Disclaimer

The research papers published in the Proceedings have been reviewed  in accordance with the GCAC's peer and administrative review policies. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the GCAC and no official endorsement should be inferred.

Foreword

The hope that we can create an Earth Society, a sustainable society, composed of sustainable communities, is not new. What's new is that we are doing it. It is no longer a talk, a hope or a concept. It is a reality! Sustainability is no longer a concept it is us, all of us,  now, today.  Human beings have the capacity to continuously adapt to their nonhuman environments by means of social organization. This is why the People aspects have been included in the definition of sustainable development. This is why sustainable development is essentially not about just the environment and economic development, but it is also about people. We the Peoples of the Earth will  find ways to protect and improve the delicate balance between human activity and our natural life support system. We are now working together, all of us, all Peoples on Earth, to keep our planet healthy, productive and hospitable for all human beings and living things.

This is the first opportunity thinkers from all countries have had to pool their ideas, brain-storm their concerns and search for universal solutions to the problems at hand. The world surely will never be the same again. Collective human intellectual power will reach every country for the good of all.

We estimate that so far the World Congress and The Global Community concepts have made contact by 'ricochet' with at least a million people throughout the World. We have three mailing lists: the Participants list of about 500 businesses, NGOs, universities, professionals, and the public from 90 countries; an intermediate mailing list of 5,000 "interested" individuals (an 'individual' here may either be a person, a corporation, a NGO, a local community, a group of people, a business, or a government); and finally an extensive mailing list of 18,000 individuals from all countries of the world. Again by the effects of 'ricochet' and chain reaction after creation of new thoughts we will touch the hearts and the minds of the billions of people on Earth. This will happen very quickly. Most likely within a year.

The World Congress has broken new grounds in several other ways.

The World Congress has broken grounds not only in the number of interested participants but also in its new global dialogue on Earth Management. The hundreds of people who have sent us their research work from around the world represent only a part of a great ground-swell of concern for the future of our planet. It is quite possible the men and women who have produced this body of work will go down in history as major instruments of change. We now have 73 Discussion Roundtables divided into the four interacting quality systems: Social(37), Environment(16), Economics(8) and Availability of Resources(12). We went past previous Earth Summits organized by governments who have been focusing only on a specific issue without including the public throughout the world and without taking into account all impacts. We are proposing here to The Global Community that sound solutions to world problems can only be brought forward after analyzing all important interacting impacts.

This World Congress has broken grounds in its limitless well of new thoughts. We have created (and still thousands more to come) new thoughts, concepts, ideas, ways of doing things to sustain Earth throughout the coming millenniums. During the past thousand years humanity has lived with the "life program information" transferred into the brain via two ways: our genes, and education and upbringing (IMPRINTING theory). The mechanism of biological information protection did the rest. We are lock, stock, and barrel with the old stock. In a way! Today our species is evolving to rid itself of the old thoughts that is threatening its future and survival. This is a survival reaction and is very real. Our species will accomplish the evolutionary leap within a generation. Our consciousness will evolve rapidly. We will reach levels never imagined before. We will get much closer to God and God to us as we are parts of his/her own consciousness. It was time for us to scrutinize our values and old thoughts. We did. We are here to help humanity get rid of these old thoughts or at least the emotions attached to them. We have to reach very deep in ourselves to succeed in this process. Old thoughts and the emotions attached to them are parts of our very deep self and will not let go easily because of the mechanism of biological information protection. The next step is the creation of new thoughts, thousands of them. Healthy thoughts! The kind that will sustain Earth. Remember what we have been asking you all along: from the experience in your life and local community tell us:

What is most important?
What is very important?
Not so important?
Not important at all?
What should be let go?

to sustain Earth.

This process will help humanity to think clearly and globally. Your research papers, brainstorming exercises, Vision statements, discussions, comments and recommendations were well appreciated and reviewed. They will give us a sense of direction and purpose. The 
end product also include universal values to connect us together as we are all belonging to The Global Community.

Now we are asking to keep in touch with all of us and the organization. Participate in the new Global Dialogue to be held August 2002:

Earth Management - all Peoples together

May the DIVINE WILL come into our lives and show us the way.
May our higher purpose in life bring us closer to the Soul of Humanity and God.


Cordially,

Germain

Germain Dufour
Chairman
The Global Community organization
World Congress on Managing and Measuring Sustainable Development


Websites of The Global Community organization:
http://members.home.net/global2000
http://members.home.net/vdufour2000/index.html
http://members.home.net/gdufour99/index.html

gdufour@globalcommunitywebnet.com