The powerful upheavals that have shaken our “Old World” in recent years have brought out, between compassion and indignation, the awareness of our identity, which is the primary and ultimate anchor of our societies.
As Europeans, we are intimately linked to the history of our civilization, to its culture based on the values of Humanism as developed by Greek philosophers, to its rules established by Roman law to define “Living together” in the respect of individual rights, to its Judeo-Christian heritage which teaches “How to love the Other” in the measure of God’s infinite Love…
To echo the famous quote of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy upon his arrival in West Germany, in the middle of the Cold War “Ich bin Berliner!”, I strongly reaffirm “I am European! “… and I dare to say at the same time “I am the migrant mother with her children crossing the Mediterranean Sea for safer shores, I am the Jewish mother crying for a son who died in battle, I am the Palestinian from the Gaza Strip, I am the oppressed woman of so many regimes that flout the basic rights of women, I am a woman among millions of others in an Indian slum and I am fighting so that my children have access to health care and education” …
Let’s not be blinded by the obscurantism and fear that are the bedrock of all the extremism that our western democracies are confronted with… only a humanistic approach, based on Altruism, can allow us to change our perspective and regain faith in our values.
The only attitude that can save us from hatred, exclusion and indifference is the one that leads us to “consider” rather than to stare, to integrate rather than to exclude, to build bridges rather than walls!
It is the one that pushes us to denounce all forms of injustice and denial of fundamental human rights!
“How nationalism and globalism can coexist”, the recent TED Talk by Wannis Kabbaj, a French and Moroccan citizen who has lived on 4 continents, humorously opens up new perspectives on the notions of nationalism and globalism, which are perfectly complementary although seemingly opposed!
How nationalism and globalism can coexist | Wanis Kabbaj
I invite you to read the moving testimony of Antoine Leiris, a young father whose partner and mother of their 17-month-old son was one of the victims of the 2015 Bataclan attack. “You will not have my hatred” (Ed. Fayard) …
… as well as listening to this speech given a few years ago by Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone, at the HEC Paris graduation ceremony!
Emmanuel Faber – HEC Paris graduation ceremony
Many journalists from the French-speaking press also had this particular look, imbued with Humanity and Altruism, which allowed the highlighting of some of my favourites, and I am infinitely grateful to them!
Articles dans Market Automne 2015, l’Agefi Novembre 2015, le 24 Heures Avril 2016, Trajectoire Eté 2016, le Lausanne Guide ( Edition 2016), MARKET Printemps 2017, Diagonales Automne 2017 et Paris Match du 13.12.2018
THE TWO CHARITY EVENTS THAT I SUPPORT AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR ARE PRECISELY ABOUT THAT … DIGNITY AND HUMANITY!
Dignity for people incarcerated in French-speaking Switzerland through the practice of meditation and mindfulness.
This is the remarkable commitment of the Antior Foundation created by my friend Melchior de Muralt, whose mission can be summarized by these four words: Pedagogy, prevention, rehabilitation, humanity!
To learn more about the genesis, mission, impact and objectives of the Antior Foundation: Learnings and practices with mindfulness in detention.
Link to the Charity Concert: https://bit.ly/2RYgEUJ
Alice Lee, one of the soloists of the benefit concert.
Ticketcorner website: https://bit.ly/2DTdzMVU
Dignity regained at the price of the extraordinary resilience of men, women and children freed from the jails of their torturers, and who are supported by OMCT!
Here is a play full of humour and good humour to support OMCT, which works to fight against torture, summary executions, forced disappearances and any other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
We look forward to seeing you on March 12 for an entertaining evening!
Trailer: Le Cas Martin Pichet (“The Martin Pichet Case”)
Evening OMCT 12.03.2019
Click here for the invitation
Click here for the RSVP card.
For any questions, write to events@omct.org.
More info on OMCT? Read its latest annual report here.
To support its action, you can also make a donation: CCP 12-5500-1 – OMCT SOS-Torture
MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO … With the Bureau de Marche!
Developed by my friend Olivier Meyer – to whom I owe so much, because he is the one who “took me by the hand” when I felt the need to communicate on the Why and the How of my Commitment and my commitments, by accompanying me during the creation of my website and my first Newsletters -, the Walking Desk is a revolution in the quality of life at work!
Working while walking could well be a solution to the problem of sedentary work!
The [r]Evolution of the Walking Desk!
Olivier Meyer is a Swiss entrepreneur in the field of information technology. Like many of us, his work requires him to spend many hours sitting behind his computer, in meetings or on the road.
During a business trip to Boston, he met an IT engineer friend who spends several hours a day working… while walking. After an initial astonishment, Olivier tested this “walking desk” and noticed that he was able to walk and work on his computer at the same time. This experience never left him and back in Switzerland he integrated this new way of working.
Enthused by the physical and psychological benefits of this practice, he did some research and wrote an e-Book on the topic:
” La [r]Évolution du Bureau de Marche (“The [r]Evolution of the walking desk “) downloadable for free here, in French.
In 2018, he launched the start-up FitOffice.ch whose mission is to help Swiss companies integrate movement at work.
Pour plus d’informations :
– Download the e-Book (in French): « La [r]Évolution du Bureau de Marche »
– Walking Desk FAQ: https://www.fitoffice.ch/faq/
– Website : https://www.fitoffice.ch
Excellent book to read in the register of women at work … with or without the Bureau de Marche! “LEAN IN, Women, work and the will to lead”, written by Sheryl Sandberg COO of Facebook (Editions WH Allen 2013).
Step by step, we are all moving forward, each at our own pace, literally and figuratively, towards greater awareness and a healthier life!
However, let us never forget, as Michel Serres so aptly wrote
“Nothing brings more direction than changing directions.”
