For immediate release
November 24, 1998
Butterflies Asked to Present Kofi Annan & UN with World Peace Candle
Berkeley, Ca The Butterfly Gardeners Association(BGA) headquartered in
Berkeley, Abolition 2000, and other interested peace, environmental, faith,
spiritual, and millennium groups have been asked by the Global Initiative in
Switzerland to take on the honourful task of presenting the World Peace Candle
to Mr. Kofi Annan next year on Saturday, 10th of July, 1999 at the United
Nations.
They envision the Peace Candle, presently in their office in Solothurn, will
be given to the Secretary General on the last day of the "People�s Walk for
Peace" on July 4 - 10 of 1999.
The Peace Candle has never been lit. It has been waiting since spring 1995
with the following purpose: It shall be lit as soon as all nuclear weapons are
abolished, as a first step to total disarmament. The peace Candle has been
made from cannon barrels donated by the Swiss Army. They want this candle to
be a gift for the UN, and they would like the UN to provide a room for it.
There the candle could wait until the moment for lighting has come. Private
organizations cannot donate anything to the UN. It must be donated by a
government. We are asking Ireland or Sweden to get involved, since they are
leading countries promoting the abolition of nuclear weapons.
"They have asked us to help create and organize an appropriate ceremony and to
include young people and children in it," said Moore, founder of the BGA.
"They also want everyone to endorse the idea of the "People�s Walk for Peace"
in July 99 and the Great Millennium Peace March being organized by the
Butterfly Gardeners Association.
This was supported unanamously by the Peace & Justice Commission and adopted
by Berkeley City Council on Nov. 24, 1998. Council designated Alan Moore as
an official peace ambassador to the World Peace Candle presentation.
Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco has commended the Butterfly Gardeners
Association for undertaking this task and hopes someday, when nuclear arms are
abolished, we will not have the need for the Peace Candle. The UN Peace Cacus
will help coordinate the event.
Moore and about twenty Bay area delegates, most with the Action Coalition for
Global Change, will attend the Hague Appeal for Peace and pick up the World
Peace Candle that is coming there from Switzerland. Moore will bring the
Candle back to the United States for a cross-country tour before its
presentation at the United Nations.
A public meeting entitled Ushering in the Butterfly Era of Global Civilization
was held at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitatarian Universalists on October 2.
There was a presentation by Moore, authors Norie Huddle and Linda Grover,
Lucille Green, and David Seaborg. The Social Concerns Committee of the
Fellowship endorsed the project on September 27.
Huddle explained how her book, Butterfly, outlines a new myth to help usher in
what she calls the "Butterfly Era of Global Civilization." She is a best
selling author and director for the Center for New National Security. From
1979-83, Huddle interviewed over 400 people from all walks of life about their
positive visions of the future and their ideas for how to make America and the
world more secure. Surviving: The Best Game on Earth, published by Schocken
Books, is a compendium of 30 of these interviews. One reviewer commented,
"This is the first time I have weighed the issues of global survival without
feeling futility or despair.
Linda Grover inspired us to "Party for the Planet." She is the author of Tree
Island and organizer of the Tree Island Millennium Gathering, a global peace
conference held in Klamath Falls, Oregon. She was also the head writer for The
Doctors, NBC; Search for Tomorrow, CBS; and CO-head writer of General
Hospital, ABC. It was a result of her conference that led to Moore and the
Tree Island group being invited to help organize the presentation of The World
Peace Candle to Kofi Annan at United Nations. The Peace Candle is a symbol of
the wish of the world's peoples to abolish nuclear weapons.
Alan Moore discussed the butterfly as a "New Symbol for the Renaissance of the
Earth." He is a local activist, founder of the Butterfly Gardeners
Association (BGA), and member of the Peace & Justice Commission in Berkeley.
His organization has been cited for its accomplishments in raising global
consciousness in books, the media, and by legislative bodies, including the
City of Berkeley and Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco.
Lucille Green gave an update on The People's Millennium Assembly to the United
Nations. She is the author of Journey to a Governed World-Thru 50 Years in
the Peace Movement and president of the Action Coalition for Global Change.
David Seaborg discussed "Environmental Problems as they Relate to World
Peace."
Hali Hammer and Chet Gardener, local area musicians and song writers, provided
entertainment and inspiration.
