Since its inception, 70 years ago, the Swiss foundation CAUX-Initiatives of Change (CAUX-IofC) has been about creating a space for dialogue, facilitating enriching encounters to inspire, equip and connect people from around the globe towards change. Its conviction has been that only personal change will drive global transformations to create a more just, ethic, secure and sustainable world.
In the frame of its 70th anniversary, CAUX-IofC organized a Human Library in collaboration with the Library of the United Nations at Geneva, featuring five “Human Books” on the theme “What’s trust got to do with migration?”. Leonard Doyle, Spokesperson for IOM, Melissa Fleming, Chief Spokesperson for UNHCR, Jens Wilhelmsen Norwegian writer and Member of IofC Norway, Imad Karam, Executive Director of IofC Int., and Huruy Gulbet, Eritrean Refugee, student in Geneva, shared their personal stories, each focusing on different issues related to migration and the importance of trustbuilding.
With the support of the Office for Integration of Foreigners of the Republic and State of Geneva and the Inside Out Foundation, the Hospice général at Geneva launched the “There are no walls between us” project to mark the week against racism, and the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This project aims to give visibility to the people seeking asylum in Geneva and foster their integration. In this context, the Hospice general commissioned the internationally recognized photojournalist Mark Henley to portray some of the migrants from 15 different countries. On 15 March 2016, 50 portraits were pasted, by the subjects themselves, on the Plaine de Plainpalais.
Swiss Press Photographer of the Year 2012 and 2014 for his work on the Swiss Banking system and the diplomatic negociations on a nuclear deal with Iran, Mark Henley is a regular contributor to International Geneva organizations like UNHCR and Amnesty International.
