Initiatives of Change - Mountain House, Caux, Switzerland

Mountain House, Caux, Switzerland

Mountain House, formerly the Caux-Palace Hotel in Caux, near Montreux, Switzerland is the Institute's conference center. The then-derelict hotel was bought by 50 Swiss families, in 1946, and restored as a place where the warring nations of Europe could meet. In the following years thousands came, including German Chancellor Adenauer and French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman. Its work was described by historians as an 'important contribution to one of the greatest achievements in the entire record of modern statecraft: the astonishingly rapid Franco-German reconciliation after 1945.'

In the following decades Caux welcomed people from African and Asian countries moving towards independence from colonial rule. In 1956, soon after Morocco became independent, King Mohammed V of Morocco sent a message to Frank Buchman: 'I thank you for all you have done for Morocco in the course of these last testing years.' In 1960 Archbishop Makarios and Dr Kucuk, President and Vice-President of Cyprus, jointly sent the first flag of independent Cyprus to Caux in recognition of the center's help. More recently, groups of opposing factions in the Great Lakes area of Africa, Sierra Leone and other areas of conflict, have met there.

Also prominent in the center's programs have been meetings between management and unions. The Caux Round Table was launched there in the 1986, and developed a program of Principles for Business.

The center's holds each summer several separate sessions dealing with specific subjects, attended by both teenagers and adults. In 2008 the first Caux Forum for Human Security, initiated by Sahnoun, brought together 300 people working for peace and human security.