Earth Charter International has published the updated and comprehensive Earth Charter Initiative Handbook.

Of special interest is section IV. ECI Strategies and Focal Areas, which details the new strategy for "decentralized empowerment for scaling up," specifically through the formation of Task Forces in Business, Education, Media, the United Nations, Youth, and Religion.

Section XI. contains a list of statements prepared by Steven C. Rockefeller in consultuation with various ECI Council members and Advisors for clarifying the Earth Charter's position on the diversity of religious worldviews as well as the sensitive issues of sexual orientation and responsible reproduction.

Have a look for yourself - download and read the Earth Charter Initiative Handbook and the Statements on Controversial Issues .

The Vestry of the Episcopal Saint Matthew's Church in Bedford, New York, has endorsed the Earth Charter and has submitted the following report on how their community is living the Earth Charter principles:

"1. As an “Engaged Endorser”, in accordance with our pledge, we are :

• Promoting the Earth Charter by seeking its endorsement by the Episcopal Diocese of New York.
• Contributing to Earth Charter-inspired initiatives through the activities of the Commissions and Committees of our church.
• Implementing the Earth Charter principles by seeking to inspire our parishioners and our community through worship services and a variety of secular activities.

2. We are fortunate to have 65 acres of woodlands, comprised of our Glebe and the Ketchum Sanctuary, all open to the public. The care and oversight of this remarkable property (Earth Charter Principle 5b) is entrusted to our Woodlands Commission who actively maintain trails through the entire area as well as sponsor visits by summer camps, boys and girls clubs and other interested organizations.

Research into the Earth Charter archive revealed a historic greeting of Pope John Paul II to Mikhail Gorbachev, congratulating him on his work on the Earth Charter:

“To his Excellency Monsignor Angelo Comatri, Pontifical Delegate. Having been notified that Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, the distinguished President of Green Cross International, is in Italy to present the project of the Earth Charter, the Supreme Pontiff requests your Excellency to express his satisfaction for a work well done in defending our environmental heritage, and to encourage this esteemed statesman’s meritorious effort to bring forth greater respect for the planet’s resources, given by God so that every person may live a dignified life. His Holiness sends his greeting and blessing.”

(Signed) Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, Sostituto, Secretariat of State, Vatican City State.” (Translation from original telegram sent by Archbishop Sandri on the occasion of Mr. Gorbachev’s presentation of the Earth Charter in Urbino, Italy on 2 July 2001.)

Bournemouth Borough Council has become the first UK district council to adopt the Earth Charter - which offers a foundation for a peaceful, just and sustainable global society – thanks to the efforts of two Reform rabbis, Neil Amswych and Jeffrey Newman.

The deputation at which the decision was made took place in February and was the culmination of a process which began almost a year ago when Rabbi Amswych invited the Director of the Earth Charter in the UK, Rabbi Jeffrey Newman, to an Inter-faith meeting attended by 70 local clergy and lay leaders, representatives of most of the religious groups in the local area. Their enthusiastic interest in the Earth Charter and its inspiring vision and ethical framework encouraged Rabbi Amswych to take it to the Council.

On May 18, the Earth Charter was presented at the children and youth conference of the World Future Council that is holding its second annual meeting from May 18 to 22 in Hamburg, Germany. Aiming to speak out for future generations in the global political arena, the WFC consists of 50 personalities from around the globe, including HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, Sulak Sivaraksa, co-founder of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists, and Judge C. G. Weeramanty, former Vice President of the International Court of Justice who presented a first draft of his book "Tread Lightly on the Earth. Religion, the Environment and the Human Future".

On mothersday, May 11, a charity concert for the International Association of Human Values and the Earth Charter took place in the historic Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. World famous musicians like the violinist Isabelle Faust of Germany and the cellist Quarine Viersen of the Netherlands performed pieces of Beethoven, Dvorak, Schumann, and Brahms, and supported the cause by performing without pay. Around 1.400 people attended the concert.

The funds that were raised will be split equally to support IAHV’s One-Euro-A-Day program that provides free education for poor children in India and the production of Earth Charter educational materials on sustainable lifestyles. The materials are intended to explore the famous Earth Charter notion on "being more instead of having more", and will be produced within the Earth Charter Program on Religion and Sustainability.

To see some more pictures of the concert, please click here .

