Australia: the Stolen Generation and a 'national day of healing'

Campaign for clean elections in Brazil

Reconciliation between communities in Lebanon

Every year, going back to the time shortly after the outbreak of civil war in Lebanon, groups representing Lebanon’s diverse and divided factions have taken part in the Initiative of Change conferences in Caux, Switzerland. They have come from Maronite, Orthodox, Melkite, Sunni, Shiite and Druze communities. On their return to Lebanon they have worked on the ground for a genuine national reconciliation, without which the reconstruction of the country may be in vain.

Peace initiative for Somalia

Cambodian renaissance

The Rhodesian crisis

In 1980 pre-independence Rhodesia, later Zimbabwe, was a country ravaged by civil war between white settlers and black nationalists. After a chaotic journey through rebellion and drug addiction, Alec Smith, the Premier's son, had an experience of God that radically transformed his life. Driven by his new Christian convictions, he took part in multiracial meetings organized by Moral Re-Armament (as Initiatives of Change was then known). As a result he became friends with a black leader, Rev. Arthur Kanodereka.

Helping diffuse tensions between Alto Adige’s Italian-speaking and German-speaking communities

Alto Adige, South Tyrol, is a former Austrian province ceded to Italy in 1919. In the 1950s, tensions grew between the province’s German-speaking minority and the Italian administration, leading Austria to bring the matter before the United Nations. However before the issue could be resolved there was a wave of violence. Around 300 terrorist attacks were perpetrated by extremist elements – mostly on property, but also leading to some deaths.

Support during Kenya’s independence struggle

The turning point for Tunisian independence

In 1953, tensions were running high in Tunisia. There were a series of successive attacks and the hero of the independence struggle, Habib Bourguiba, was in prison.

The 1950s: Social dialogue in France