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Harmony
Foundation at World Urban Forum 3
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada June 19-23, 2006
What if the cities of the world committed to development based on
sound environmental practices and progressive social programs; to
reduce waste and green house gases, improve air quality, conserve
water and energy, improve public transportation, increase green
space, adopt environmentally sound planning and purchasing and support
healthy food production with active public participation?
The World Urban Forum was established by the United Nations to examine
one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: rapid urbanization
and its impact on communities and their social, environmental and
economic and policies. It is projected that within the next fifty
years, two-thirds of humanity will be living in towns and cities.
Harmony Foundation’s latest publication Green
Cities: a Guide for Sustainable Community Development (124pages)
was written to help communities meet these development challenges.
The result of collaboration with The Earth Council Alliance and
The Centre for Sustainable Community Development, Simon Fraser University,
Green Cities offers insights, information and practical actions
which illuminate the path towards sustainable community development.
This 124 page publication includes a thought-provoking foreword
by Maurice Strong, a concise and thorough overview of sustainable
community development, inspiring community success stories from
around the world and invaluable resources and tools for establishing
community priorities and taking local action. It encourages a new
kind of leadership which understands that success depends on long-term
thinking and the active participation of all citizens.
Harmony Foundation will play several roles at World Urban Forum
3. The Foundation will:
1. Participate in the development of the official workbook for delegate
participation,
2. Lead a session on the importance of Building Strong Local Leadership
and Active Public Participation. Following a brief introduction
by Maurice Strong, an international panel an international panel
will discuss successful sustainable community development initiatives
from around the world and the key role of citizen participation.
Participants will then join panelists in working group discussions.
A live radio broadcast will show how community media can promote
sustainable community development
3. Convene a group of educators to prepare and present a report
on the most pressing needs for education and social marketing for
sustainable community development, and
4. Announce a project with Earth Council Alliance and our Chinese
partners to create an adaptation and translation of Green Cities
for use by local groups in China and to create a community leadership
training program.
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Harmony Foundation (1985) is a registered charitable organization
recognized internationally for its leadership in multi-sectoral
cooperation and creating innovative training programs and educational
materials for educators, youth, schools, the workplace and communities.
Harmony’s innovative programs have been recognized through
a variety of honours including the United Nations Environment Programme’s
Global 500 Award (1992), a Commonwealth Foundation Fellowship (1994),
and the Ethics in Action Award (1998).
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