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Earth Charter Commission Co-Chairs A.T.
Ariyaratne, Sri Lanka Steering
Committee Severn
Cullis-Suzuki, Canada Secretariat
A. T. Ariyaratne: Founder of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka; grassroots development leader and international award winner who derives his inspiration from Buddhist spiritual teachings and Gandhian social action; "Sarvodaya Shramadana" means "The Awakening of All Through the Sharing of Effort"; this message has spread to all parts of Sri Lanka and is bearing fruit in about a third of the country's villages, numbering over 8000, and embracing a diverse Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslim population; received the Gandhi Prize in 1996.
HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: For more than 20 years, has worked nationally, regionally, and internationally to promote a range of global issues, most notably in the areas of human development, gender equity, and the well-being and development of children; founding chairperson of the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human (JOHUD), formerly known as the Queen Alia Fund for Social Development (QAF), the first non-governmental organization to address development issues at the national level; in 1992, initiated the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) and became its chairperson, establishing JNCW Forum in 1995; also became president of the Mabarrat Um Al Hussein, a pioneering orphanage providing full care, education, and vocational training in the country; currently leads more than 25 local and national institutions and societies; was voted Arab Woman of the Year in 1995; bestowed the Grand Cordon of the Jewelled Al Nahda "Renaissance" by her brother His Majesty the late King Hussein in 1994, due to her development and humanitarian efforts for her country.
Leonardo Boff: Internationally recognized Roman Catholic theologian and author of many books, based in Brazil; a leader of the liberation theology movement, who in recent books such as Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor has integrated his spiritual vision and commitment to liberation of the poor with a deep concern for the environment; ordained as a Roman Catholic Franciscan priest in 1964 and resigned from the priesthood in 1991 but continues to be inspired in his teaching and writing by the vision of Saint Francis of Assisi; professor of theology at the Institute Teologico Franciscano and the University of Rio de Janeiro; served as editor of Brazil's foremost theological journal, Revista Eclesiastica Brasileira.
Pierre Calame: Chief engineer, Ecole Polytechnique (France); former general secretary of Usinor, an iron and steel industrial group; since 1986, chairman of the Foundation Charles Leopold Mayer for the Progress of Humankind, a Swiss-based international foundation mainly devoted to the mobilization of knowledge and experience that will assist humanity in facing the major challenges of the next decade; founding member of the Alliance for a Responsible and United World.
Kamla Chowdhry (Co-chair): Member of the World Bank's Advisory Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development; member of the World Commission on Forestry and Sustainable Development; member of CGIAR-NGO Committee; professor at the Indian Institute of Management (1962-1972) and visiting professor at Harvard Business School (1967-68); consultant to the Atomic Energy Commission, Indian Space Organization, and private and public sector organizations (1962-1972); program advisor for the Public Planning and Management Committee of The Ford Foundation (1973-1983); advised Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on the establishment of the National Wastelands Development Board, and was head of Board during its initial period (1985-1988).
Severn Cullis Suzuki: A student at Yale University, has been active in environmental work since kindergarten; worked with native peoples in British Columbia, Southeast Asia, and the Amazon to protect threatened forests from logging; adopted into the Raven Clan of the Haida Nation, and was given the name Killthgula Gaayaa, Good Speaker; founded the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO), a small group that raised money to participate in the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, "to act as a conscience to the decision-makers"; in many venues - the Global Forum, the Earth Parliament, the Plenary Session of the Earth Summit - serves as a regular speaker at schools, corporations, conferences, and international gatherings on the necessity of changing our values, of listening to children, and of behaving as if their future matters; also, a television host and presenter; has participated in a number of programs in Canada, the U.S. and Britain; has written many articles on environmental issues and published a book; received the Global 500 Award in 1993.
Mikhail Gorbachev (Co-chair): Served as president of the Soviet Union from 1990-1991 and as general secretary of the Polit Bureau of the Central Committee, Communist Party of Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991; currently the president and founder of Green Cross International since 1993; president, International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (Gorbachev Foundation) since 1992; recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, 1990; also recipient of the orders of Lenin, of Red Banner of Labor, Badge of Honor; worked as a machine operator at the Stavropol Agricultural Institute in 1946 and later went to Moscow State University where he graduated in law.
Wakako Hironaka: Member of the Japanese Parliament, House of Councilors; member of GLOBE (Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment); former state minister; director general of the Environment Agency; also a writer and translator; among her books is What Values Should We Leave for the Future Generations? (a two-volume series with interviews of distinguished world leaders).
John Hoyt: President emeritus of the Humane Society of the United States since 1970; was also president of the Center for Respect of Life and Environment, president of EarthKind U.S.A., vice chair of the board of directors of EarthKind International, president of the International Center for Earth Concerns, member of the Grupo de los Cien, president of the Center for Earth Concerns of Costa Rica, member of Board of Advisors of the Albert Schweitzer Institute for the Humanities, and member of the International Advisory Board of the Center for Visionary Leadership; has served as president of the World Society for the Protection of Animals and president of the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education; author of Animals in Peril: How "Sustainable Use" is Wiping Out the World's Wildlife.
Yolanda Kakabadse: Current executive president of the Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano and president of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano designs and organizes policy dialogues among decision-makers in Latin America on sustainable development; during the Rio Earth Summit (UNCED), served as NGO liaison officer; counselor to the vice president for Environment and Sustainable Development of the World Bank; senior advisor to the Global Environment Facility; member of the board of directors of the Worldwide Fund for Nature International, the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development, and the World Resources Institute's Global Council.
