15/07/2025
🌱🟢 WHERE HOPE MEETS HUMANITY - THE REVITALIZATION OF DEMOCRACY🌱🟢
The closing ceremony of the Forum 2025 on 12 July - marking the International Day of Hope - highlighted hope not just as inspiration, but as a practical and emotional force for navigating today’s democratic challenges.
In a world shaped by uncertainty and division, hope becomes a tool for building trust, strengthening resilience, and sustaining democratic life.
Gathering over 270 changemakers from 50+ nationalities, the forum celebrated shared humanity through stories, reflection, and connection.
“Democracy is built on courage, sustained by trust, and defended with integrity.” These words echoed through the final moments of the Caux Democracy Forum, capturing the spirit of a week grounded in honest dialogue, deep listening, and collective hope.
The closing ceremony began with a poetic and powerful reflection from Viviane Straub, who spoke about active hope in a time of crisis. Speaking through the lens of new motherhood, she challenged the audience to see hope not as distant optimism, but as a force for movement here and now. Her words - “Hope should not be a fallacy… it should lead to movement” - set a tone of courage and engagement.
A symbolic youth-led group exercise invited participants to reflect on what hope feels like. Hope was imagined as butterflies, turtles, sunflowers, pianos, the color green, and the season of spring - reminding us that hope is both soft and strong, delicate yet rooted.
Peter Rundell (Zimbabwe/UK) introduced the concept of the polycrisis - interwoven global emergencies like climate change, inequality, and authoritarianism - and emphasized the importance of focusing efforts on shared impact, not scattered action. The common cause group who had been working on this topic called for a unified theme of “Together,” urging Initiatives of Change and its global networks to combat polarization and exclusion by building on what already works.
The Creative Leadership cohort, led by Gladys, offered bold insights on their training programme "Reimagining Democracy(ies)". Drawing from lived experiences across Afghanistan, refugee communities, and human rights activism, they redefined democracy as an evolving process rooted in empathy, inner transformation, and social restoration. “Empathy is the heart of democracy,” they reminded us. “Silence [=not speaking out] is complicity.”
From this summer's Young Changemakers Programme, Maureen and Jan brought a fresh voice. They spoke of nonviolence, dignity, and the power of seeing beauty even in moments of despair. “Extend the courtesy of humanity to the people we hate,” they said in a strong call for compassion and moral courage.
In a powerful session on peace and justice, Rafaël Tyszblat explored the often-competing demands of dialogue and action in protracted conflicts like Israel–Palestine. Drawing on over 20 years of mediation, he stressed the need for intra-community dialogue, awareness of power dynamics, and the slow work of rehumanization.
Nabila Musleh, speaking on behalf of a delegation of Afghan women present at the Forum, reminded us that “silence is not absence.” Even under the Taliban regime, Afghan women continue to resist - through whispers, stories, and persistent presence.
From the Armenian–Kurdish–Turkish Dialogue, Arshalouys Tenbelian shared stories of truth-telling and generational healing. A voice note from a Turkish participant recounting his journey from denial to acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide underscored the personal cost and power of reconciliation. “You don’t start building a bridge from the middle,” Arshalouys reminded us.
The closing also honored the role of the arts in peacebuilding. Film, poetry, paintings, cartoons and performance emerged as tools for expressing what can’t always be said in policy or dialogue: “Art can express the unspeakable.”
Across the forum, hope emerged not as naïve optimism, but as a courageous, collective, and intentional force. It was seen in acts of solidarity, in shared stories, and in moments of quiet reflection. One participant said it best: “Quiet time is not the absence of action. It’s the presence of intention.”
This year’s Caux Democracy Forum was not just a space for discussion - it was a reminder that democracy must be lived, practiced, and protected daily. Through personal transformation, collective courage, and ongoing connection, the work continues.
SAVE THE DATE: Upcoming Democracy Events
📅 15 September 2025: International Day of Democracy (Zoom Gathering)
🕊 6 - 10 Oct 2025: Geneva Democracy Week
🗳 20–25 June 2026: Caux Democracy Forum (3rd edition)
🗨️ Stay tuned for our upcoming Democracy Dialogues in Geneva!
Let us continue to meet each other across divides, speak the truth with care, and keep building the world we want - together. Let's stand up for democracy, wherever we are!
Armenian Kurdish Turkish Peace Initiative Initiatives of Change International United Nations Human Rights Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Kofi Annan Foundation Initiatives of Change USA Inner Development Goals DCAF Geneva Peacebuilding Platform Initiatives et Changement France Initiatives of Change (IofC) - India PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement Tournons La Page CRT-Japan 経済人コー円卓会議 Caux Scholars Program Ignacio Packer Jacqueline Coté Academy of Finland - Afghanistan "AFA" آکادمی فنلند - افغانستان Freedom Cartoonists WillisFromTunis Comité international de la Croix-Rouge Photo Elysée (photos: Eve Brenot / Olivia Chollet / Leela Channer)
