Initiatives of Change is a diverse, global network committed to building trust across the world's divides. It comprises people of many cultures, nations, beliefs and backgrounds who are committed to transforming society through changes in individuals and relationships, starting in their own lives. It was first known as The Oxford Group, arising from its work among university students in the late 1
920s. In 1938, as European nations re-armed military, its originator, Frank Buchman, called for ‘moral and spiritual rearmament’ as the way to build a ‘hate-free, fear-free, greed-free world’. Following World War II, Moral Re-Armament (MRA), as it had become known, launched a programme of moral and spiritual reconstruction to foster change in private and public life based on a change in motivation and character. It worked for reconciliation between France and Germany, and between Japan and many other Asian neighbours. It was involved in the process of decolonisation, and in forging industrial teamwork and harmonious race relations. It was also active in inter-religious relations and in the struggle for the rights of indigenous peoples. More recently, it has been involved in the emerging democracies of Central and Eastern Europe and in the quest of ‘good governance’. National bodies are financed by individual gifts and by foundations, and for certain specific programmes, by institutional grants. In 2001, Moral Re-Armament changed its name to Initiatives of Change. Friends of Moral Re-Armament (India) is an Educational Public Charitable Trust established in 1961 and registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950. This Trust looks after the activities of Initiatives of Change in India. Developement of character and creation of a value-based society are its objectives. The Board of Trustees meets four times a year. The accounts are audited annually by M/s S. Billimoria & Company and are filed with the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), Mumbai, and Charity Commissioner, Mumbai. Asia Plateau is the training and conference center owned by the Trust and it is located in the Western hills of Maharashtra at Panchgani, 100 km from Pune.
