Surendran Balachandran

The Caux Forum for Human Security is organized by Initiatives of Change International and hosted in partnership with CAUX-Initiatives of Change.

Initiatives of Change International (IofC International) is a non-government organization (NGO) working for peace, reconciliation and human security worldwide. It has special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and Participatory Status at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. It stresses the importance of personal responsibility, ethical leadership and building trust across the world’s divides. Its President is Rajmohan Gandhi. Based in Caux, Switzerland, IofC International was founded in 2002 as an association bringing together the autonomous national bodies of the Initiatives of Change movement which are active in 39 countries, many of them over several decades.

IofC International represents the universality and multifaith character of the movement, and facilitates its relationships with the United Nations and other international organizations through its Geneva office. Its Office of Training Services in Geneva connects the training capacities of the worldwide movement with needs identified by the UN and other international agencies.

IofC International has operational responsibility for Initiatives of Change’s global communications and facilitates collaboration between IofC national bodies. Certain trans-national programmes of the Initiatives of Change movement also operate under its auspices.

In 2008 IofC International launched the Caux Forum for Human Security at the movement’s international conference centre in Caux. The Forum is a global resource for those working for peace and human security at all levels. www.iofc.org

CAUX-Initiatives of Change is a charitable Swiss Foundation. In addition to sharing the aims of the network, it owns and manages the Caux centre, for over 60 years home to international conferences.

In 1946, the former Caux-Palace Hotel opened its doors to the world as an international conference centre for Initiatives of Change. From 1946 to 1950, Germans and French met at Caux in a spirit of reconciliation. In the next years, Caux also became a meeting place for leaders from emerging nations.

Sixty years on, each Northern summer, the Caux assembly draws between 1400 and 2000 people of all walks of life, of every generation, background and religious outlook to be part of a continuous series of conferences dealing with specific subjects. In recent years, meetings have been held between individuals and opposing groups from Lebanon, Cambodia, Burundi, Somalia and South Africa. Caux has also hosted dialogues between ethnic groups from inner cities. And it is here where many Initiatives of Change programmes are developed. The centre is partly funded by the lease of sections of the Caux facility to a hotel management school for 10 months of the year. The Foundation is also a founding member of IofC International. www.caux.ch

Forum team biographies

Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun, Algeria, Founder and Chair

Mohamed Sahnoun, a national of Algeria, was nominated by Secretary-General Kofi Annan as United Nations/Organization of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative for the Great Lakes region of Africa in January 1997.

Sahnoun is also a member of the Special Advisory Group of the War-torn Societies Project, a joint endeavour of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. Through his recent activities, he has been in contact with important actors in the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa.

Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Sahnoun was Special Adviser to the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the Culture of Peace Programme and formerly Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Somalia, from April to November 1992. In 1993, he was appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the OAU in the Congo; and in 1994, he became a Pearson fellow with the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, Canada.

During his career, Mr. Sahnoun has been Counsellor to the President of Algeria on diplomatic affairs. He was a member of the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) in the 1980s, as well as Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). From 1964 to 1973, Mr. Sahnoun was Deputy Secretary-General of the OAU, and in 1973, he was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the League of Arab States in charge of Arab-Africa dialogue.

He also served as Algeria's Ambassador to Morocco and Secretary to the Maghreb Union (1989-1990); Ambassador to the United States (1984-1989); Chief of Algeria's Mission to the United Nations (1982-1984); Ambassador to France (1979-1982); and Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany (1975-1979).

John Bond, United Kingdom, Forum Coordinator

John Bond has worked with Initiatives of Change since 1970, and has been active in human security concerns throughout his career. He spent 10 years in Africa during the 1970s and 1980s, first in Ethiopia, and then in Rhodesia – as it was when he arrived – through its turbulent transition into Zimbabwe.

He then worked in Australia, with a particular focus on improving the condition of Aboriginal Australia. In 1998 he became Secretary of the National Sorry Day Committee, which enlisted nearly a million Australians in an apology to Aboriginal Australians for cruel and misguided past policies, and in initiatives to overcome the harm caused. In 2007 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the Australian community through the National Sorry Day Committee.

He now lives in Oxford, England, working from there on initiatives which have emerged from the Caux Forum for Human Security, particularly in Africa.

Central to his work, throughout his career, has been writing and editing. For three years he edited the London weekly, New World News. And he has worked with several well-known Australians to tell their stories, most recently ‘Father of the House’, the memoirs of Kim E Beazley, former Federal Minister for Education (Fremantle Press, 2009). His biography of Jerzy Zubrzycki, known as 'the father of Australian multiculturalism', will be published this year.

