At the opening ceremony on 23 October, Mr. Kurt Bolliger, President of the Swiss Red Cross, which was hosting the Conference, gave a welcoming address to the delegates. He recalled that 85 years ago, in 1901, Henry Dunant had received the first Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian action. “It behoves us, particularly during this ‘International Year of Peace’, to do our utmost to show ourselves worthy of this heritage—not by making mere solemn appeals, nor by interceding in high-level politics, but through specific, daily humanitarian action which demands neither gratitude nor publicity”, declared Mr. Bolliger.