Travel 2016
After returning on 31 December 2015 from 21 days of travel during the month,
I was off on 1 January to Pontedera in Italy for
six days with the Stendardo family, before starting a calmer period without
much travel planned. I did attend a conference in Geneva called Geneva
Engage helping international organizations to use the Internet to
increase participation in their meetings. A last-minute request took me to Marrakech,
Morocco, in mid-February for the AIESEC Global Leaders Summit, where I
moderated a panel of candidates for International President and gave the
opening keynote at their Global YouthSpeak Forum on the Sustainable
Development Goals (see separate page).
In March I went to the Netherlands for 9 days of
university seminars, Baha'i gatherings, and the Justice Conference, where I
presented a keynote and co-led a workshop (see separate
report). The first week of April I was back in Pontadera,
and the third week I went to Arendal, Norway, to
participate in a UNEP writers' sprint to draft a new set of guidelines for
Integrated Environmental Assessments (see separate
report), followed by a workshop
on the Sustainable Development Goals in Geneva, where I spoke on
values-based education. In mid-May, I participated in the ebbf - Ethical
Business Building the Future annual conference in Milan
(see separate report), and at the
end of May I went to Kuwait to speak at the Vision
Gulf Business Conference (see separate report).
While it was not actually a trip, I spoke at a second workshop
on the Sustainable Development Goals in Geneva in early July. Later in
July I participated in the French Baha'i Summer School near Angers,
France (see separate report). The last
part of August I spent with my brother Greg and his family in the Czech
Republic, mostly in Hluboka nad Vitavou with its castle (see separate
page). The second week of September I was invited to an interfaith
retreat on everyday spirituality at La Garde near
Bourg-en-Bresse, France (see separate
page), before speaking at an ebbf breakfast in Zurich and spending a
week back in Pontedera, Italy, helping the Stendardos with their garden.
October was the last busy month of the year. On 6 October I flew to Santa
Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, where I organized the 20th annual
conference of the International Environment Forum at Nur University (see separate
report), before going on to Santiago, Chile,
for the dedication of the Baha'i House of Worship for South America on 13-16
October (see separate page).
Then I participated in a Baha'i camp at La Chapelle
d'Abondance in the French Alps, 23-27 October (see separate
page), and then directly to Belgrade, Serbia,
for the 12th Conference of the European Center for Peace and Development,
27-30 October (separate page).
I finished the year with two months without traveling while I convalesced
from hip replacement surgery, but I did attend the Swiss
Baha'i Winter School which was held near Geneva (separate
page).
Pontedera, Italy
The Stendardo family has been part of our Baha'i community in Vernier for
many years, but they have bought a house in rural Tuscany near Pontedera,
between Florence and Pisa, with a big garden for their autistic son. In
early January I went for a week to help clean up construction materials
around the garden, build an area for composting garden waste and a garden
workbench for potting, weatherstrip almost all the windows, and paint those
that had weathered. For more pictures, see separate
page. The first week of April I went back again for a week to finish
weatherstripping the windows, seal and waterproof a terrace, paint a gazebo
and 20 garden lamp posts, restring the clothes line, and plant some flowers.
I also made a quick trip down in August with a friend to deliver some
furniture, and returned for a week of intensive gardening in September.
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The house and part of the large enclosed garden; sunset from the
house
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Luigi and Vida inaugurating the two-bin compost pile; the happiness
of composting
Marrakech, Morocco
AIESEC, the international students organization, held its Global Leaders
Summit in a resort outside the city of Marrakech, Morocco, in mid-February
(see separate page). There was no
time for tourism, although we did cross the centre of the city through
ancient gates going to and from the airport, and I was able to admire the
snow-capped Atlas Mountains in the distance, so my only pictures are of the
hotel and its gardens.
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Hotel Club Eldorado Palmerai where the meeting was held
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There was no time to enjoy the sports facilities; one of the
conference sessions
The Netherlands
Sylvia Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, now an Assistant Professor at Wageningen
University, and her lovely family, hosted me for Baha'i gatherings and
university events, before we went on to the Justice Conference at de Poort
(see separate page).
