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Nathalie Chavanne-O'Neill was studying at a foreign language school in Paris when, in 1974, she was introduced to the work of Initiatives of Change, then known as Moral Rearmament. Two stays at the international center in Caux, Switzerland, left a lasting impression on her, as she came face to face with the idea that no life is too small to make a positive difference to those around her. Once she had completed her studies, she was invited to England, to develop her knowledge of the movement and deepen her own experience of the standards of living and state of mind it advocated.
Team life and activities, welcoming personalities at work in different spheres of public life as well as agents of change involved in distant countries historically linked to the British Crown (Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, South Africa, the West Indies, India): the stay at the Charles Street center in London was to cover many learning registers, responding to an intuition from the very beginning: "People will be your books".
The quality of life and atmosphere had to be such as to enable guests from all walks of life to engage in meaningful exchanges, in confidence and security, sheltered from the media spotlight for some. An experience that Nathalie would later put to good use in the French centers of Boulogne and Issy-les-Moulineaux, and even in her own home. The quality of the support she received in London, as well as in other homes in Caux, the USA, Ireland, Asia Plateau in India and the Paris region, helped her to build her personality and her commitment to the movement.
One discovery that particularly struck Nathalie during her encounters with people involved with Initiatives of Change was their daily practice of silence and inner listening in search of transcendence to shape their existence, their relationships and guide their actions. She also wanted to set foot on this path, in a quest for meaning in her own life.
In the 1980s-90s, she was given the opportunity to collaborate on Changer magazine, the movement's French-language organ of written expression. There, she received training that she continues to benefit from to this day, relaying experiences from the field or writing testimonials that convey the spirit of the movement. She also worked on the French internal newsletter Quinze-Echos.
In 1984, she married Frédéric Chavanne. They had two children. Having grown up in Morocco, he drew her into the adventure of relations between the Arab and Western worlds, notably in Tunisia, where they visited on several occasions. She also traveled with him to South Africa and Cameroon to support local teams at youth forums.
Between 1998 and 2015, she and Frédéric, alongside Tunisian colleagues and friends in France, led intercultural dialogue forums, with the aim of warding off the identity-based tensions that were severely threatening social cohesion in France. Initiatives from which they have learned that there can be no real dialogue unless one is prepared to surrender to the logic of the other.
Between 2003 and 2013, in the wake of the Decade for Peace launched by the United Nations following the events of September 2001 in New York, Nathalie was involved in a program of Education for Peace, living together and dialogue designed for young people in the junior high school years (11-12 years). In 2017 and 2018, her experience as an animator was put to good use in a citizenship awareness program, Oui Act, run in middle and high schools in towns around Paris with underprivileged young people exposed to the risks of radicalization.
In Versailles, where she now lives, she takes part in an intercultural group of women committed to making the most of their differences to build a society where everyone has their place.
Since 2015, Nathalie has been a member of the Board of Directors of IC United Kingdom.