For more information contact Alan Moore at 510-528-7730 or email
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit <A HREF="http://prop1.org/butterfly.htm ">
http://prop1.org/butterfly.htm</A>
* *
* *
Alan Moore / Member of the Peace and Justice Commission/City of Berkeley
Butterfly Gardeners Association/Friends of Tree Island/Global Empowerment
Network
Earth Rainbow Network/Action Coalition for Global Change
1563 Solano Ave. #477
Berkeley, CA 94707
510-528-7730
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
<A HREF="http://www.woodstocknation.org/butterfly.htm">
http://www.woodstocknation.org/butterfly.htm</A>
<A HREF="http://prop1.org/butterfly.htm ">http://prop1.org/butterfly.htm</A>
Butterfly Gardeners Sites
<A HREF="http://www.treeisland.com/ ">http://www.treeisland.com/</A>
Tree Island Millennium Gathering & Coalition
<A HREF="http://www.GlobalEmpowerment.net/events.htm ">
http://www.GlobalEmpowerment.net</A> Global Empowerment Network
<A HREF="http://www.earthsite.org">http://www.earthsite.org</A>
John McConnell
<A HREF="http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000">
http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000</A> The Millennium
Gathering
<A HREF="http://www.motley-focus.com/~timber/essence.html ">
http://www.motley-focus.com/~timber/essence.html</A> Jean Houston's Of
Essence and Butterflies/ from A Mythic Life
******************************************************************************
*******************************************************
Memorandum
Subj: Re[2]: Groups Asked to Present Kofi Annan & UN with World Pe
Date: 9/15/98 3:16:07 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dear Bflyspirit:
Thank you for sharing information about the World Peace Candle. I hope
someday we will not have the need for the Candle, when nuclear arms will be
abolished.
I understand the work that is needed to produce a successful
presentation, and you are to be commended for undertaking the task.
Good Luck.
Mayor Willie Brown
Press Release from Global initiative
Our Word is Hope
With two powerful actions the Global Initiative will underline its demand for
worldwide disarmament: On the feast of Switzerland's 150th birthday, Sept.
11-13, young artists will weld a "Peace Candle" made of weapons. One week
later young people will hand the "children's torch of hope" to Swiss president
Flavio Cotti in Brig, Swit-zerland.
The Swiss Peace Candle is already under construction in a workshop near Berne.
A 23 year old artist is working with cannon barrels which have been given by
the Swiss Military Department. 20 year old Jonas Abplanalp has organized the
project in order to strengthen the peace work of the Global Initiative.
Switzerland is the first country with such a sculpture; peace organizations
are already interested to build similar peace candles in other countries.
The Global Initiative asks the Swiss Government to join the "New Agenda"
released in June 98 by 8 states including Ireland, Sweden and Mexico. The
eight states demand total nuclear disarmament.
At the "Forum 98 Brig." Sept. 18 and 19, the Global Initiative will, in the
name of civil society, hand over the "Children's Torch of Hope" to Swiss
President Flavio Cotti. The torch has been brought from North America and has
been in the hands of presidents, kings, the pope, the Dalai Lama and millions
of individuals. At this occasion, Mr. Cotti will be asked if Switzerland is
ready to join the New Agenda. Also, Mr. Cotti will be asked if he is willing
to light the Swiss Peace Candle in Berne with the Torch of Hope. The meeting
with Mr. Cotti will be accompanied by a little theater scene and a song
performed by the committee of the Global Initiative, mainly young people.
Swiss President Flavio Cotti takes Torch of Hope
Press Release September 1998
The Swiss Peace Candle, welded of weapons, stands in the middle of Berne, the
capital of Switzerland, at the "Kornhausplatz". It was brought there on
Friday, Sept. 11, 1998, for the big feast for Switzerland�s 150th bithday. It
is about three meters high. The basic structure are cannon barrels donated by
the Swiss Military Department, there are twisted guns and other parts of
weapons. There is also a sculpture of a prisoner inside it who cries for
freedom. On top there is a tank with a big wick which is so strong that it
also burns in rainy weather. For the time of the three days feast, the
sculpture in the form of a candle was lit.
The Swiss TV reported about the candle; the young representatives of the
Global Initiativeand the artist were interviewed, and some newspapers and the
radio reported as well. On the second day of the feast, President Cotti
visited the candle. He was photographed by some news agencies (keystone) and
the press in front of the sculpture and it was reported in the media that he
found this work of art "a good idea".
