1994

A group of NGO’s convinced of the basic need to consider values in global affairs gathered at the first Preparatory Conference for the World Social Summit on Social Development (UNWSSD) in 1994. The group elected Bawa Jain, Rev. Chung Lee, and Dr. Nancy Roof as co-chairmen. Ambassador Juan Somavia, Chairman of the UNWSS became the chief supporter of the effort, giving it the legitimacy that it needed.

The Values Caucus took its inspiration from a "Seminar on Ethical and Spiritual Dimensions of Social Progress". The Seminar was hosted by the Government of Slovania and financed by voluntary contributions from the Governments of Austria, France and Switzerland. It was held in October 1994 as part of the preparation for the UNWSSD to be held in Denmark in March 1995. Amb. Danilo Turk, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Slovenia to the United Nations, was one of the first guests to speak at a Values Caucus meeting and sharing his experiences from the seminar, he expressed the importance of working with values at the United Nations.