Having moved into the administrative structures of the Ecumenical One World Initiative (Germany’s Earth Charter Affiliate) the Earth Charter Program on Religion and Sustainability has gained some momentum in Germany:

• In February, EOWI published a special edition of its Earth Charter Newsletter, focusing exclusively on the new program and how religious institutions in Germany can become actively involved in spreading and implementing the Earth Charter’s vision for a more just, sustainable and peaceful world.

• The spring edition of the “Oekumenischer Informationsdienst” – the journal of key ecumenical groups, organizations and networks involved in the conciliar process in Germany – also highlighted the program and its aims and objectives.

• In a meeting with the environmental officer of the Protestant Church of Baden, an agreement was reached that the Earth Charter will be used as a background document for the training sessions for environmental tutors and auditors that the Church of Baden is hosting, while the Earth Charter Program on Religion and Sustainability will help to spread the successes and experiences of the environmental activities and projects that the local congregations are conducting.

The Global Peace Initiative of Women convened its second global summit of women spiritual leaders in Jaipur, India on March 6-10. Several hundred leaders from over 50 countries participated in Making Way for the Feminine for the Benefit of the World Community. The goal was to explore how the leadership of women, and particularly the feminine principles, can bring benefit to the world community, helping to create the platform for global transformation. The gathering was designed as a global reflection, opening with seven hours of prayer, sacred song and meditation. This created a sacred space in which dialogue could take place.

The latest edition of the British Journal of Religious Education contains an insightful essay on the use of the Earth Charter in religious classrooms. In their article „Ethics in a global world: the Earth Charter and religious education“ the authors reflect on the potential of the Charter to draw together the themes of human rights, citizenship, globalization and ecological responsibility and consider the value of the Earth Charter for religious education in pluralist societies.

“The Insolent Waters – Moral Choices for an Endangered Planet” was the title of an international Symposium held on the occasion of Rabbi Awraham Soetendorps retirement as Rabbi of the Liberal Jewish Congregation of The Hague. The event that was attended by around 200 invited guests commemorated Rabbi Soetendorp’s many achievements as Rabbi, Earth Charter Comissioner, Ambassador for the MDGs and committed world citizen.

Among the speakers were The Netherlands’ former Prime Minister and Earth Charter Commissioner Ruud Lubbers, Her Royal Highness Princess van Oranje-Nassau and Dr. Katherine Marshall of the Berkley Center for Religion and World Affairs in Washington DC who is a colleague of Rabbi Soetendorp in the World Economic Forum’s Council of 100 Leaders for Islam-West Dialogue.

Research into Earth Charter archives revealed the supporting involvement of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, in the Earth Charter drafting process. In a letter to Steven Rockefeller, who at the time chaired the international Earth Charter drafting committee, the Dalai Lama blessed the international initiative with the following words:

"Compassion and love should be the guiding light for humans to live harmoniously with nature. Genuine motivation with a warm heart will make the conservation of the environment
more effective. It should be treated as the life-giving water that nourishes the roots of the Earth Charter."

The Earth Charter Program on Religion and Sustainability seeks to share and spread the light of respect and care for the whole creation, and encourages religious and spiritual communities to collaborate in the creation of just, peaceful and sustainable societies.

On December 1st, the Ecumenical One World Initiative (EOWI) in Germany took over the administrative management of the Earth Charter Program on Religion and Sustainability, employing Michael Slaby as Coordinator for ECI's international program. EOWI was founded in 1976 as one of the first Christian ecumenical initiatives that set out to explore sustainable lifestyles in the Western world.

Having served as Earth Charter Affiliate in Germany since 2001, EOWI is promoting and disseminating the Earth Charter among NGOs, faith groups and educational institutions in Germany and its German-speaking neighbouring countries.

“It is a great pleasure for us to host this international program” says EOWI’s executive director Anja Becker, and adds: “We hope that the program will contribute to the revitalization of the conciliar process of justice, peace and integrity of creation that we are supporting since its launch in 1983.”

Building on EOWI’s long standing history of creating bridges between Germany’s environmental and development-aid organizations on the one and religious organizations and the Churches on the other side, the international program has gained a strategic position to reach out to religious institutions in Germany.
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Two months after the UN General Assembly's High Level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace, the Presidency of the General Assembly published its official summary paper of the Interactive Hearing with Civil Society in which Steven Rockefeller participated on behalf of Earth Charter International (see special report posted below).

The report makes two references to the Earth Charter: In the summary of comments to the second panel where Steven Rockefeller participated as a respondent, and in the concluding section on "key recommendations". Rockefeller’s remarks are summarized as an appeal for “the promotion of global ethics as a unifying strategy in the midst of religious and cultural diversity”.

