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Interfaith Visonaries in Action: Rio+20 Conference

On behalf of the Interfaith Consortium for an Ecological Civilization (ICEC) and its leading partner, the Temple of Understanding, you are invited to a one-day conference on October 17th, 2011 at The Church Center at the United Nations, 777 UN Plaza at 44th St and First Avenue, New York City, from 10am to 5pm.

This conference is designed to build on the work started at the 2010 Interfaith Visionary's Call To Action Conference on Sustainability. As you know, that conference brought together leaders of the interfaith movement to consider the critical need for a strong ethical voice that can address the environmental crisis facing humanity.

In the words of Bishop Geoff Davies who in coalition is galvanizing African faith communities to influence UN processes,"Climate change is the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. All nations must take action - urgently."

It is a moral and ethical issue - driven by human behavior and values. It must therefore be solved by moral principles and a willingness "to do what is right." An over-emphasis by [UN] negotiators on financing, trade and offsets continues to delay the action needed to bring about immediate and sufficient change. "
~ Bishop Geoff Davies, South African Faith Communities Environment Institute, March 18, 2011

There is a crucial need for a "theologically sound framework for responding to the challenges of climate change" and to "agree on the moral principles and support to be given to ... governments in playing a leadership role founded on the principles of justice, equity and compassion." (Davies)

"It is vital that a spirit of cooperation, rather than competition, prevail in climate talks: In the climate negotiations, the world's people are being silenced by arguments, facts and figures that are disempowering... You [religious leaders] have immense power to bring back a sense of responsibility to these negotiations."~Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, June 7, 2011 speech to Pan-African delegates in Nairobi, Kenya

The Interfaith Visionaries are a network of such leaders committed to working as a body to advance environmental sustainability and influence the United Nations deliberations.

The outcomes of this conference will include strengthening connections among the Interfaith Visionaries, development of statements for intervention in the various UN processes leading up to Rio+20, and commitment to continued actions clustered in four pivotal areas:


1. Youth Initiative - Supporting the inclusion of youth voices in UN processes by providing strategically supportive guidance and resources on ethical frameworks

2. Corporate Engagement - Promoting ethical discourse about corporate aims and structures, as well as dialogue among corporate and business leaders to increase commitment to an ecological civilization

3. Sustainable Communities - Fostering enhanced development of models that local communities around the globe can utilize to create paradigm changes

4. Multimedia - Acting as a showcase for effective and innovative use of media and technology in strategic messaging.

Along with the Interfaith Visionaries, representatives from UNEP, the Rio+20 leadership team, and other strategists about UN participation will be invited to the October conference.

The urgency that we all feel is palpable as so much is at stake. For this reason, we ask you to join us in person or send a representative as we build and put into action the Interfaith Visionary Network for Sustainability. The change we seek is from the heart and has to be carefully crafted and shared by us all as a new vision for our planet. As Van Jones said, "We are the people who hold the people". We have a unique opportunity to make our voices heard as never before both at Rio+20 and beyond.

There is no registration fee for the conference, and we are not financially able to assist with transportation expenses. We ask for a $25 suggested donation for the buffet lunch. Additional details about the conference will be emailed to you and posted online at www.IC4EC.org.

To Register or to obtain additional information, email ICEC@templeofunderstanding.org

"This story of the universe has the potential to change our civilization." Gus Speth, Vermont Law School, Former Administrator of United Nations Development Programme

Journey of the Universe tells for the first time the 14 billion year epic story of cosmic, Earth, and human emergence. Set in a day on the Greek island of Samos, the film weaves together scientific discoveries in astronomy, geology, biology, and ecology with humanistic insights from the world's cultures. With exquisite imagery, provocative metaphors, and an enlivening musical score, the film invites us to embrace a profound new participatory role in the flourishing of the Earth community.

"This is one of the most remarkable films I have ever seen."
- Tom Lovejoy, Heinz Center and George Mason University

For more information on Journey of the Universe, visit: journeyoftheuniverse.org

Tuesday, May 3, 2011 * 6:15pm – 7:45pm
United Nations
First Avenue at 46th Street, North Lawn Building, Room 4, NYC

"Renewable Energy: Transforming Communities"

A Panel Discussion during The 19th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development

Co-Sponsored by the United Nations Association of the United States of America Council of Organizations

Panelists:
Minoru Takada, Manager, Sustainable Energy Program, Environment and Energy Group, United Nations Development Program

Randall Solomon, Principal, Sustainable Jersey: a municipal certification program and award winning top social change innovator

Rob Garrity, Principal, Finlo Renewable Energy: an entrepreneurial solar energy firm on the cutting edge of a booming technology

Grove Harris (Moderator), Representative to the United Nations, Temple of Understanding

This session will bring together representatives of government, business and non-profit sectors in the shift towards sustainable patterns of consumption and production. The focus is on renewable energy in the local and national United States context. Speakers will offer their cutting edge initiatives that are transforming the commercial and residential marketplaces. In light of current opportunities and challenges, speakers will present their blueprints for the changes they foresee and their impact on communities.

This event is free and open to the public, however registration for the CSD- 19 is required. Please email your name and affiliation to gharris@templeofunderstanding.org by Thursday April 28 for assistance in registering.

For further information please contact: Grove Harris, Representative to the U.N. at 212-573-9224 ext. 26.