On the following weekend, the committee of the Global Initiative presented the
"Torch of Hope" to Mr. Cotti at an NGO conference. Four of the five members
are under 20 years old. The torch of hope has been held by the pope, the Dala
Lama and many presidents of this planet and has especially been sent to
Switzerland from California for this occasion. Vice President David Schmitter,
17, has written a scene for the presentation of the torch. David played the
role of a fool who introduced the torch. An optimist and a cynic gave their
commentaries concerning hope, and in the end Mr. Cotti took the torch. He
promised that he will light the candle in Berne with it. This will happen
soon, and preparations are made to create a meaningful ceremony at this
occasion.
The Global Initiative co-operates with Alan Moore of the Butterfly Gardeners
Association (BGA) in California for the important project of presenting the
"World Peace Candle" to Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN, on
Saturday, 10th July 1999. It is planned that one of the young representatives
of the Global Initiative will come to New York at this occasion.
The UN is asked to provide a room for this candle. This candle which has been
bought in 1995 by Dr. Roland Schutzbach, the founder of the Global Initiative,
and his daughter Franziska Schutzbach, shall be lit as soon as there are no
more nuclear weapons on this earth.
It is about 70 cm high and made of metal and glass.
* *
* *
From the Office of the Berkeley City Clerk
December 7, 1998
Dear Mr. Moore,
At its meeting of November 24, 1998 the Berkeley City Council adapted
Resolution # 59,803-N.S. endorsing and supporting the goals of the World Peace
Candle and designated you as the City's delegate for the presentation of the
World Peace Candle to Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, on
Saturday, July 10, 1999.
A copy of the Resolution is enclosed.
Sincerely,
Shirley Kelly
City Clerk
Resolution # 59,803-N.S.
ENDORSING AND SUPPORTING THE GOALS OF THE WORLD PEACE CANDLE, AND DESIGNATING
ALAN MOORE AS THE CITY'S DELEGATE FOR THE PRESENTATION OF THE WORLD PEACE
CANDLE TO KOFI ANNAN, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS, ON SATURDAY,
JULY 10, 1999 AT THE UNITED NATIONS
WHEREAS, the City of Berkeley supports proposals to promote peace and justice
and helps to publicize such actions in the community; and
WHEREAS, the City of Berkeley adopted the Nuclear-Free Berkeley Act which
opposes the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons; and
WHEREAS, the World Peace Candle, now in Switzerland and in the possession of
the Global Initiative, represents the wish of the people of the world to
abolish nuclear weapons as the first step toward world disarmament; and
WHEREAS, the World Peace Candle has never been lit and has been waiting since
the Spring of 1995 to be presented to Kofi Annan, Secretary General, and the
United Nations. It would be lit only after all nuclear weapons are abolished;
and
WHEREAS, the World Peace Candle will hopefully have its own room at the United
Nations and serve as a constant reminder of our hope to abolish nuclear
weapons; and
WHEREAS, Global Initiative has asked Alan Moore, Berkeley resident and member
of the Peace and Justice Commission, to organize the presentation.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Berkeley joins
Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco in endorsing and supporting the goals of
the World Peace Candle, and designating Alan Moore as the City's delegate for
the presentation of the World Peace Candle to Kofi Annan, Secretary General of
the United Nations, on Saturday, July 10, 1999, at the United Nations.
The foregoing Resolution was adopted by the City of Berkeley on November 24,
1998.
Shirley Dean
Mayor of the City of Berkeley
A New Symbol for the Renaissance of the Earth
This June 26, 1997, at the UN in New York, on the occasion of the coming
together of heads of state from around the world assembling to reassess the
progress made since the first Earth Summit, there was a release of butterflies
under the tutelage of Alan Moore of the Butterfly Gardeners Association. For
the first time, under the watching eyes of the media and the people of the
world, this most exquisite yet fragile creature was used to embody the new
awareness of the exquisite yet so fragile beauty of our beloved planet Earth.
