GEN at United Nations

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GEN's activities at UN level in 2002:

January 2002:

GEN hosted 2 WSSD Prepcom-2 side events in NY, “The Ecovillage Movement in Agenda 21” and “Building Ecovillages to Create a Sustainable Earth.” Among the programs described were GEN’s Living and Learning Centers, linking new and existing ecovillages in a South-North and South-South exchange network. South-South examples included Sarvodaya in Sri Lanka and the Permaculture and Ecovillages Institute (IPEC) in Cerrado, Brazil.

February 2002:

GEN co-hosted a Prepcom-2 side event in NY, “Proposal for an Ecovillage Development and Training Program which could be advanced and/or adopted through the Earth Summit process” featuring Rob Wheeler from the USA, Biko Casini from Thlolego, South Africa, Rashmi Mayur from India and other ecovillage network representatives.

February 2002:

The fourth UNITAR Ecovillage Training hosted over 40 participants from Alaska, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Burma, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hawaii, Holland, Iceland, India, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tasmania, and USA.

During 2002:

GEN in partnership with the Ecovillage Training Center in the United States hosted participants from Colombia, Ghana, Canada, UK, Thailand, Mexico and the USA for training along the lines of the UNITAR program.

March-April 2002:

GEN hosted two side events at the WSSD Prepcom 3 on “Ecovillage Visions: Indigenous People and Sustainability” and a more detailed look at the ecovillage model, with case studies of Midrand Ecovillage Project near Johannesburg, Tlholego Ecovillage (a rural African community offering tours of the ecovillage and its organic agriculture training program during the WSSD), and the IISF's Ecovillage Earthquake Reconstruction Projects in India.

May-June 2002:

GEN sent a delegation of 2 representatives to the WSSD Prepcom-4 in Bali and hosted a side event, “Restore the Earth: Johannesburg and Tlholego Ecovillage Projects and Partnership Initiatives“ which described Human Ecology and Sustainable Communities: preserving and restoring green space, water supplies and other resources. GEN also participated in the Virtual Exhibit which profiled Type II initiatives with Short Videos which were webstreamed on a special Summit Website.

July 2002:

GEN provided speakers for the World Civil Society Forum in Geneva on the theme: Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development and Civil Society. Rob Wheeler, International Institute for Sustainable Future, presented on Alternative Strategies as the Local Initiatives for Sustainable Development with Specific Attention to the Asian Region and Philippines. Making reference to the UN Secretary General's task force on implementation, Lucilla Borio, GEN board member for Europe presented on local communities efforts and realities, and GEN strategies to maximize positive impact on local and global scale, including energy and water facilities issues.

July 2002:

GEN’s president was the guest of honor at a State Dinner in Pingvellur. The Secretary General for the Environment, Mr. Magnus Johannesson, was able to discuss Iceland’s objectives for the Johannesburg Summit, as Mr. Johannesson had only recently returned from Bali, was at the two prepcomms in New York, and was to lead the Icelandic delegation to the World Summit. GEN discussed the establishment ecovillage trainings in Iceland and of an international panel of oceanic change, similar in all respects to IPCC.

August 2002:

GEN participated in the Stakeholder Forum on Implementation Conference in Johannesburg. Our sessions focused on how we can attract and build support and establish a new model of integrated, community-based development that can greatly improve the quality and condition of life for people living in rural communities around the world.

August 2002:

GEN Type II Initiative official launch: In preparation for the WSSD, GEN participated in the organization of six Regional Pre-Summit Workshops for local authorities, a project being lead by UNITAR through its CIFAL program, the UN HABITAT and the World Federation of United Cities (UTO). The results were presented in Johannesburg as a Type II Initiative “Local capacitybuilding and training for sustainable urbanization”- a training program for local government officials that included ecovillage components.
Aug-Sep 2002: GEN, in partnership with the EcoEarth Alliance and other NGO partnership programs participated in the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa. The GEN delegation consisted of 32 people from 28 countries credentialed in Johannesburg for the entire WSSD and several weeks surrounding. GEN offered presentations, free literature in 12 languages, side events and stands in several venues around the summit, held daily meditations in association with the UN Spiritual and Religious Caucus at the Ubuntu site, and daily participated in the official Summit at Sandton Center. GEN provided a stand at the NGO Global Forum at Nasrec and at the UNEP/UNDP Community Kraal. GEN led UN delegate and NGO tours to the Midrand Youth Ecovillage it had sponsored in Ivory Park. There delegates witnessed transformative examples of sustainable development, including organic farming for local food security; green energy such as smokeless umbhawulas (coal fires), and ceilings; solar water heaters; recycling of paper, glass, tin, plastic; youth enterprise selling reconditioned bicycles; microlending; and earth houses including green technologies and co-operative living.
Aug-Sep 2002: GEN-Europe with support of the European Commission, Directorate General for the Environment (DGE) provided a photo exhibit for the WSSD and arranged for European representatives meet the top officer of the DGE, Mrs. Ilva Tiveus.

September 2002:

A delegation of five members represented GEN at the 55th Annual DPI/NGO Conference at the UN Headquarters, New York. Theme of the Conference: “Rebuilding Societies Emerging from Conflict - A Shared Responsibility”. GEN in association with The Spiritual Caucus and The Values Caucus, sponsored a midday NGO workshop on "Rebuilding Societies – A New Approach".

December 2002:

GEN provided the CSD Secretariat our inputs and comments on the WSSD follow up process, specifically related to implementation of the WSSD’s Sustainable Development Partnerships and the Participation of Major Groups.

GEN in partnership with the Ecovillage Training Center in the United States hosted participants from UK, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Bangladesh, Congo, Uruguay, Brazil, Germany and the USA for training along the lines of the Findhorn UNITAR program. This was the sixth annual program of this type at the Ecovillage Training Center since 1994.

August 2000:

A delegation of eight members represented GEN in the 53rd Annual DPI/NGO Conference at the UN Headquarters, New York. Theme of the Conference: “Global Solidarity: The Way to Peace and International Cooperation”. GEN sponsored the midday side-event “Ecovillages: Providing a Model for Sustainable Living and Global Solidarity.”

October 2000:

UNESCO agreed to institutionally endorse the international conference “Spirit of Learning: Soul in Education,” under GEN auspices, which intended to strengthen the international collective effort toward an education containing universal values. We were authorised to use the International Year for the Culture of Peace logo in our printed materials and we were very pleased to host amongst our presenters Ms Ibtissam Al Bassam, Director of Teachers Section at UNESCO, and Mr. Alfredo Sfeir-Younis, Director of the World Bank in Geneva.
October 2000: The Ecovillage Network of the Americas, a charter member of GEN, provided training workshops in natural building, appropriate technology and sustainable village design to war refugee populations in rural Colombia.

Events by years:

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
sideevents and more…

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