[saymaListserv] Earth Charter announcements

Thu Feb 9 21:10:27 GMT 2006

Since we endorsed the Earth Charter, I recieve periodic updates from Costa 
Rica.  I pass them along for your info.....Kristi

VIEW THE FORMATTED NEWSFLASH HERE.

1. The Earth Charter +5 Report celebrates the past, looks to the future
Costa Rica, January 2006. "EC+5" – which gathered 400 people from around the 
world in Amsterdam in November 2005 – will be remembered as a high point, and 
a turning point. It was there that we celebrated the great work being done 
around the world, inspired by the Earth Charter.  It was there that we 
rededicated ourselves to making the message of the Earth Charter more and more visible 
and relevant to the growing movement for a sustainable world. This meeting of 
people from diverse cultures, generations, professions, religions, and 
countries was marked by enthusiasm and a vitality that ensures that the Earth Charter 
Initiative will continue to reach farther, and higher. This report, written by 
Wendy Harcourt (editor of the journal Development) and beautifully designed 
by Adriana Molina (staff designer at UPEACE), captures the entirety of the 
conference with summaries, quotes, and images. Download it online at 
www.earthcharter.org.

2.  Kamla Chowdhry, Earth Charter Commissioner from India, is deceased - but 
her legacy lives on
India, 4 January 2006.  It is with great sadness that we report that Kamla 
Chowdhry passed away. She was a great human being, a friend to many, and a 
tireless Earth Charter Commissioner. In her advanced age, she traveled the world in 
support of the Earth Charter and its ideals; and it appears her last such 
international trip was to participate in EC+5, where she made important 
contributions to the discussions about the Transition and the future of the Initiative. 
 We will certainly miss her. We are planning a web-based memorial site; 
please send remembrances of Kamla to info at earthcharter.org

3.  The Transition begins, with a focus on planning, designing, reorganizing, 
and capacity building
Sweden and Costa Rica, January 2006.  On January 1, the Earth Charter 
Initiative began the process of implementing the decision taken by the Steering 
Committee to launch a "Transition to Phase 3" -- to expand and restructure the 
Earth Charter Initiative. Alan AtKisson began working as the International 
Transition Director out of his office in Stockholm, Sweden. He also spent several 
days in Costa Rica with the Staff of the new Earth Charter Center for Education 
for Sustainable Development at UPEACE ("The Earth Charter Center for ESD", for 
short). He and Center Director Mirian Vilela worked on organizational and 
strategic planning with the whole staff, supported also by Steering Committee 
member Rick Clugston. Many things are happening all at once, from building a new 
International Council to the development of new websites ... so we ask your 
patience! You can follow the progress of the Transition through a new "blog" (web 
log), http://earthcharter.blogs.com/transition.

4. Earth Charter Initiative to collaborate with ICLEI World Congress 
Capetown, February 2006. The ICLEI World Congress happens once every three 
years, and is one of the world's pre-eminent events in the field of local and 
regional sustainability. ECI will be facilitating a session on educating and 
mobilizing local communities for sustainability, using the Earth Charter directly 
as well as other methods that are in harmony with the Charter. ICLEI - Local 
Governments for Sustainability has long been an important partner and Earth 
Charter Endorser; in fact, the Earth Charter has been written directly into 
ICLEI's constitution. Konrad Otto-Zimmerman (Secretary-General of ICLEI) ran the 
Local Communities session at EC+5, and Alan AtKisson (ECI International 
Transition Director) will lead the session in Capetown. We expect our working 
partnership with ICLEI to continue to grow. For information on the Congress, visit 
www.iclei.org.

5.  Imperial College London to host Earth Charter seminar on "The Value of 
Values"
London, March 2006.  A special small-scale, invitational seminar will be held 
in London in March to address the role of global ethics in both sustainable 
development policy and in business. Participants will be leaders in government, 
business, and civil society in the UK; speakers will include Earth Charter 
Commissioners HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal and Ruud Lubbers, as well as 
Alexander Likhotal of Green Cross International, Herman Mulder of ABN AMRO Bank and 
UK-based sustainability expert John Elkington, The event will be filmed, and 
the results are expected to be made available in report and video form. 

And More ...
6. Portugal's Ministry of Education has adopted and translated the Earth 
Charter Guidebook for Teachers, and is disseminating it in the country. 
7. The Earth Charter in Action book will soon be available on-line, for free 
download, as well as for sale.  Watch for news at our website.
8.  The staff of the Earth Charter Center in Costa Rica will travel to 
Stockholm, Sweden to attend (pro bono) an intensive training session on 12-15 
February in Stockholm, offered by Alan AtKisson's consulting group. Afterward, staff 
will continue Transition planning in Stockholm. 
9. Nordic Earth Charter organizers will meet in Oslo on 17 February, and 
Green Cross Sweden will focus its annual meeting on The Earth Charter in Action, 
on 25 March in the city of Åre (which has formally endorsed the Charter). 
Speaking at the event will be Oscar Motomura from the business sector (Brazil), and 
Oren Lyons, the indigenous leader of the Onandaga nation (located in North 
America), among others.
10. The French nonprofit Association Pour la Terre has produced three CDs 
with songs and music by major international artists dedicated to the Earth 
Charter Principles and the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable 
Development.  More information.   See an article from the San Francisco Chronicle 
here.
11. Earth Charter Commissioner Wangari Maathai to visit Tampa on 23 March, 
sponsored by Earth Charter Communities USA (ECCUSA) and the University of South 
Florida Patel Center for Global Solutions.
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