The environmental awareness which has been one of the hallmarks of the end of
this century heralds one of the most far reaching changes ever observed as we
approach a new millennium rich with untold opportunities for peace on Earth
and a better life for countless people, but also fraught with potentially
disastrous unbalances in the world's overtaxed ecosystems. Hopes mixed with a
healthy dose of skepticism coexist in everyone�s mind with the inner desire to
see our political leaders tackle the urgent task of reallocating the resources
and creativity, wasted during the fruitless and now bygone era of armed
confrontation, to help create the conditions for a new era of cooperation and
fair sharing of the bounties of nature. But everyone will need to cooperate,
each individual, the business community, the whole world, and not just the
politicians, for such a new world to be. That�s what the butterflies can help
bring about.
We all marvel at some point in our life at the magical wizardry of Life
that transforms a slow and ungraceful caterpillar into a delicate,
magnificent, and graciously fluttering butterfly. Likewise, humanity has the
same potential for transformation and awakening to its inner spiritual reality
lying hidden in the complex machinery of evolution, a process so intricately
woven to the rest of all Life on Earth that a new science was even needed to
study its multifaceted intricacies, the science of ecology. Similarly, the
process by which the inner awareness of its own awareness and existence of a
species, like our own human species, has evolved to the point reached today.
We are collectively at the threshold of a global awakening to our unity, which
is the field of study of a new spiritual science barely beginning to emerge
today seen through the deforming glass of the New Age movement.
And like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon after a long process of
transmutation and maturation, humanity is emerging out of its cocoon of flesh
to discover it is much more than a collection made of a multitude of
individual bodies endowed with a limitless creativity and desire to conquer
the material world bestowed upon us all. We are going to discover very soon
that we can be much more than that. We are going to discover that we can soar
like a butterfly into the limitless universe surrounding us, and not only
conquer the material universe waiting for our coming, but also the spiritual
universe lying hidden in the deepest recesses of our mind.
So not only is this release of butterflies signaled the beginning of a new
chapter of human evolution and the dawn of an era of peaceful coexistence
within the human community and with the entire community of Life on Earth, but
it also marked the birth of a new awareness for our entire species, the
awareness of our unity as a single collective entity of living beings, all co-
responsible to co-create a new world of bountiful abundance for all, a world
made free of polluting technologies and destructive harvesting methods A world
where Peace will not mean the short moment of silence before the next
explosion of violence, but a permanent state of mind permeating all people and
all their activities. The emerging reality of our global human family of Love,
all living in Peace and Harmony, will soon be etched in our collective
consciousness by a memorable event, at the turn of this century into a new
millennium � the Great Gathering of all the tribes, peoples and cultures of
this world � and the butterfly as a symbol of global and personal
transformation will soon be recognized as a portent and messenger for this new
era, now just about to begin... the Earth Renaissance, the dawn of a new age.
Jean Hudon/Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator and Earth Concert 2000 Initiator
P.S. To get more information about the Millennial Great Gathering mentioned
above and sign the Earth Proclamation, visit the Earth Concert 2000 web site
at: http://vr3d.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000/
Subj: Press Release: PUSH IS ON FOR NEW VOICE AT U.N.!!
Date: 6/28/98 11:25:43 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Joanie Misrack)
ACTION COALITION for GLOBAL CHANGE
SAN FRANCISCO - In response to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's call for a
Millennium Peoples Assembly, on June 20-21, 1998 the pilot People's Assembly
began plans for a worldwide campaign to give people a new voice toward solving
global problems and creating a positive future. The goal is to democratize
the United Nations by increasing citizen input and decision-making on issues
that affect all people.
The People's Assembly (PA) meetings, sponsored by the Action Coalition for
Global Change (ACGC), attracted more participants than expected, according to
organizer Dr. Lucile Green. She noted that of the over 120 people attending,
there were a number who came from other counries such as Ethiopia, India,
China, Japan, and Samoa. Activists from New York, Los Angeles, Arizona,
Hawaii.... as well as organizers from the San Francisco Bay Area were also
present.
Consensus was reached on the desirability of some form of People's Assembly at
the UN; although details of such a body in terms of representation and
election methods, as well as degree of input and decision-making power, were
left open for future PA dialogue. Some activists prefer a Permanent People's
Assembly with legislative (law-making) authority, to transform the UN in order
best to represent the world public interest. Others see the PA as a forum to
provide grassroots input to the UN, perhaps through nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs).
It was agreed to work with the Millennium People's Assembly Network (MPAN)
consisting of civil society and NGOs to provide a people's forum and companion
People's Assembly to the UN General Assembly's Millennium meetings per UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's suggestion. Developments can be tracked by
participating in the MPAN ListServ (Subscribe by sending an email message to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the one line message: subscribe passem.); or through
the MPAN web site, http://www.netreaction.com/mpan, which will be developed
into a Virtual People's Assembly.
