Global Commons Trust
For several centuries, modern industrial societies have been living off the common capital of the planet. During this period, the world’s natural and social resources have been drastically underpriced and we have amassed huge debts to the environment, the poor and future generations. It has become increasingly clear that the businesses and governments which created these imbalances are also…
Plenary Speech at Johannesburg: The World Alethea Dreamed Of
There were tears in the room as Bayo shared the dream he has for his newborn child, Alethea. It is the dream we all have for our children. In his dynamic and heart-felt talk, Bayo referred to his close friend Charles Eisenstein, another international figure bringing heart into our lives and future. He and his wife Ijeoma are initiating co-founders of Koru, a trans-local network of cultural…
The Importance of Building a World Community
The mission of The Global Citizens’ Initiative (TGCI) is to help build a participatory, values-based, and sustainable world community. Such a community needs to be participatory in order to be responsible to its members and engage them in governance. It needs to be values-based and grounded in the global norms and standards, such as human rights, agreed upon by world leaders since the…
Islands As A Microcosm Of The World
We were four days out of Gibraltor, sailing to the Carribean when Porto Santo, an Island in the Madeira archipelago appeared on the horizon. Even from a distance the island appeared starkly devoid of vegetation and scarred by great deep gouges in the earth. A few hours later, our ketch, "Lady Luck" rounded the last point of land into a bay where two of Prince Henry the Navigator's…
Good Morning, Beautiful Business: The Unexpected Journey of an Activist Entrepreneur and Local Economy Pioneer
By Judy Wicks
Chelsea Green Publishing April 2013, Review by Judy Wicks
A few years after I started my restaurant, I hung a sign in my bedroom closet in my home above the White Dog Café — right where I would see it each morning. Good morning, beautiful business, it read, reminding me daily of just how beautiful business can be when we put our creativity, care and energy into producing a product or service…
The Rise of Citizen Science
Imagine yourself discovering another Earth. Or identifying an unknown underwater species. Helping the blind to see. Finding a cure for cancer. Proving the existence of extraterrestrial intelligent life. Such visions motivate hundreds of thousands of ordinary people—of all ages, from around the world and all walks of life—to participate in the phenomenon known as citizen science.
Also called…
Fall-Winter 2013
Cutting Edge Law, Justice, Power and Peace
In this IssueHigh-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace - by Nancy B. RoofTransforming A Dysfunctional Legal System - by J. Kim WrightGuardians of Future Generations - by Carolyn RaffenspergerFrom Punitive to Restorative Justice - by Molly Rowan LeachWorld’s First Successful ‘Rights of Nature’ Lawsuit - by Norie Huddle→ Read more about…
Redefining the Development Paradigm: Redrawing Boundaries, Deepening Responses, Transforming Lives
India’s challenge today is not one of natural resources. It is not about money, human capital, technology or legislation. It is not merely a question of implementation of laws and distribution systems. Nor can things be ‘fixed’ merely by providing education for all. Clearly something more foundational—more profound—is missing. We need to change our mindsets, redefine development and our…
MEMEnomics: The Next-Generation Economic System
foreword by Don E. Beck, PhD, SelectBooks, Inc. Publishers, 2013
My book, MEMEnomics: The Next-Generation Economic System, represents a culmination of ten years of work. Five of these years were spent doing research and analysis on how to present a fresh approach to economic development. What emerged was a whole systems, integrated model that places economic activity into an evolutionary…
The Johannesburg Compass: Questions and Orientations
1. Who are we?
As citizens, global and local, and participants of the ‘Building a Global Citizens Movement Johannesburg Conference 2013’, we acknowledge our responsibility for the planet and for humanity and we take responsibility for our individual and collective actions. Collectively, we acknowledge that to reach a just and sustainable world which does not maintain the systems of global…