Feb. 25, 2011: 2-3:30 pm
Church Center for the UN, Hardin Room
The 55th Session Commission on the Status of Women
The Green Women's Economy, Creating a Sustainable Bronx

Featured Panelists:
Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Policy Advisor to the Mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, New York City; Author

Miquela Craytor, Executive Director, Sustainable South Bronx

Nina Simons, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Bioneers; Social Entrepreneur

Background Information:

The access to and participation of women in education, training, science and technology in an emerging Green Economy is crucial to gender balance and climate justice. The emerging Green Economy marketplace must promote women's equal access to full employment and decent work. The inclusion of women will highlight important skill sets that are necessary for resolving our ecological crisis. A call to action is needed now.

This panel of experts from local government, NGOs and small business will focus on experiences, lessons learned and best practices making a "sustainable Bronx" a case study for other major cities around the world.

For further information please contact: Lily Schwabe, Representative to the U.N. at 212-573-9224 ext. 26, or lily@templeofunderstanding.org

Wednesday, Feb. 2nd; 1:15-2:30 PM
At the UN - NLB ECOSOC Chamber
Entrance to the United Nations is located at 1st Avenue between 45th and 46th Street, NYC

14th Annual Ghandi King Chavez Season for Nonviolence
"Speak Out, Unite, End Violence Against Women"
Sponsored by the Mission of Tanzania.

Keynote Speaker: L.Y. Marlow, an award-winning author, domestic violence advocate, women's advocate and founder of Saving Promise.

Presenters: Eric Held, Ambassador Ombeni Y. Sefue, the Permanent Mission of Tanzania to the UN, Ibrahim Sharif, World Peace Flag Ceremony: led by Deborah Moldow, The World Peace Prayer Society

Appreciation: The International Mahavira Jain Mission

Musical Presentations: One Voice is the collaborative choir of the Trenton Children's Chorus and the Westminster Conservatory Children's Choir. The Trenton Children's Chorus has performed at the National Cathedral, with Bobby McFerrin and Dave Brubeck, for Governor Corzine, Governor Christie. The Westminster Conservatory Children's Choir has performed three times at the White House, at the National Cathedral and has recorded for ETS and Silver Burdett. Together in 2010 they premiered "Stand Tall Children," a new work by Francisco Nunez, and sang for the 13th annual Season for Nonviolence. Both choirs are conducted by Patricia Thel.

Gina Rene and Mikuak Rai, Association for Global New Thought

Youth in Action for Nonviolence: Presentation by Students of Susan E. Wagner High School, director
George Anthony

A Season for Nonviolence is a national educational, media, and grassroots campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower our lives and our communities. It was inspired by the anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and nowalso honors César Chavez.

May 3-23, 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

June 14-15, 2010 Interactive Hearings for the GA with Civil Society

May 7, 2010 The 18th Session of the
UN Commission on Sustainable Development Panel
“Exploring the Implications of the Ecological Civilization”

The shift from the industrial civilization to an ecological civilization was explored by five panelists in an event at the United Nations organized by the Temple of Understanding and five other organizations concerned with sustainable development.

Held at UN Headquarters on May 7, the opening speaker was Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker, a senior lecturer at Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies as well as the Divinity School and the Department of Religious Studies.

With the population growth from two billion to six billion people within the past century, she continued, the need to move toward an ecological civilization requires a new view of earth and institutions that will ensure the common good.

Dr. Wolfgang Sachs, a Fellow at the Institute for Climate, Energy and the Environment in Wuppertal, Germany, told the audience that Europe and England surged ahead during the 18th and 19th centuries largely because of colonization and the use of coal.

The major challenge now facing mankind, he continued, is to steer the global economy toward a sustainable path. This, he added, will require the development of institutional approaches to reduce the consumption of energy and natural resources.

Dr. Erin Lothes, a Fellow at the Center for the Study of Science and Religion
at Columbia University's Earth Institute, said that while there are many
grounds for discouragement, she has found that people of faith are scientifically literate.

Many reveal an expanding concern for neighbors, she continued. "Awareness is there," she added, "but there's a gap between ideal and practice."

Herman Greene, head of the Center for Ecozoic Studies in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, reported that the implications of the ecological civilization are being explored not only in the developed countries but in China as well.

Conferences there, he said, have begun examining threats of the human race and the need for feasible measures to follow the agricultural and industrial ages with a new stage of civilization.

The closing speaker was Mary Beth Kass of the twenty by 2020 project in Bedford, New York. As chair of the project's Energy Advisory Panel, she explained that the panel's objective is to measure the town's greenhouse gas emissions and reduce them by 20 per cent by 2020.

"We can make a difference at the local level," she declared. "We all want the same thing, a healthier world for our children and grandchildren."

By involving all sectors of the community and engaging local policy makers, the project planned and produced a day-long event last year which was designed to begin changing perceptions and behaviors to achieve their 2020 goal. A similar event is planned in the Fall.

Organizing Partners:
The Temple of Understanding, Green Faith, Center for Ecozoic Studies, International Center for Religion and Earth, Interfaith Power and Light.

China and Ecological Civilization
(Presented at ICEC Side Event at the UN, May 7, 2010)
By Herman F. Greene, J.D., D.Min.

My comments will primarily concern the current discourse on ecological civilization in China. I first became aware of this discourse when I received an invitation in January 2009 to participate in a Symposium on Ecological Civilization in Sanya, China. I immediately liked the term because I thought it was large enough to cover the massive transformation that is needed in human society. I also thought it correctly indicated that change would need to take place at the highest orders of human society to meet the crises we face in both human development and the relations of humans and nature. Click to read the speech.

For further information please contact:
Joan Kirby, UN Representative 212-573-9224 ext. 28;
Jkirby@templeofunderstanding.org