EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Eight, Number Five July/August 1999 EARTH CHARTER 2000 CAMPAIGN NEEDS FACILITATORS "The fundamental task of the Earth Charter process is to shape an ethical framework and to identify those basic policy commitments necessary to ensure a viable future for the community of life on Earth." Richard M. Clugston, Earth Charter USA Campaign The Earth Charter Campaign is inviting all interested people, young and old, from all walks of life and in all parts of the United States, to become Earth Charter Facilitators. As an Earth Charter Facilitator you may bring the Earth Charter draft to your community through civic organizations, churches, business groups, youth groups, etc. Your responsibility will be to introduce the Earth Charter, facilitate discussion of its principles (see insert) and encourage others to become involved. The Campaign will provide facilitators with training and resources, and document its impact on policies, values, and behavior of Americans. You are invited to participate in the development and refinement of the Earth Charter draft that has been evolving over the past decade. The first major international workshop on the Earth Charter, initiated by Maurice Strong, chair of the Earth Council, and Mikhail Gorbachev, chair of Green Cross International, was held in The Hague in 1995. Representatives from 30 countries and over 70 different organizations participated. During 1996 a worldwide consultation process was initiated to engage men and women, in all sectors of society and all cultures, in the development of the Earth Charter. In 1997 and 1998 thirty-five national Earth Charter committees were formed and numerous conferences were held. A twenty-person Earth Charter Commission assumed responsibility for oversight of the project and created the first Benchmark Draft Earth Charter. Guided by the contributions of the ongoing Consultation process, the Commission issued in April 1999 a revised Benchmark Draft II, which is being made broadly available for a final year of commentary before the final draft is adopted in 2000. For the full text of the Earth Charter see www.earthcharter.org/draft/. Join the Earth Charter Campaign by contacting Earth Charter USA Secretariat, 2100 "L" Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037; 202/778- 6133; crle@aol.com. Send suggestions for improvement of the Draft to: Steven C. Rockefeller, Chair, Earth Charter Drafting Committee, PO Box 648, Middlebury VT 05753; 802/388-9933; fax:802/388-1951; rockefel@middlebury.edu. Home     Table of Contents