In Bolzano (Italy) on November 6th 2007
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
the regional governments of South Tyrol, Tyrol and Trentino have agreed to promote the worldwide initiative for a "Global Marshall Plan" cross-nationally.
The region of South Tyrol is organizing an international conference on the issue which will take place on 6 November 2007, at 10.00 a.m., in Bolzano (Landhaus 1,
Crispistr. 3).
The program is available here (in German and Italian).
I would be very pleased to welcome you to the event.
Best regards,
Dr. Luis Durnwalder
Governor
Nobel Peace Prize awarded to IPPC and Al Gore
Potsdam Memorandum
This year's Nobel Peace Award goes to former US Vice President Al Gore and the UN International Panel on Climate Change. The Nobel Committee in Oslo honored their efforts against climate change. Danbolt Mjøs, the committee's president, said that awarding the Nobel Prize shall contribute to more alertness for the issue.
Nobel Committee press release
With their choice, the committee continues the line started in 2004 in which climate policy and poverty reduction are recognized as major factors in the policy of peace. In 2004 Wangaari Matthai was awarded the Nobel Prize for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace and in 2006 Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.
Nobel Prize winners call for a global contract for the great transformation.
You can find the executive summary of the main conclusions from the Symposium "Global Sustainability: A Nobel Cause", held in Potsdam, Germany, 8-10 Oct 2007 here.
With the Plant-for-the-Planet-Initiative and the membership in the Klimaallianz
(climate alliance) the Global Marshall Plan Initiative is engaging in climate protection activities.
Plant-for-the-Planet
Global Marshall Plan Initiative
Global Marshall Plan Foundation
The students' initative Plant-for-the-Planet exeeds all expectations.
Until April 25th 2008 the students want to reach their goal of involving 2000 schools in the initiative. Today there are 80 active schools. The project enables us to inform the young generation about globalization. Moreover, do we reach the generation of their parents through them. Due to the projet's success, we will dedicate more time and resources to it.
1. Jörg Erdmann
takes over the networking, both virtually though the website and personally with other organizations. A first cooperation was agreed on with the World Future Council and it's project www.kidscall.info. Once a month, Jörg will compile a Plant-for-the-Planet newsletter.
2. Karolin Finkbeiner, the mother of the initiators, will be the contact person for schools.
3. Maike Grundmann is organizing the dispatch of information materials, t-shirts, etc.
4. Uli Dettweiler is organizing events like the one in Weilheim (Germany) on November 8th 2007.
5.
Svenja von Gierke left our Initiative. We wish her all the best.
6. The agency Hartmann und Hartmann from Augsburg (Germany) supports Plant-for-the-Planet with the communication.
Global Marshall Plan Initiative
1. Helge Bork
takes over the Initiative's management. At the time, when the Global
Marshall Plan was just a project, comparable to Plant-for-the-Planet today, Helge became our first full-time project manager in January 2004. Since then she has been a reliable contact person for international and national concerns. In August Michael Proschek
became Policy Coordinator - Global Marshall Plan at the Eco-Social Forum where he is in charge of the Global Marshall Plan's European Strategy. Helge is concerned with the international orientation.
2. Andreas Huber just joined the team and will be supporting Helge and Jörg in the Hamburg office in the next month.
3.
We are very sorry that Andrea von Lehmden left us. From November 1st she is working for a recruitment agency. We have lost a very dedicated employee and the team lost a very helpful and much valued colleague. We are wishing her all the best and miss her already.
4. Chris Ströbl a designer from Diessen (Germany) took over the project of designing a new leaflet for the Initiative on a voluntary basis.
5. Maike Sippel is focussing on the coordination of contents of the international consultation prozess and her growing family.
6. Sabine Neumayr is supporting us in Pähl (Germany) with the logistics.
Global Marshall Plan Foundation
At the moment there is an enormous financial pressure on each of the team members. Apart from coordinating the Initiative they have to secure the financial basis too. The board of directors of the Global Marshall Plan Foundation therefore decided to hire a manager who will
1. acquire financial means,
2. deal with public relations,
3. manage the international consultation process.
The manager will introduce himself in the next edition of the News.
Unum Omnes supports the Initiative
Unum Omnes, the International Council of Catholic Men is supporter and promoter of the Global Marshal Plan. On the occasion of their last world conference on September 22nd 2007 in New Haven (Connecticut) Georg Kopetzky, Unum Omnes' vice president gave a speech on the Global Marshall Plan,
which aroused interest in the participants from the US, Argentina, Uganda, Nigeria,
Ghana, Austria, Croatia, France, Luxembourg and Ireland.
The conference was also used for lobbying on UN level.
Source: Eco-Social Forum Europe
Stress the added value of the Initiative
The meeting "The Global Marshall
Plan – approaches for its implementation on the European level" took place in the Renewable Energy House
in Brussels on October 5th 2007.
Issues and starting points for implementing the Global
Marshall Plan Initiative in Brussels were worked out. The results as well as the gist of further interviews will now feed into the strategic planning.
The discussion about climate change and its adoption as well as European or global taxes could be a peg for moving onto the European level. Further pegs could be the coherence of the EU's development and trade policies. There was agreement that the Initiative's unique selling point needs to be stressed when presenting it.
Source: Eco-Social Forum
AIESEC presented the Global Marshall Plan in Berlin
On 30 October 2007, the AIESEC Global Marshall Plan Drive Team presented the Global Marshall Plan in the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. They handed over their memorandum and discussed it intensely with Dr. Stefan Bauernfeind (responsible for the sustainability strategy) and Stefan Czarnecki (department for the environment, environmental protection, reactor safety and sustainable development). In the course of the conversation AIESEC's vision "Peace and fulfillment of humankinds potential" was highlighted.
To the AIESEC memorandum on the discourse (in German)
To AIESEC's press release (in German)
Two prior to that, AIESEC presented the Global Marshall Plan at the EBBF (European Bahai Business Forum) Berlin Conference.
Berlin, October 28, 2007. Seventy business leaders, concerned citizens, consultants and students from Germany, Austria and Switzerland responded to the invitation to attend the first EBBF conference in Germany, on "Leadership in a Globalized Economy – Humane Values: Key to Success", held October 26-28, 2007 in the IG Metall Conference Centre at Pichelsee, in Berlin-Spandau.
To the detailed report
News from the Plant-for-the-Planet-Initiative
Calls for a Global Marshall Plan in the daily press
11/06/2007 10:00 am (local time)
Bozen/Bolzano
South Tyrol and the Global Marshall Plan
More information is available here.
