Travel 2017
I took no trips in the first three months of 2017 as I was still
convalescing from my hip operation. In mid-April I went to the Netherlands
for a week, staying mostly with my friends Sylvia and Onno Vinkhuyzen in
Heelsum and attending the Justice Conference in de
Poort, which was also the 21st International Environment Forum
conference (see separate page). I also
gave some talks to Baha'is and their friends, and lectured at Wageningen
University on "What Values for Sustainability?" While it was not a trip, on
Earth Day 22 April I took part in the Geneva March
for Science, one of many held around the world. Next was a short working
trip to Madrid (without photos). In early May, ebbf - Ethical Business
Building the Future, held its spring event near Geneva
(see separate report). On 11 June
I went to Basel in the north of Switzerland for the
opening of an exposition of the paintings of Mark
Tobey, including four from my own collection (see separate
page). From 23 June to 5 July I was in Italy, mostly at Pontedera
in Tuscany with my friends the Stendardos (see separate
page), but also with a day trip to Venice to see the big Mark Tobey
retrospective at the Guggenheim Collection (see separate page on Venice).
From 7-9 July, I went to central France for a meeting of the Triglav Circle
on rurality (see separate page) where we
stayed in one chateau and visited another. Later in July my son and
grandchildren came visiting from Quebec, so we went to the Puy
de Fou park in the Vendée region of western France, and then to Paris
on the weekend. I also spent a day at the Louvre
museum. In August I visited my brother and his family in Bulgaria (see separate
page), followed by a week at the French Bahá'í Summer School south of
Angers (separate page). In September, I
returned to La Garde near Bourg-en-Bresse, France, for a retreat on art and
spirituality (see separate page), and in
October I went to Bucharest for the ebbf autumn event (see separate
page), followed late in the month by the annual European Center for
Peace and Development conference in Belgrade (see separate
page), where I spoke on international governance for peace. In
November I was invited to Prague to help the Charles
University Environment Center celebrate its 25th anniversary (see separate
page), and to Nairobi for an expert group to
advise UN Environment on its engagement with faith-based organizations. The
year closed with the Swiss Baha'i Winter
School in Leysin.
de Poort, The Netherlands
The Justice Conference/IEF Conference was highly stimulating as usual, with
excellent keynotes and workshops, and a chance to catch up with many old
friends (see separate page and IEF
conference report).
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Conference group photo; the IEF panel; lunch with friends
March for Science, Geneva
I joined hundreds of scientists and supporters of science who gathered on
the lakeside in Geneva to March for Science (see separate
report).
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Marching for science on the Geneva lakefront
ebbf event, Chavannes de Bogis, Switzerland
On 3-7 May, ebbf - Ethical Business Building the Future, held its annual
spring conference at Chavannes de Bogis near Geneva. The theme was “Beyond
Diversity”, and I was asked to give the opening keynote on “Systems Science
Beyond Diversity” (see separate report).
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Part of the audience; giving my keynote; the newly elected ebbf
Governing Board
Basel, Switzerland
Between art galleries, I had a little time to walk around the historic
centre of the city (see separate
page for more views and the Mark Tobey exposition).
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Old centre of Basel; cathedral; Rhine River
Pontedera, Tuscany, Italy
My 12 days visiting the Stendardos in June-July were mostly spent in their
beautiful garden (see separate page).
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Venice
I could not take pictures at the Mark Tobey exposition, but did capture some
views along the Grand Canal (see separate page).
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Nievre Department, France
The Triglav Circle met in the Nievre Department in central France to discuss
rurality and the future of rural areas and agriculture. We met in one
chateau and visited another (see separate
page).
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Chateau de Poussignol; Triglav Circle; Chateau de Quincize
France
With my son and grandchildren from Quebec, we visited the Puy
de Fou park in the Vendée region of western France, and spend a day in
Paris, after which I visited the Louvre
museum.
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Puy de Fou park with historical spectacles: a Roman colosseum, a
medieval village, and a Viking attack
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Kights in the time of Joan of Arc; King Arthur's roundtable;
spectacles of water and music
Paris
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Monuments of Paris
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The Louvre museum
Bulgaria
Visiting my brother and his family in Bulgaria, after a night in Sofia, we
drove to the Black Sea coast, and then back to Sofia and down to my
brother's house in the village of Krupnik (see separate
page).
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The Dahl family; the Bulgarian countryside
French Summer School
The French Baha'i Summer School south of Angers, with 300 participants, was
a wonderful opportunity for study, the arts, and sharing among all
generations (see separate page).
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The Summer School group; after the evening programme; beautiful gardens
La Garde, Bourg-en-Bresse, France
I returned to the Domaine of La Garde for a retreat on art and spirituality
(see separate page).
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Chateau de La Garde; group meeting; at the cross in the forest
ebbf event, Bucharest, Romania
The ebbf autumn event was held in Bucharest, Romania, but there was no time
for sightseeing (see separate
page).
Part of the ebbf group
ECPD Conference, Belgrade
The European Center for Peace and Development, affiliated with the
University for Peace established by the United Nations, organized an
International Round Table in Belgrade City Hall on ”Peace and Democratic
Multilateralism” on 27 October 2017, followed the next day by a Global
Youth Forum with over 50 participants from many countries, on ”Youth
Peace-builders for a Sustainable Future” (see separate
report, and more details on the IEF
web site). I helped to chair both events and gave a paper in the
Round Table on “UN Charter Revision as the Foundation for Peace”.
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Belgrade City Hall; keynote speakers including Federico Mayor,
former Director General of UNESCO, and 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Ouided
Bouchamaoui; me as co-chair
Prague,
Czech Republic
The Charles University Environment Center invited me to speak at its 25th
anniversary celebration on 21 November (see separate
page).
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Central square of old Prague; me with founder of Environment Center
Bedrich Moldan and his wife
Nairobi,
Kenya
I was invited by UN Environment (formerly UNEP) to Nairobi on 30 November
for a Consultation meeting on Engaging with Faith-based organizations,
representing the Bahá'í Faith through the International Environment Forum,
our Bahá'í-inspired organization for environment and sustainability. For a
report on the meeting, see the IEF
web site. While the visit was too short to see my many local
friends, I did enjoy the hospitality of two Bahá'í families, met a number
of former colleagues at UNEP, and was interviewed by a student doing a
Ph.D. on experts at UNEP.
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UN Office in Nairobi
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Participants in the consultation; Dr. Iyad Abumoghli, meeting
organizer
Leysin,
Switzerland
I tutored a study circle during the Swiss Baha'i Winter School in the
beautiful Alpine village of Leysin, with over 280 participants of all ages
from many countries (see separate page).
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Mountains around Leysin, in Valais; Swiss Baha'i Winter School;
youth performance