I frequently have to travel for work, Bahá'í
activities or family visits. In 2005 I was away from my home in Geneva for
145 days. I usually do not take a camera with me as picture-taking often
gets in the way of other things, but a few illustrations from recent trips
are included below.
In January I attended the Mauritius International Meeting on Small Island
Developing States (SIDS). This intergovernmental meeting organized by the
United Nations reviewed action on the SIDS programme agreed in Barbados 10
years ago in implementation of the recommendations in Agenda 21 which I
helped to draft. I was a member of the delegation of the South Pacific
Applied Geosciences Commission (
http://www.sopac.org/)
and helped them to launch the Environmental Vulnerability Index (
http://www.vulnerabilityindex.net/)
which I helped to design. I also represented the Global Islands Network (
http://www.globalislands.net)
and the International Environment Forum (
https://iefworld.org/),
which co-sponsored a panel discussion with the CSD Education Caucus which
I chaired.
I also represented the International Environment Forum at the UN
Commission on Sustainable Development in New York in April.
In the summer I taught courses at three Baha'i Summer Schools in Cyprus
(where there were also press interviews), Sweden and Italy. In Sweden my
good friend and IEF general secretary Sylvia Karlsson arranged a public
lecture at the Baha'i Centre in Uppsala and a visit to Carl Linnaeus' home
and garden.
I took part in Governing Board meetings of the European Baha'i Business
Forum (
http://ebbf.org) in Madrid, Acuto
(Italy) and Bradford (England) as well as the EBBF Annual Conference in de
Poort, the Netherlands, where I gave a keynote introduction. EBBF also
arranged for me to speak for the second year at an AIESEC student
conference on ethical leadership in London.
I represented the International Environment Forum at the World Science
Forum organized by UNESCO, the International Council for Science and the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest in November, where I also
recorded three radio interviews. I also represented IEF and EBBF and
presented a paper at the International Sustainability Conference in Basel
in October. In December I participated in the 9th Annual Conference and
General Assembly of the IEF in Orlando, Florida (
https://iefworld.org/conf9.htm)
on "Education for Sustainable Development: the Spiritual Dimension".
IEF Annual Conference, Orlando, Florida |
Group discussion with two Baha'is from Haiti |
Academic trips included a lecture at the University of Corsica in May
organized in collaboration with the Baha'is, a seminar on islands at the
University of La Rochelle, France, in June, a seminar the Central European
University in Budapest, and two days of seminars at the University of Bari
in southern Italy in November, where the Rector made an introduction
praising the Baha'i Faith and presented me with the medal of the
University. In September, I went to Montpellier (France) to discuss
collaboration with a new coral reef and coastal zone research programme in
the South Pacific.
The Baha'is of Monaco arranged for me to give a public lecture on
Sustainable Development in the Mediterranean, and two other talks in
Monaco in October, where HRH Prince Albert II invited me to lunch.
The Casino of Monte Carlo |
Gardens in Monaco |
View from the train station |
Harbor and Royal Palace behind
on the hill |
|
Monaco |
Family visits included trips to California to see my Mother in March,
August and December, a visit to my Father in Maryland in April and a
return for his funeral in June.
Mother's house in Carmel, California
Deer grazing below the deck |
Carmel
California
August
2005
|
Back terrace overlooking the forest |
Mother at the Baha'i party |
The
Baha'is organized a party in August for the long-time members of
their community |
Some of Mother's Baha'i friends
at the party |
|
There is
always work to do around the house like hauling firewood
and unjaming the chimney damper |
|
I also stopped to see my son Alexander, his wife Mahalia and stepson
Jéremie in Quebec in September, returning to see my new grandson Benjamin
as well in December.
Mahalia is happy that Alex does the dishes |
Mahalia and Jeremie prepare lunch |
Alex and Mahalia's new house
in Lévis, Quebec |
Backyard and swimming pool |
The house in December snow |
Benjamin in late December |
|
A proud and loving father |
In December I traveled to Taiwan to do research for the World Economic
Forum as the guest of the government. There was time on the weekend to see
International Environment Forum member Aaron Blomely and to meet the
Baha'is and their friends at the Taipei Baha'i Centre.
Aaron Blomely and me |
At the Taipei Baha'i Centre |