The year 2007 marks the 30th anniversary of Aurelio Peccei’s publication of "The Human Quality". From this work emerged the central themes that have formed the basis around which the debates of the Club of Rome have developed.

The Executive Committee of the Club decided to move its Secretariat to Zurich and elected Ashok Khosla and Eberhard von Koerber as Co-Presidents.

Eberhard von Koerber,
Co-President of the Club of Rome

The new Secretary-General will be Martin Lees, former Rector of the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica. He will start work on January 1st in the new headquarters in Zurich.

Martin Lees,
Secretary-General of the Club of Rome

The General Assembly of the Club elected Mona Makram-Ebeid, Anders Wijkman and Roberto Peccei as additional members of the Executive Committee.

Further information about the Annual Conference is available on the
English Conference Website
and on the
Spanish Conference Website.

Sept. 19th, 2007: Globalisation today does not lead the world into a peaceful future and a sustainable state. Instead, insufficient governance structures threaten the ecological stability of the world and increase social and cultural gaps. Franz Josef Radermacher presented the Global Marshall Plan as a step towards a new global governance at the 44th Aurelio Peccei Lecture in Brussels.

After the lecture, Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, received the Honorary Membership of the Brussels-EU Chapter of the Club of Rome.

Sept. 12-13th, 2007: What will the future of Europe look like? Will it be a common future or will there be different futures in old member states, new member states and those countries which are left outside the European Union?

Will Europe take up the challenge of the limits to growth of resource consump­tion? Will it be the continent where decoupling of further growth of GDP from resource use can be achieved? Or will there be no future for an ageing continent with a shrinking and less and less innovative population? How can science, how can a new futurology help to overcome the problems ahead?

The event was jointly organized by the Austrian Chapter, the Polish Association, the European Support Centre of the Club of Rome and the Polish Academy of Sciences. For further information please visit the conference website.

Sept. 12th, 2007: "Are you satisfied with the media? Does it lift you up or pull you down? Could it be a more constructive influence?" William Porter believes that the media can be a decisive force for justice, freedom and peace in the 21st century. His speech had the title "DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! The sustainability of our local and global communities depends upon reporting the urgent truths relevant to our survival."

For more information please visit the website of the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome.

Aug. 15th, 2007: Paolo Lugari (Member of the Colombian Chapter of the Club of Rome) received a Honorary Doctorate in a event jointly organized with the Fundacion Santillana and the ZERI Foundation. At this occasion, there was a meeting in which Mario Calderon Rivera (President of the Colombian Chapter), Belisario Betancur (Honorary Member of the Club of Rome), Jorge Reynolds (Member of the Colombian Chapter) and Prof. Gunter Pauli (Member of the Club of Rome) participated.

Aug. 23rd, 2007: "The Proposed Mixed Member Proportional electoral system for Ontario: Myth and Reality" was the title of the Presentation by Hon. Charles Caccia at a Luncheon Meeting organized by the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome

July 18th, 2007: In Barcelona, the book "Global Democratic Governance: An Institutionary Organisation Proposal" was presented to the public. It is available in Catalan and Spanish and will also be published in English. The Think Tank 30 in the Barcelona Group of the Spanish Chapter of the Club of Rome presents an ideal supranational institutional model that would ensure peace, respect for all human beings’ dignity and the conservation of the planet.

The questions arising from the current political, economic, social, technological and cultural changes can only be assessed at a global level by an institutional structure with legitimated authorities. Such a structure should be founded on democratic criteria and the representative capacity of all the nations of the planet, as well as on the principle of the separation of powers. Furthermore, in order to be effective, the system should be based on the rule of law and have sufficient political capacity and financial instruments.

The authors of the book are Ivan Capdevila, Antoni Comín, Eva Geli-Stenhammar, Carles Guerra, Manuel Manonelles, Jonás de Miguel and José Sols. More information is available here.

July 16th, 2007: David Hawkes, Adjunct Professor at the School of Canadian Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, addresses the upcoming referendum on electoral reform in Ontario, which will be the subject of a province-wide referendum on election day, October 10th.

More information is available on the Website of the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome via this link .