Initiatives of Change - South Africa is joining the Lyndi Fourie Foundation International to stage an international conference in Bloemfontein, South Africa, from 26 to 30 September 2014, with the theme, Freedom - Our Responsibility.
The intention of this conference is to kick-start a New Culture of Sustainability, Empowerment and Integrity.
'This will take place 20 years after the first democratic elections in South Africa
– a good time to reflect about Freedom on a Global Scale …and the power of conciliation in conflict situations.
As humans we are inter-connected and what we do affects the whole world.'
The conference will provide a platform for pioneers and leaders to present and share ideas, experiences and practical models which promote freedom, peace and prosperity for communities, thus contributing to the vision of a new culture.
The conference has the endorsement of Cornelio Sommaruga former President of ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) and Rajmohan Gandhi Ph.D., biographer and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, and a research professor at the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.
The speakers confirmed so far include:
Hans Rudolf Herren, Switzerland and US. President of the Millennium Foundation in Arlington, Virginia (USA). Founder and President of the Biovision Foundation for Ecological Development. Winner of the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize 2013’ and the World Food Prize.
Ginn Fourie, South Africa. Co-Founder and director of the Lyndi Fourie Foundation. Mother of Lyndi, who died in an attack by freedom fighters in South Africa before democracy.
Bedan Mbugua, Kenya. Regional General Manager of Royal Media, Kenya. Former journalist and Editor in Chief of People, former editor of Beyond, a magazine banned in 1988 after exposing government rigging in elections.
Letlapa Mphahlele, South Africa. President of the Pan-Africanist Congress and former Commander of the Azanian Peoples’ Liberation Army.
Yeah Samaké, Mali. Social entrepreneur, politician and executive director of the Empower Mali Foundation.
Wilhelm Verwoerd, South Africa. Since 2002 has worked extensively with ex-combatants and survivors from all sides of the conflict in Northern Ireland. Author of My Winds of Change and many other books and publications. Grandson of the founding father of apartheid in South Africa, Dr Hendrik Verwoerd.
Registration for the conference can be made online and more information can be obtained from the website www.zafor.org