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A gathering at Sylvia's; the Justice Conference; giving my keynote
Arendal, Norway
Arendal is an old port town on the southern coast of Norway, where I
attended a UNEP workshop to prepare guidelines for Integrated Environmental
Assessment (see separate page). It has
many old buildings from its heyday as a major trading centre.
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The Arendal waterfront
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The church; main square; old houses
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View over Arendal from the heights behind the town
Milan, Italy, ebbf event
In mid-May, I was in Milan for the ebbf - Ethical Business Building the
Future, spring event on the topic of "consultation: beyond decision making,
a tool for learning" (see separate
report).
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ebbf Annual General Meeting; the conference; participating in a
discussion
Kuwait
At the end of May, I was invited to Kuwait to keynote at the Vision Gulf
Business Conference (see separate report),
which was held in a beautiful hotel on the beach. However, since the daytime
temperature was up to 48°C, I only went out briefly, and never saw much of
the city.
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Jumairah Marsilah Beach Hotel
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Hotel beach; Gulf coast looking north to Kuwait City; coastline south
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Jumairah Beach Hotel
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Jumairah Beach Hotel interiors
Angers Baha'i Summer School
The French Baha'i Summer School was held at the Jardins de l'Anjou in La
Pommeraye near Anjou, in the west of France (see the separate
page).
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Les Jardins de l'Anjou
Hluboka, Czech
Republic
This was mostly a family visit to my brother while his children were home
from school, but there was time to walk along the river near their home,
visit Hluboka Castle, and attend an International Symposium on Ethics and
Environmental Health in nearby Ceske Budejovice (see separate
report).
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Gregory, my sister-in-law Emi, and Mina at Townshend International
School; Hluboka Castle; Ceske Budejovice central square
La Garde,
Bourg-en-Bresse, France
On 7-11 September, I participated in an interfaith retreat (see
separate page) in the Domaine de la Garde and its chateau near
Bourg-en-Bresse, France.
Domaine de la Garde
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Chateau de la Garde
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Domaine de la Garde from the cross
Pontadera, Italy
I spent the week of 16-23 September with the Stendardo family in their new
vacation home in Pontadera (see separate
page for all visits) and helped some more in the garden.
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Part of the garden; me with the Stendardos; old barn wall in the
garden
20th IEF Conference, Santa
Cruz, Bolivia
Santa Cruz de la Sierra is a city of 1.5 million in the interior of Bolivia
east of the Andes. The International Environment Forum chose the
Baha'i-inspired Nur University there for its 20th Annual Conference on 7-9
October on the theme "Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals as
Communities and Individuals" (see separate
report) and further photos here.
I also gave a talk for 90 students at the university on Monday, on their
personal responsibility for addressing climate change and the Sustainable
Development Goals.
Santa Cruz has a beautiful old town centre with a central square and
cathedral, and a lively night life with many celebrations and music in the
square.
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The cathedral; the central square; city hall on the square
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The square is full of people; Nur University where we held our
conference
Baha'i Temple Dedication,
Santiago, Chile
The last continental Baha'i House of Worship, for South America, was
dedicated in Santiago, Chile, on 13-16 October, with 5,000 Baha'is attending
the dedication and associated conference (see separate
report). I made a brief presentation on behalf of the Swiss Baha'i
Community, and met many old friends from all over the world.
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The new Baha'i House of Worship for South America; part of the
audience at the conference; finding old friends
La Chapelle d'Abondance,
France
The high alpine valley of the Abondance is a beautiful place for study and
recreation. Our Autumn Baha'i Camp was a delightful experience (see separate
page).
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Valley of the Abondance; the group (after I left)
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The waterfall/La cascade
Belgrade, Serbia
The European Center for Peace and Development conference was held as usual
in the Belgrade City Hall with distinguished speakers (see separate
page).
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Swiss Baha'i
Winter School
The Swiss Baha'i Winter School was held at Chavannes-de-Bogis near Geneva,
so I did not have to travel far (see separate
page).
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