Commons Action for the United Nations

Commons Action for the United Nations All of us share sources of wealth that are beyond market goods and monetary prices but critical to our survival and quality of life.The global commons consists of these shared resources, as well as the committed people who work for the common good and serveas stewards of our collective resources. Neither today’s problems nor their solutions exist without…

Reclaim the Commons Manifesto

Reclaim The Commons Manifesto  Humankind is suffering from an unprecedented campaign of privatization and commodification of the most basic elements of life: nature, culture, human work and knowledge itself. In countless arenas, businesses are claiming our shared inheritance— sciences, creative works, water, the atmosphere, health, education, genetic diversity, even living…

What, Really, Is the Commons?

Welcome to the Commons  The term may be unfamiliar, but the idea has been around for centuries. The commons is a new use of an old word, meaning “what we share”—and it offers fresh hope for a saner, safer, more enjoyable future. The commons refers to a wealth of valuable assets that belong to everyone. These range from clean air to wildlife preserves; from the judicial…

The One, Two, Three Of Becoming A Global Citizens

“Who is my mother, my father, my sister or brother?” This is the response of Jesus of Nazareth when he was told that his mother and brothers were looking for him. I think this question cuts to the core of what it means to be a global citizen. I believe that a true global citizen sees everyone they encounter to be their mother, father, sister or brother. I do not mean this in a…

The Spirit of the Commons

Long ago, the ‘commons’ simply meant the place we villagers shared and the resources of which we all partook. Here we pastured our small flocks, gathered herbs and mushrooms, and hunted game. And we were protected by an unspoken and unwritten understanding. No individual or group could draw down the resources of the commons to the detriment of the community. It was a simple but…

Ravi Arapurakal’s Global Citizen Essay Submission

What is a global citizen? A global citizen is any of us who regards oneself as a unique vantage and operating point of the integral unity of our common reality, based on the location of one’s mobile human organism; and understands the following: • Each of us engages the rest of reality as an input output feedback loop, i.e., interpreting one’s local experiential inputs that…

The Global Man As The Vision For The Third Millennium; The Role Of Peace Education

GLOBAL MAN AS THE VISION FOR THE THIRD MILLENNIUM: THE ROLE OF PEACE EDUCATION Surya Nath Prasad, Ph. D. Founder & Editor-in-Chief Peace Education: An International Journal Executive Vice President International Association of Educators for World Peace Former Visiting Professor The Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, Kyung Hee University Republic of Korea 216, Laxminagar, NAGPUR-440 022,…

On Global Citizenship

I am doing citizen planning for Transition Town Montpelier in Vermont, along 2 lines that could be relevant to a global citizen movement, and model of right action. We are working on the Transition Town comprehensive infrastructure model called the Energy Descent Action Plan, or EDAP. We are also developing a model of social-cultural transition called Heart of Transition. In a global context they…

Global Citizens Extend The Circle Of Compassion Beyond Humanity

What is a global citizen activist? What are you doing that indicates you are a global citizen? A global citizen is a being who is aware that there is an inter-connectedness between all forms of life, both human and non-human and who therefore dedicates his or her life to ensuring that this inter-connectedness is recognized, addressed, and implemented. One of the most neglected areas of…