Ruud Lubbers: Currently the UN high commissioner for refugees; professor of Globalization at GLOBUS (Institute for Globalization and Sustainable Development), Tilburg University; chair, Clingendael, Dutch Institute for International Relations; chair, Scientific Institute of the political party Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA); chair, Social Council of the Tinbergen Institute; from 1973 to 1977, former minister for economic affairs, and from 1982 to 1994, served three times as prime minister of the Netherlands; former president of World Wildlife Fund.
Wangari Maathai: Founder and coordinator of the Kenyan Green Belt Movement; biologist and environmentalist; former chairperson of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Nairobi; director of the Kenyan Red Cross Society; and director of the National Council of Women of Kenya; in 1977, founded the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization that seeks to fight deforestation, desertification, and erosion in Kenya in coordination with global environmentalist networks; served on the Independent Working Group on the Future of the United Nations and has received numerous distinctions, including Woman of the Year award in 1983.
Elizabeth May: Environmentalist, writer, activist, broadcaster, and lawyer; executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada; member of the board of directors of the International Institute for Sustainable Development; vice chair of the National Round Table for the Environment and Economy; has held the position of associate general council for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre representing consumer, poverty, and environmental groups; has served on the boards of Earth Day 1990 and Friends of Earth Canada; honorary member of the board for the Canadian Environmental Network; founder of the Canadian Environmental Defense Fund, Women for a Healthy Planet and Cultural Survival (Canada); in 1996, received the award for Outstanding Leadership in Environmental Education by the Ontario Society for Environmental Education.
Federico Mayor: Former director general of UNESCO; from 1963 to 1973, professor of biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Grenada (Spain); one of his major fields of study concerned prenatal biochemistry and the brain of the child; first director of "Severo Ochoa" Molecular Biology Centre; from 1976 to 1977, member of the UNESCO Advisory Committee for Scientific Research and Human Needs.
Shridath Ramphal: Author of Our Country, The Planet; was secretary-general of the British Commonwealth of Nations and the only person to have served on all five independent international commissions on global issues, including the Brandt Independent Commissions on International Development Issues and the Brundtland Commission on Environment and Development; served as president of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in 1990.
Henriette Rasmussen: Teacher and journalist, member of the Greenland Home Rule Parliament for eleven years serving for four years as a member of the Cabinet, with the responsibility for Social Affairs and Labor; delegate to the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, where her idea to found a permanent forum for the indigenous peoples under the United Nations system was recognized widely both by the states as well as the indigenous peoples representatives; delegate to the Social Summit in Copenhagen, 1995; for many years, served as chief technical advisor of ILO for the promotion of rights of indigenous and tribal peoples; currently a member of the IUCN Global Council.
Steven C. Rockefeller: Has been involved in the Earth Charter Initiative since 1995 and has chaired the Earth Charter International Drafting Committee since 1997; joined the Earth Charter Commission in May 2000; professor emeritus of religion at Middlebury College, where he also served as dean of the College; author or editor of several books; his essays appear in many publications; in recent years, his research and writing have focused on global ethics, sustainable development, and the interrelation of democracy, ecology, and spirituality; has served on the boards of many nonprofit organizations; is currently the chairman of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a New York-based foundation with international programs in sustainable resource use, the strengthening of civil society, and education; also a trustee of the Asian Cultural Council and The Philanthropic Collaborative and a member of the Council of the University for Peace in Costa Rica.
Awraham Soetendorp: Born in Amsterdam in 1943; saved as an infant by non-Jews during the Second World War; has since reestablished Jewish communities in the Netherlands and is now the co-chair of the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders and founding member of Green Cross International; also a human rights activist, writer, ecologist, and founder and chair of the Hope for Children Foundation, which aims to raise 0.1% from national gross yearly incomes for the education of children everywhere.
Mercedes Sosa (Co-chair): Internationally known singer and activist; member of Latin American music school of the "nueva trova"; suffered political exile during the years of dictatorship in Argentina because of her critical approach expressed through her music; throughout her life, has supported causes related to human rights, dignity of peoples, self-determination, preservation and rescue of Latin American values and unity in the region; solidarity, hope, and love are themes always present in her songs.
Maurice F. Strong (Co-chair): Secretary General of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit); during 1985-1986, served as under-secretary general of the United Nations and executive coordinator of the United Nations Office for Emergency Operations in Africa; was also a member of the World Commission on Environment and Development; served as secretary general of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment from 1970 to 1972, and became the first executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in 1973; is currently an advisor to the United Nations and serves on the boards of several other public service organizations and corporations; is also currently president of the University for Peace Council and founding chairperson of the Earth Council.
Pauline Tangiora: Member of the International Steering Committee on Health for Minorities by the Year 2000; executive member of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples Regional Women Committee; member of the Rigoberta Menchu's Committee Indigenous Initiative for Peace; lifetime member of the Maori Women's Welfare League; and director of Maori International; a trained family counselor and justice liaison, was appointed justice of the peace in 1988; in 1989, was awarded the Queens Service Medal for her community work and, in 1990, received the New Zealand Commemoration Medal.
Amadou Toumani Toure (Co-chair): Former president of Mali; president of the Inter-African Network for Street Children; served as conflict resolution facilitator on behalf of African presidents; actively promotes the process of democracy in the region; received many awards, including the 1996 Africa Prize for Leadership awarded by The Hunger Project.
Erna Witoelar: Minister of Settlements and Regional Development and founder of both the Indonesian Forum for the Environment and Friends of the Environment Fund; has had more than thirty years of experience in civil society leadership and decision-making positions at local, national, and international levels; board of trustee member of the Indonesia WWF Foundation and a member of the Parliament Republic of Indonesia, the steering committee of the Anti Corruption Forum and the Working Group on Civil Society Empowering; recipient of several awards including the 1996 President of the Republic of Indonesia's Development Medal on Environment.
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