In the key recommendations, this line is taken up as the final and concluding point: The Earth Charter is depicted as an “interesting example” for the “development of a code of conduct based on global ethics”, which could be one of the objectives of an United Nations body for interreligious and intercultural cooperation.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the United Nations Orthodox prayer service, 13 November:

I send sincere greeting to this annual prayer service for the United Nations.

This evening finds me far from New York in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. I have travelled to Latin America to see for myself the terrible toll environmental degradation and climate change are already inflicting on the planet and its people.

I am heartened that all of you have gathered to devote this year’s service to the theme of climate change. By now, the basic facts of global warming are incontestable. But, up close, its effects are doubly unnerving. Last week, I visited Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in South America. It is near the centre of the famous “ozone hole” in the Earth’s atmosphere. This time of year, children have to wear protective clothing against ultraviolet radiation at all times. There are days when parents don’t let them play outside, or even go to school.

On 1st of November, Earth Charter Commissioner Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp was awarded with the prestigious Interfaith Gold Medallion “Peace Trough Dialogue”. The award was presented to him by the Dutch Minister of Justice, Dr. Ernst Hirsch Ballin, in the name of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ). Around 50 national and international guests attended the ceremony in the historic synagogue of Soetendorp’s liberal Jewish congregation in The Hague.

With the award, the ICCJ honours Soetendorp’s long standing commitment to promoting a culture of peace and tolerance among people of different faiths. The jury’s official award announcement explicitly recognizes his work for the Earth Charter: “This award is also given in recognition of his early promotion of understanding, through the Earth Charter, that our traditions enjoin us to give credence to our obligation to care for the health of our world so that people of all faiths and cultures can live in peace and prosperity.”

On September 25, a diverse group of representatives of faith-based organizations in the UK came together to explore the Earth Charter. The workshop took place in the beautiful mid 19th century mansion of Taplow Court set high above the Thames near Maidenhead, the head office of Soka Gakkai International in the United Kingdom. The seminar was hosted by Earth Charter UK in cooperation with the national commission of UNESCO and the Development Research Center of the University of London.

The 25 participants were relatively new to the Earth Charter, so the main aims of the event were to introduce the Earth Charter as a tool for engagement with sustainability issues within faith and interfaith communities and inspire the participating organizations to become more actively engaged in the Decade for Education for Sustainable Development. The aims and mechanisms of the Decade were introduced by the chair of the Earth Charter Council of Trustees in the UK, Dr. Doug Bourn who currently chairs the DESD round table at UNESCO-UK.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Bourn set the tone for the workshop by qualifying it as a journey of sharing and learning: “Some of the key issues of our time have been outlined in the Earth Charter and the Decade on Sustainable Development launched by the United Nations in 2005. One of the aims of this seminar will be to enquire how these two can be linked together.”

Our friends at the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environment Sciences (IFEES) in Birmingham made us aware of an important public awareness campaign launched by British Muslims to educate the general public about the peaceful message of Islam. ECI gladly helps to spread the word about this inspiring initiative that addresses some of today's core challenges to intercultural and interreligious understanding: the widespread misconceptions about Islam in Western media as well as the hijacking of the sacred texts of Islam by a small group of extremists that tries to legitimize its violent conduct in religious terms.

In the face of these challenges, advertisements will be placed on the tubes, trains, stations and airports that project the lives and views of ordinary Muslims, demonstrating how British Muslims are part of the fabric of ordinary, everyday society.

For the first time ever, the Earth Charter was officially presented to the UN General Assembly at an interactive informal hearing with representatives of civil society. The context for this important event was the General Assembly’s High Level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Collaboration for Peace, which took place on October 4 and 5, 2007. The dialogue was based on UN Resolution A/61/221, which encourages governments, UN agencies and civil society to increase efforts to deepen understanding and collaboration between cultures, religions and civilizations.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon opened the dialogue by calling on the international community to address rising cultural and religious tensions by promoting dialogue and advancing shared values: "We need to rebuild bridges and engage in a sustained and constructive intercultural dialogue, one that stresses shared values and shared aspirations."

Ban also emphasised the enriching nature of religious and cultural diversity, and conculded with an appeal to our common humanity:

"It is time to promote the idea that diversity is a virtue, not a threat. It is time to explain that different religions, belief systems and cultural backgrounds are essential to the richness of the human experience. And it is time to stress that our common humanity is greater – far greater – than our outward differences."

