The History of GEN 2000-2001

The Ecovillage Millennium, 2000

In the year 2000 a long held vision of creating a global magazine that could present the richness of the ecovillage movement came true. Karen Svensson and Hildur Jackson were editors on the first issue of the magazine called The Ecovillage Millennium (downloadable as a pdf document) The magazine was followed by a second edition in early 2001, called The Ecovillage Living (also downloadable), this time with education as its main theme.

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Living and Learning

Since the meeting in 1998 on: Education, Sustainability and Spirituality in the 21st Century, GEN has coined the term "Living and Learning" to refer to an education paradigm whereby learning is not separated from living, as students learn by experiencing and implementing the elements of a sustainable lifestyle in ecovillages. As a result GEN identified 3 ecovillages in the Southern hemisphere, the so called Living and Learning Centres that could form a seed group for the programe.

See Activities Living and Learning for more..

Ecosoc status for GEN, 2000

At the meeting of the Economic and Social Council Non-governmental Organizations Committee of the United Nations in June, 2000, GEN was approved as an official UN NGO with Special Consultative Status. This ECOSOC UN NGO status was the culmination of a long journey which had begun with our initial application back in 1998. In the spring of 1999, GEN had to re-apply again with new documentation. Then in a dramatic session in June, 1999, the application, which appeared to be sailing along with broad support, became embroiled in an international political situation, as one of the members of GEN was the Ladakh project based in Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan claimed these villages were in their territory, and this disagreement precipitated a deadlock in our approval process, as this committee generally works on consensus.

Our application was postponed over the next two sessions in 2000, while a solution to the impasse was sought. At last, an agreement was made, and GEN was approved during the summer session. This is an honor for such a young NGO as GEN, as most ECOSOC member NGOs are much larger and have been established for many years. This status will give us direct access to the UN system and the chance to join in the work of various committees relevant to our concerns to promote sustainable communities and practices worldwide.

Quote from the ECOSOC charter:The Economic and Social Council Non-governmental Organizations Committee of the United Nationswas established by the Charter as the principal organ, under the authority of the General Assembly, to promote: (a) higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development; (b) solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems; and international cultural and educational cooperation; and (c) universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

read more at: http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ecosoc/

Website, 2000

In the year 2000 we implemented four new databses:

• The Ecovillage Directory
• The Events database, with information on upcoming courses and events related to ecovillages and sustainability in general
• The News section with updates about ecovillages and sustainability
• The Resource database, where you will find books, videos, magazines and weblinks for related organizations and information material.

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GEN-Europe receives a grant from the European Commission Directorate for Environment, July 2001

In June 2001 GEN-Europe received a grant from the European Commission Directorate General of Environment amounting to 72.000 Euros. The grant is earmarked for developing a wide range PR tools aiming at disseminating the concept of ecovillages. GEN-Europe prepares an exhibition, flyers (in 9 languages), a CD-Rom and a newsletter. Furthermore the grant covers the general costs of running of the association.

This grant is a result of about a years work, since Gaia Trust announced that it will cut its finantial support to GEN. During the assembly of members in Poland GEN-Europe celebrated it with champagne and a small ritual to mark this threshold in the history of the European ecovillage association.
This recognition is a great incentive to go on with our activities and keep on developing a common dream for the ecovillages and the Planet.