He has two daughters, one teaching in Alice Springs, the other nursing in Melbourne. His wife Mary is a writer and spiritual director. For 20 years she edited For a Change, an international magazine devoted to conflict resolution and community building.

Rob Lancaster, Australia, Forum Director

Rob grew up in Australia, but since leaving school has spent periods in Europe (mainly France and England), as well as some time more recently in Eastern Europe, India and South East Asia. From November 2007, he spent two and a half months volunteering with IofC in India, and the challenges and encounters of that time encouraged him to be available after university to continue with IofC for a period. That period became somewhat self-renewing, a bit like skype credit, and he's still here. He’s been working full time with IofC for a couple of years now; as Director of the Caux Interns Programme, on the support team of Action for Life, now with the Caux Forum for Human Security, and a few other fingers in other pies. A graduate from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations/French) (Hons) and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons), his main academic interest is in cosmopolitan theory, which looks at relationships between different groups of people, particularly across national borders. He’s especially interested in the potential for a new ethic in political and social leadership.

Day to day, he has a sporting passion for cricket and Australian rules football, and an intellectual passion for debating, formally as well as with friends and family. His spare time consists largely of drinking coffee with friends, playing the piano, reading and watching BBC dramas.

Alexandra Martins, South Africa/Brazil, Communications Director

Originally from South Africa, Alex has lived in Brazil, the United States and the United Kingdom, where she is now based in preparation for the 2012 Forum. She recently graduated from the University of Oxford with an MPhil in Politics (Comparative Government), focusing primarily on Central African politics and power-sharing governance. She holds her Bachelors from the University of Pennsylvania in International Relations and Theatre Arts. Outside of her studies, she has taught English in Rio de Janeiro and on the Thai-Burmese border and has travelled to Kinshasa, DRC and Bujumbura, Burundi to conduct research on governance issues. She hopes to continue her travels, but also to find one continent on which to settle. Her many passions include Congolese history and politics, reading epic fantasy novels and New York City. She is especially passionate about acting and hopes to incorporate theatre into her work with human security issues in the future.

Dick Ruffin, USA

Although Dick Ruffin was born in Virginia, USA, it was while studying at Oxford University, on a Rhodes Scholarship, that he first encountered the ideas and people of Initiatives of Change (IofC). Following Oxford, Dick served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, first as Communications Officer on a destroyer and then in Washington on the staff of the Secretary of Defense. In 1971 he turned down positions in the Pentagon in order to learn more about IofC and to explore its relevance to America and its world role. This exploration grew into a life commitment. He has worked with several IofC initiatives and was primarily responsible for IofC's legal and administrative affairs in the United States between 1980 and 2003. He recently served as the Executive Vice President of Initiatives of Change - International. Dick has lived in Washington, DC, for the last twenty-two years with his wife Randy who also shares his commitment to IofC and they have two grown children.

Marianne Spreng, Switzerland

Marianne was born in in Bern, Switzerland and has studied in Bern, Montreux and Lausanne, as well as at the Interpreters’ School at the University of Geneva. She speaks German, French, English and Italian. She has worked with Initiatives of Change in Germany, the UK, Croatia, India, Sri Lanka, returning to each of these countries for several stays of several months/years. She has also participated in organising seminars/conferences in Eritrea, Bosnia, Ukraine and more recently Egypt.

Currently, Marianne serves as the Head of the Department “International Relations” of the Foundation CAUX-Initiatives of Change and a member of the “Caux Preparation Group” coordinating the Caux Conferences, the annual schedule and programs in team-work with the international conference teams and program organisers. She is responsible for rentals in Caux outside conference time (Villa Maria), which entails organising events in partnership with NGOs and Swiss Government Departments and Agencies working in the field of conflict prevention, dialogue and Human Security. She also assists IofC International with contacts in international organisations and the UN. Previously, she has served as Secretary of the Council of the Foundation, Head of the Foundation’s Finance Committee, Member of the Council of the Foundation, Chief-Editor of the Foundation’s German language monthly CAUX-Information and a member of the Management Team, in charge of Communications/Objectives & Development at the Foundation CAUX-Initiatives of Change.

Chris Evans, UK

Chris was born, and now lives with his wife Anne, on his family's farm in the west of England. Apart from two years' farming in the '70s, he has worked with Initiatives of Change in one capacity or another since 1969. The first two and a half years were in Asia, particularly India where he has enduring links, and since then he has been based in Europe. He was treasurer of IofC in Britain for 13 years, which gave him much conviction and some experience of what it takes to finance IofC. He is deeply involved in Foundations For Freedom and Caux Initiatives for Business, and for the last 6 years has served on the Board of IofC-USA.