74 high-level government representatives and several organizations with observer status took the floor to present their visions for promoting tolerance and understanding, de-escalating intercultural tensions, and preventing religiously motivated violence and terrorism.

Por primera vez en su historia, la Carta de la Tierra se presentó oficialmente ante la Asamblea General de la ONU durante una audiencia informal interactiva con representantes de la sociedad civil. El contexto de esta importante actividad fue el diálogo de alto nivel de la Asamblea General sobre la comprensión y la colaboración interreligiosa e intercultural por la paz, el cual se llevó a cabo entre el 4 y el 5 de octubre del 2007. El diálogo se basó en la Resolución de la ONU A/61/221, la cual exhorta a los gobiernos, las agencias de la ONU y la sociedad civil a dedicar mayores esfuerzos para profundizar la comprensión y la colaboración entre culturas, religiones y civilizaciones.

El Secretario General de la ONU, Sr. Ban Ki-moon, inauguró el diálogo con un llamado a la comunidad internacional para abordar las crecientes tensiones culturales y religiosas mediante la promoción del diálogo y el fomento de los valores compartidos: "Necesitamos reestablecer los nexos y participar en un continuo y constructivo diálogo intercultural, uno que destaque las aspiraciones y los valores compartidos”.

El Sr. Ban también hizo énfasis en la enriquecedora naturaleza de la diversidad religiosa y cultural, y concluyó con una petición a nuestra humanidad común:

"Ya es tiempo de promover la idea de que la diversidad es una virtud, no una amenaza. Es momento de explicar que las diferentes religiones, sistemas de creencias y características culturales son esenciales para la riqueza de la experiencia humana. Y ya es tiempo de recalcar que nuestra humanidad común es más grande —mucho más grande— que nuestras diferencias aparentes”.

Más de cien representantes gubernamentales de alto nivel tomaron la palabra para presentar las perspectivas de sus respectivos países para promover la tolerancia y la comprensión, reducir las tensiones interculturales e impedir la violencia y los actos terroristas impulsados por motivos religiosos.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Kendeda Sustainability Fund, the Earth Charter Program on Religion and Sustainability will soon be moving into implementation. Over the course of the next year, ECI will work with partners like Stockholm Environment Institute to develop new education and training materials for religious audiences. The program will help to bridge between the world of research and policy, and the world of religious engagement with the great challenges of our time, using the Earth Charter as a common platform. The program will help religious people grapple with issues like climate change, ecosystem preservation, and the links between poverty, human rights, and environment, in practical as well as ethical terms.

Please watch this site for news and updates as we get this program moving. We would like to again thank the many people and organizations whose contributions of time, wisdom, and financing allowed us to develop this new program, which is designed to reach out to all religions.

For a reminder of where this new program of ECI is headed, please click here to download the paper that summarizes the results of our original research on design.

Gracias a una generosa donación de Kendeda Sustainability Fund, el Programa Carta de la Tierra sobre Religión y Sustentabilidad pronto será implementado. El programa pretende que las tradiciones religiosas y espirituales del mundo trabajen de manera más cercana una de la otra y junto con instituciones seculares líderes, para tratar los desafíos globales de nuestro tiempo, utilizando la Carta de la Tierra como plataforma común. El programa ayudará a los líderes religiosos a lidiar con asuntos como cambio climático, preservación de ecosistemas y la relación entre pobreza, derechos humanos y medio ambiente, tanto en términos prácticos como éticos. En el transcurso del próximo año, CTI trabajará con asociados como el Stockholm Environment Institute (Instituto de Ambiente de Estocolmo) para desarrollar nuevos materiales educativos y de entrenamiento para el público religioso.

Earth Charter Commissioner Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp and His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan issued a joined call for peace in the Middle East. The statement was presented by Rabbi Soetendorp at the German Protestant Church Congress in Cologne ("Kirchentag", see report below) and calls for the creation of open dialogue centres where Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Muslims can come together to share their pain and initiate processes of healing.

