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TGCI's Global Citizen Blog offers insightful opinions on issues related to global citizenship and global collaboration. The blog provides a forum whereby a variety of people---ranging from well regarded experts to citizen activists will share their views and opinions. We welcome your comments and feedback on this series. Please send it to editor@gcitizen.org - Ron.
This month, we share two interesting pieces that look at how we can build a future rooted in sustainability, equity, and human rights protection.
"Failure to build a democratic ecological future is likely to be catastrophic not just for democracy but to our civilization and the ecosphere," writes Roy Morrison on the Wall Street International Magazine.
The global economic crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and growing wealth disparities are putting democracy under threat worldwide. To face these global challenges, writes Morrison, "democracy in the 21st century must succeed in the pursuit of sustainability and ecological democracy. Success means a global system based on peace, justice and fairness."
Roy Morrison is a solar energy developer, Managing Partner of Renewable Sun Partners, author, social theorist, and activist, with more than 40 years of diverse energy experience. This includes energy efficiency work and technical assistance for businesses, institutions, and government.
In his op-ed Of Human Family, Culture of Peace & Sustainable Development, Ramu Damodaran discusses the notion of human family. "The Universal Declaration on Human Rights," he notes, "was the first United Nations mention of the human family in its very opening lines with reference to the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family."
"When did we lose that phrase, human family, to what we now so snappily call the international community?" Damodaran asks his readers.
Ramu Damodaran is Deputy Director for Partnerships and Public Engagement in the United Nations Department of Public Information’s Outreach Division. He was earlier Chief of its Civil Society Service from November 2002.
Click below to download the Global Citizen Blog piece as a PDF.
As always, we would love to hear your comments and reactions on Twitter at @GCitizensUnite or on our Facebook page. This piece also will be posted on the blog page of our website, where we invite you to join the conversation in the comments section about the ideas raised by this essay.
About TGCI
The Global Citizens’ Initiative is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with members in 75 countries. We bring together people and organizations from across the planet to promote global values and help solve world problems. We define a global citizen as someone who identifies with being part of an emerging world community and whose actions contribute to building this community’s values and practices.