Omnia Marzouk, Egypt/UK

Omnia was born in Madrid, and studied medicine in Sydney Australia while her father served as Egyptian Ambassador. She gained her MD from Liverpool University and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and a Fellow of the College of Emergency Medicine. She has been working as Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine for 15 years at UK’s largest Children’s Emergency Department – Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. She has just stepped down from her role as Clinical Director. She is an accredited mentor and has a Diploma in Medical Education. She has an active regional educational role and is currently serving as RCPCH Regional Advisor in Paediatrics and National Chair for training in her specialty. She has taken part in two RCPCH “Train the Trainers” delegations to Jordan and Kurdistan aimed at training Iraqi doctors and nurses in paediatric life support.

Omnia met IofC while at school in Australia and has been actively involved since. She has been particularly involved in intercultural and interfaith dialogue for many years within the UK as well as taking part in similar initiatives in countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. She has served on the IofC Consultation Support Group, and led a review of IofC International Structures in 2004. She is committed to building bridges of understanding between the west and the Muslim/Arab world. Omnia heads up the portfolio for international programmes, conferences and actions and shares responsibility for training and people development.

Martin Frick, Germany

Martin Frick joined E3G Berlin in November 2010 as the Programme Leader for Climate Diplomacy. Martin has 14 years of experience as a German diplomat. He served as the German representative for human rights and humanitarian affairs at the United Nations General Assembly from 2005 to 2007. He also represented Germany on the NGO committee of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

As negotiator for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities he helped shaping a major UN human rights instruments and was also in charge of the UN Security Council’s human rights related resolutions.

In 2007, during the German EU presidency, Martin negotiated on behalf of the European Union key elements of the UN Human Rights Council, including the Universal Periodic Review. He also negotiated resolutions on the Right to Development and on the human rights situation in Darfur.

Prior to his work in New York, Martin served as Consul and as Deputy Ambassador in Albania from 1999-2002. From 2002-2005 he was the Cabinet Affairs Advisor to German Federal Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

As Deputy CEO/Director of the Global Humanitarian Forum, a Geneva based foundation set up by former UN-Secretary General Kofi Annan, Martin defined from the early days of this foundation the programme content and strategic orientation of the Forum’s work.

Martin has a PhD in Law from Regensburg University, and a diploma in international relations from SciencePo Strasbourg, France. He is a senior fellow at Demos, New York.

Erik Parsons, Australia

Erik is a communications consultant and graphic designer for Initiatives of Change International. He designed sites such as and www.cauxforum.net and was a founding editor of Global Express magazine (1994-96). A songwriter and music producer, Erik recorded his first independent CD, Atonic, in 1996. Two CDs with Canopy followed in 1998 and 2001. His 'day job' at this time was in corporate graphic design and marketing. Erik's interests include experimental asian-inspired cooking for guests, the art and activism of Brian Eno and U2, the thinking of C.G. Jung, human rights in Burma, science fiction, and sculpting musical atmospheres. He has a B.A. in Philosophy, Media Studies and Music. A native of Melbourne, Australia, Erik now lives in Stockholm, Sweden with his Moldovan wife Cristina.

Andrew Lancaster, Australia

Andrew Lancaster lives in Australia where he was born in 1947. In 1965 he interrupted his Civil Engineering studies to make himself available for the program of MRA/IofC. Since then he has worked with IofC in a number of countries including India, Canada, UK and New Zealand. For the last 35 years he and his wife Margaret have made their home in Canberra. Since the 1980s he has been a member of IofC Australia’s Council of Management. From 2003 to 2006, he served as National Coordinator in Australia. For four years from October 2006 he served on IofC’s International Council and on the Executive Committee of IofC International and then at the IofC Global Consultation in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, he was selected to serve for a further two years. He is also a member of the Council of the CAUX-Initiatives of Change Foundation in Switzerland which owns and maintains the IofC international conference centre in the village of Caux. Andrew and Margaret have three adult sons and three grandchildren.

Shontaye Abegaz, USA

Shontaye grew up as an American Army Brat moving around extensively as a child. As an adult, she has continued her travels and has lived in the United States, Germany and Africa. She has been engaged on and off over the past three years with IofC, mostly as an event supporter in the Washington, DC area.

Day to day, Shontaye has a passion for grass roots volunteerism and has been an avid volunteer for various organizations since adolescence. Her interests include intercultural dialog, human rights and human security. Her spare time consists of spending cherished time with family and friends, watching dramas and travel writing. She also enjoys cooking and entertaining with family and friends.

Founder and Chair

Executive Team

Steering Group

Secretariat

Support Group

Forum team biographies