U.S. EARTH CHARTERING NEWS UPDATE
EARTH
CHARTER USA COMMUNITIES WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBERS
This year has been one
of growth for the Earth Charter at the
grassroots level. Not only have there been many creative
initiatives but also the
national office, Earth Charter USA
Communities Initiatives,
expanded the Board of Directors. The
dedication and
innovation of the new members bring an exciting
energy to the
Board. New members are: Duncan Broyd,
Managing
Principal, Hellmuth,
Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), Trevor Purcell, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of
Africana Studies, at University of South
Florida; Susan
Hussey, Aubrey Organics
International & Co-Founder
Gorilla Theater; Lorna
Taylor Gregory, CEO Premier Eye Care, Inc.
Tony Collins, Vice
President Tucker/Hall Public Relations & Public
Affairs; Andrew Robson,
Ph.D., Associate Dean College of Letters and
Science, University of
Wisconsin Oshkosh; Esther Castain, NGO
delegate to the UN
Commission on Sustainable Development; and Cy
Englert, IBM Information
Technology and Sales Specialist. Returning
Board members are: JoAnn
Urofsky General Manager, WUSF Public
Broadcasting; Maryann
Ferenc Proprietor, Mise en Place; Frank
Sanchez, Partner, CM
Partners; Genie Skypek, Ph.D., President, The
Skypek Group, Inc.;
Benjamin Keyes, Ph.D., Psychotherapist; Rita
Iacino; and Jan Roberts,
Earth Charter Volunteer.
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"GETTING
TO KNOW THE EARTH CHARTER" DVD DISTRIBUTED
The Earth Charter Living
Television Series being produced for
Tampa's Community Access
Television Station has 5 shows "in the
can". The first show is "Getting to Know the
Earth Charter' and
highlights the history
of the Charter, the key principles and what
is being done at the
grassroots level in the US. Twenty-
three
Earth Charter Community
Alliance cities have requested the DVD to
distribute to their
community access stations. It is 29 minutes
long and is also
available for other presentations. Jan
Roberts is
the Executive Producer
and George Sherman is the Technical Editor
and Cameraperson for the
show. Future shows include: Sustainable
Martinis & Wine;
Fair Trade: Is It; What City Festivals Say About
Us; Diversity Makes the
World Go Around; World Music & Its Role in
Social Change; Eat
Chocolate & Change the World; Earth Charter
Community Indicators
Project; Lesbians Who Lunch; Nickel & Dimed:
Our New Philanthropists;
and Earth Charter Organizers: Ordinary
Folks.
Contact Jan at
roberts@transformworld.org if you would like a copy.
They are $10 each
(includes mailing). Checks should be made out to
Earth Charter USA
Communities Initiatives or ECUSA-CI.
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YES!
MAGAZINE CREATES ON-LINE EARTH CHARTER MODULE
YES! A journal of
positive futures, is a magazine that features in-
depth stories on the
social, cultural, economic and political
aspects of our society with
an emphasis on what people are
accomplishing. Fran Korten is the Executive Director and
publisher. They are national partners in more than
"name only",
having produced an
on-line Earth Charter Curricula Module for
informal and formal
education arenas.
The YES! articles
selected for the Earth Charter Curricular Module
demonstrate the
Charter's principles through the positive stories of
peoplein the U.S. and
around the globewho are working on solutions
to social and
environmental challenges.
In addition to offering
free PDFs of the YES! articles, they've also
included Questions for
Students and a Glossary for each article so
students can increase
their vocabulary by defining terms,
demonstrate reading
comprehension and critical thinking skills, and
make connections between
the article's topic(s) and their own lives.
They also offer a YES!
Earth Charter Table of Articles & Principles
that identifies the
Charter's categories and principles that are the
most deeply reflected in
each YES! story.
Go there directly at:
http://www.yesmagazine.org/default.asp?ID=137
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MEET A FEW
OF THE EC SUMMIT ORGANIZERS
Someone once said that
working with the Earth Charter is so
rewarding because "it
is like a tuning fork and attracts the very
best people." So here are a few of the Earth Charter
Summit
organizers for you to
meet:
Chuline Carson, raised
by activist parents in NYC project and in
Harlem. Being outreach
manager for historically black YMCA in
Atlanta sparked her
community organizing. In addition to
social
service agencies, worked
in outdoor/indoor advertising, and twenty
years in Information
Technology. Atlanta EC organizer since
2002.
Andy Robson, Ph.D.
Assoc. Dean College of Letters and Science and
Professor of English,
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh; (Ph.D. from
the Australian National
University; earlier degrees from U. Of
Nottingham and U. Of
London) Creative Muse and organizer for Oshkosh
EC University
endorsement, Summits and implementation since 2001.
John Gibson is an
actively-retired United Methodist minister who
convened the initial EC
community gathering in Indianapolis. Is well-
known as a civic leader,
community organizer, and a 1999 candidate
for Mayor. He has served
on several not-for-profit Boards over the
past 20 years and is the
current President of Earth Charter Indiana, Inc
Ernestine Jackson, BS
Business; Northwestern Univ.; Community
Development activist and
Exec. Director for 3 non-profits for over
30 years with focus on
public policy and emphasis on housing
development; Practicing
Nichiren Buddhist 25 years with 4 years
consulting to Episcopal
Church on economic justice. EC organizer in
Columbus since 2002.
Kat Gjovik, MA Whole
Systems Design; organizational development
professional, coalition
builder and community organizer. Twenty-year
career with US West
Communications, including
operations management
and strategic planning. Office manager for
2004 presidential
election campaign with 600 volunteers.