Click here to download their joint statement for peace and reconciliation

Inaugurated in 1949, the "Kirchentag" occurs every two years, and is the largest Protestant gathering in Germany. In the five day event that took place from June 6 to 10, almost one million people came to Cologne to share in discussions, lectures, prayers, concerts, dancing and singing. The Kirchentag can be described as a large, chaotic, but very cheerful festival of faith and reflection.
On the opening day of the Congress, I met Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp and his assistant Eric Elbers in the densely crowded city of Cologne. That day alone, one hundred thousand people were in the streets of the historic old town to attend one of the numerous open air services, listen to live music that was played at almost every corner, or just stroll down the beautiful Rhine promenades.

report submitted by Guillem Ramis, Earth Charter Affiliate of the Balearic Islands

ENGLISH. On the 12th and 13th of May, 2007 the "Third Parliament of Religions" was carried out at the University of Alicante, Spain, with the subject CARING FOR THE EARTH, EMBRACING LIFE: THE EARTH CHARTER AND THE COMMITMENT OF RELIGIONS. More than 400 people participated in the event. The whole congress (including reports, workshops, round tables, communications and the sharing of experiences) made reference to the values expressed in the Earth Charter.

ESPAÑOL. Los días 12 y 13 de mayo de 2007 se realizó en la Universidad de Alicante, en España, el “III Parlamento de las Religiones” con el tema CUIDAR LA TIERRA, ABRAZAR LA VIDA. LA CARTA DE LA TIERRA Y EL COMPROMISO DE LAS RELIGIONES. Hubo una participación de más de 400 personas.

CATALÀ-VALENCIÀ. Els dies 12 i 13 de maig de 2007 es va realitzar en la Universitat d'Alacant, a Espanya, el “Tercer Parlament de les Religions” amb el tema CUIDAR LA TERRA, ABRAÇAR LA VIDA. LA CARTA DE LA TERRA I EL COMPROMÍS DE LES RELIGIONS. Hi va haver una participació de més de 400 persones. El conjunt de tot el congrés (ponències, tallers, taules rodones, comunicacions i experiències) va fer referència als valors expressats a la Carta de la Terra. A més, de forma molt explícita, ho van fer les següents aportacions:

The first international Experts’ Workshop on Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) took place in Barcelona from March 22 to 24. The event was sponsored by UNESCO Catalonia and brought together 29 experts, researchers and activists from various faith based organizations and secular institutions such as the Alliance of Religion and Conservation and UNESCO. The limited number of participants gave the workshop a warm and concentrated atmosphere.

Apart of Inter-faith Coordinator Michael Slaby, many long-standing Earth Charter supporters were among the participants: ECI council member Mary Evelyn Tucker managed to leave her students at Yale to come to Barcelona and give the key-note address, Abelardo Brenes, associate to the Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development at UPEACE flew in from Costa Rica, our main Earth Charter contact person at UNESCO’s headquarters Bernard Combes represented UNESCO Paris and even two representatives of our religious partners participated: Dr. Arthur Dahl from the International Environment Forum of the Bahá’i and Hiro Sakurai from the New York office of Soka Gakkai International. The Earth Charter therefore had a very good standing at the workshop.

After six months of research, ECI has completed and released its discussion paper on a strategy for the Earth Charter and religion. The paper -- which concludes that ECI has an important role to play in the development of educational materials for religious audiences -- will be the basis for both fundraising and program development going forward. As a first step in testing the implementation of this strategy, ECI is already developing a first education document on climate change, using the science and research resources especially of world-renowned Stockholm Environment Institute and translating them into the language of ethics and spirituality.

Michael Slaby was lead author on the paper, which also received extensive input from ECI Executive Director Alan AtKisson and ECI Council members Steven Rockefeller and Mary Evelyn Tucker. The process was kicked off by a meeting of a special high-level advisory group in Amsterdam last October, 2006, in concert with the ECI Council meeting there.

Yes! I made it through the tight security controls at the airport, and here I am, on my first flight to the US, ever!

However, the trip began on a sad note: While waiting to get on board, I phoned my good friend and colleague Sylvanus Murray from Sierra Leone. Sylvanus is the founder and coordinator of the Earth Charter Youth Group Sierra Leone, who achieved incredible successes in reintegrating former child soldiers into their communities. Sylvanus has also been invited to come to New York, and participate in the Young Leaders Peacebuilding Retreat at the Retreat Center in Pine Bush, upstate New York, that is run by the Chan Buddhist community Dharma Drum Mountain. Sylvanus told me he had spent eight days in Conakry to apply for his visa and was rejected. Eight days! While I can enter into the US without any visa at all, and even felt my hands shaking just when I couldn’t find my hotel’s address when I was asked to fill out one single paper form for my visa-free entrance into the US, poor Sylvanus spent several weeks to get all his files ready, and still was rejected.

Welcome to our new Inter-Religious and Inter-Faith blog!

Look for new entries from Michael Slaby, our Inter-Faith Coordinator, from his trip to the US.