World growing movements

We are increasingly perceiving an organically growing global movement beyond the mainstream media, which is forming in response to the current situation on planet Earth and seeks to expand conscious and responsible approaches to life on our planet through enlightenment, practical examples, educational programs and courses. Their common goal is the flourishing of our planet Earth, where people live a happy and fulfilled life.

Permaculture, as one of the practical solutions to the current challenges of humanity, consciously connects natural resources, people and the environment into mutually beneficial synergies, the basis of which is the imitation of waste-free systems and closed cycles in nature. The World Permaculture Network shares practical solutions and brings together practices.

from around the world. This holistic approach and principle to life is also applied in emerging ecovillages, which share their system solutions through the World Ecovillage Network and the associated Gaia Education network, which provides interdisciplinary sustainability education programs. Inspiration in permaculture and ecovillages is gradually being applied by the "Cities of Transition" combined in another world-growing Transition network connecting existing cities in the transition to a sustainable and regenerating future.

The Global Ecovillage Network

It is a growing international network of communities and initiatives aimed at the restoration and prosperity of the planet Earth, which connects the diversity of cultures, countries and continents. The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) connects groups from policy makers, governments, the nonprofit sector, academics through entrepreneurs, activists to community networks and ecologists with aim to create strategies for the global transformation of the planet to a stable and resilient communities and cultures. 

It currently consists of more than 15,000 ecovillages, communities and national ecovillage networks. The whole transformation of survival will have to come directly from the people themselves. Whether or not the global economic collapses or we will be able to bring a controlled transformation to a sustainable future, it will be necessary to build a new culture, a new society. The basis of the new culture are sustainable human dwellings, for which we need to have good role models. This was at the birth of the idea of ​​building a global network of ecovillages, where sharing these good role models is very beneficial for a controlled transformation to a sustainable future. 

Mapping of ecovillages in the world

In September 1991, around 20 people from the best communities and several great thinkers were invited to discuss how the Gaia Foundation could make the best use of its funds. Among the participants were people who subsequently became regional future leaders of GEN such as Max Lindegger, Declan Kennedy and Albert Bates, but also intellectuals outside the field of ecovillages such as Karl-Henrik Robert (founder of the growing international network "The Natural Step"), David Korten ( later author of "When Corporations Rule the World" or Marilyn Mehlmann (from the growing international network "Global Action Plan"). A unanimous agreement was reached in which the Gaia Foundation should support people who really live in a new paradigm - eco-natives, because they are an integral part of the whole transformation of our planet, but have received no support from elsewhere. Everyone in the group was aware of the need to have good examples in the world of what it means to live in harmony with nature in a sustainable and spiritually-satisfying lifestyle in a technologically advanced society. Gaia Education subsequently created an interdisciplinary education program focused on sustainability, which is based on the 50 most successful ecovillages in the world and provides a practical solution to meet the 17 goals of the UN Sustainable Development.