Seattle EC
organizer since 2001.
Cy Englert, MA,
Environmental Leadership, Naropa Univ., Boulder, CO;
Organized North American
Alliance for Green Education Conference
2002; IBM Information
Technology and Sales Specialist, Project
Manager for Services; 10
years Eco-Tour Guide Sierra Club. EC
organizer for 3 years in Boulder and San Francisco.
Linda Osborn, an artist,
designer and writer has been organizing the
summits in Chicago since
2001. Her years of experience as a speaker
and workshop leader
along with her passion for community building
drive her commitment to
continue to develop a deep core of Earth
Charter awareness
Next month we will
introduce you to the Earth Charter Community
Summit organizers for
St. Petersburg and Tampa.
We'd like to introduce
more Earth Charter Community Summit
organizers so please
send brief bio to info@eccommunities.org
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GRASSROOTS
INITIATIVES BEING PLANNED
If you don't dream it,
it doesn't happen. Earth Charter dreams
that will become
realities include:
ˇ League of EC Voters in Seattle, EC
values based education
and advocacy with
voters, candidates and politicians
ˇ Earth Charter Leadership Academy
Indianapolis to study the
process that led to EC adoption,
and other successful models of
collective consensus
building, and to equip current and emerging
civic leaders to effect
systemic change.
ˇ University and Public Schools
Collaborative Model for
implementation of Earth
Charter in Oshkosh
ˇ Interfaith and Community Alliance to study EC and apply its
principles to local
environmental, economic and social problems with
eventual change in
government and institutional policies in
Columbus, Ohio
All of the above will be
replicable models for communities to use.
If you are working on a
program or activity, please let us know.
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EARTH
CHARTER GRASSROOTS CONTINUES TO GROW
Compiling information on
grassroots activities in the USA requested
by Earth Charter
International for a gathering in Amsterdam in
November, was a
rewarding exercise for Jan Roberts, President of
Earth Charter USA
Communities. Like many people who are
working
hard to make good things
happen in their communities, the Earth
Charter Community Summit
organizers around the country don't make a
hoopla about what they
are doing. However, sharing this
information
builds hope so here is a
sampling to enjoy.
ˇ Informal Leadership Training: Formation
of Earth Charter
Community Alliance, an
informal network of representatives from 35
cities participate in
conference calls, listserv and retreats.
ˇ City Governments: EC resolutions in 4
major cities, and one
county. Santa Barbara, CA
will use EC as framework for relocalizing
of food/energy.
Telluride County Commissioner using EC as framework
for sustainability
planning.
ˇ Universities: University of Wisconsin
at Oshkosh formally
endorsed and
designed/implemented Campus Environmental Audit (one
result- several million
gallons of water saved annually with new
grant to reduce
energy/utilities.) plus a Global Educator
Certificate program
featuring EC. State University of New York at
New Palz established a
new student organization, Student
Organization of Business
Ethics & Research, based on EC. National
Louis University
developed a Master's Program in Social Change using
ECawaiting final
adoption; Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa
Barbara, CA and College
of Menominee Nation in Wisconsin integrated
EC into curricula
ˇ Schools: Middle/ High school workbook
on EC principles
published in accordance
with California educational standards by
Sisters of St. Joseph at
Centers for Social Justice, Santa Rosa, CA.
YES! Magazine posted on-line
EC Curricula Module with articles,
questions and glossaries
Development of Earth Charter Course Book in
second draft in
Corvallis, Iowa for Northwest Environmental
Institute. High School
EC Club formed in Pinellas County.
ˇ Raffi's Earth Charter CD: International
children's singer
and composer, Raffi was
inspired to compose and produce without
charge 5,000 CDs of 3
Earth Charter songs for grassroots
distribution.
ˇ Leahi Millennium Peace Garden
established in Honolulu,
Hawaii.
ˇ Earth Scouts: A national program being
designed for boys and
girls 3 to 15 years of
age which delineates badges based on EC
principles and
cooperative learning. Kids chose the motto: Changing
the World One Fun Badge
at a Time.
ˇ Warminster Energy Advisory Council
formed to reduce energy
expenditures by
Pennsylvania township
ˇ Earth Charter Eco-Tours: In conjunction
with Sierra Club
featuring economics and
politics as well as ecology.
ˇ EC Community Indicators: Tampa is
developing a model.
Collaborators include
World Resources Institute, Site Director from
Harvard School of Public
Health neighborhood study, Principle
Investigator for
National Commission on Children at Risk (funded by
Dartmouth Medical School
and Institute for American Values), USF
Depts in Africana
Studies and Anthropology
ˇ Faith Communities: Adoption of EC by
Episcopal Archdiocese
in Seattle for
interfaith discussions. Integrated into mission and
work of Inter-Religious
Eco-Justice Council in Connecticut.
International EC Day
prayers booklet by Dominican Sinasawa Sisters.
Endorsement by local
Unitarian Universalists, Quakers, and hundreds more.
ˇ Public Events: On-going and growing
World Café
Conversations, Open
Space meetings, multicultural events, potlucks,
concerts, art exhibits,
workshops, and faith communities'
discussions in Summit
cities.
ˇ Earth Charter Voters' Guide 2004
Presidential Election
developed in Seattle and
Indianapolis, distributed nationally to EC
cities. .
ˇ Technology: Purchase of broadband server in co-location
facility in Maryland for
interactive EC events. More than 15
distinct quality,
informative web sites devoted to facilitating and
increasing individual
participation with the EC.
EARTH CHARTER
USA COMMUNITIES INITIATIVES
813-254-8454; INFO@eccommunities.org