Founex Conference: "One of the best intellectual exchanges"  by
Maurice Strong  The most important single event in the run-up to
Stockholm was an informal meeting we convened in June 1971 in a
motel in Founex, outside Geneva, with twenty seven leading
experts and policymakers.  The meeting was chaired by Gamani
Corea, with Mahbub ul Haq as rapporteur. Others present included
David Runnalls and Jim MacNeill, who have each gone on to hold
senior positions in both Canadian and international environment
and development organizations.  The discussions were intense and
passionate, characterized by a degree of intellectual integrity
and rigour that ultimately enabled the participants to find
common ground despite diverging opinions and interests.  The
meeting is inscribed in my memory as one of the best
intellectual exchanges I have ever participated in. It had a
profound influence both on the Stockholm Conference and the
evolution of the concept of the environment-development
relationship.  By now, both Corea and H