It was agreed to support and encourage a series of worldwide meetings leading
up to the year 2000 millennium events at the UN, and the formation of a Young
General Assembly (YGA) at the United Nations, as presented by Brenda Van
Fosson and Damon Namvar -- high school members of the Executive Committee that
creates the plans for the global activities and sets the policies for
PEACEWAYS. Acknowledging the contributions that youth can bring to the global
community and the vital role that children must have in deciding and
determining the future, this YGA will be a platform for the voices of the
children of the earth.
Plans were announced by numerous attendees for future PA events:
* PA's may be created across the USA as part of the the Great Millennium Peace
March (Summer, 1999 - according to activist Alan Moore who heads the Butterfly
Gardeners Association).
* Samoan Parliament member Le Tagaloa Pita - PA meetings for Asian Pacific
nations in late 1999;
* Prof. Tatsuro Kunugi of the UN University of Tokyo - a PA meeting in Toronto
in November 1999;
* Dr. Rashmi Mayur of Global Futures Network - a PA in Bombay, India;
* Mary Granfours (and Catherine Margerin) of Milenio - a New Year's 2000 Peace
Festival and Convocation at the University for Peace in Costa Rica, including
a Global Forum for the Practice of Peace.
The UPA approved delegates to attend the Hague Appeal for Peace meeting (May,
1999), being initially coordinated by representatives of the World Federalist
Movement (Director Bill Pace), International Association of Lawyers Against
Nuclear Arms, International Peace Bureau, International Physicians for the
Prevention of Nuclear War (see web site: http://www.haguepeace.org). At that
meeting the ACGC will be sponsoring another PA. For information on
participating in planning for that PA meeting, or being part of the PA
delegation (at your own expense), or to obtain guidelines for creating a PA in
your own community, contact Dr. Lucile Green, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
As an illustration of translating global vision into local action, the UPA
endorsed the ground-breaking process described in Barbara Marx Hubbard's new
book "Conscious Evolution, Awakening our Social Potential" -- toward building
a community network of people working to create positive change through the
matching of goals, needs and resources. For information see the web site of
the Foundation for Conscious Evolution:
http://www.CoCreation.com/PRIndex.html.
International Herald Tribune
Published with the New York Times and the Washington Post
November 14, 1997
For a Global People's Assembly
By Andrew Stauss and Richard Falk
Wilmington, DE
The recent dramatic announcements of record-setting contributions to
international causes by Ted Turner and George Soros suggest tremendous
possibilities for the future.
These two men signify the rise of a new breed of global philanthropist
active in fashioning an international civil society. It was globalization
that gave them the opportunities to amass extraordinary wealth. It now
provides them and others with a unique opportunity to contribute to human
well-being.
This includes pushing for the democratization of the global order, a goal
that governments are reluctant to promote.
Such individuals could do this most imaginatively by providing funds for
the establishment of a popularly elected Global People's Assembly, which would
provide the world's citizens for the first time with a forum to express their
planetary aspirations and grievances outside the traditional nation-state
context.
Elections for this assembly could be organized and administered by an
international citizens' committee and overseen by the respected Swedish
organization International Democratic Elections Assistance, or IDEA. Once
established, the assembly could lobby governments for the formal recognition
within the UN system.
To begin with, however, such an assembly would have an international legal
status similar to that of non-governmental organizations like the Red Cross or
Amnesty International. Unlike them, however, it could lay claim to speak on
behalf of the people's of the world. As the only such body, it would have the
potential to be highly influential even before receiving official recognition.
Specifically, how would this assembly make its influence felt? Like the UN
General Assembly, whose official powers are largely recommendatory, such an
assembly would contribute to the creation of planetary norms of behavior by
issuing resolutions and proclamations, and more generally by expressing view
on critical issues of global policy.
In a more and more integrated world that increasingly ascribes to
democratic principles, the case for such an assembly seems unassailable.
First, because the globalization of the world economy inevitably requires
the development of global regulatory institutions, the preservation of
freedoms now enjoyed demands we begin to structure these institutions along
democratic lines.
Second, the very existence of a citizen-controlled international assembly
would both ideologically and practically reinforce democratic practices within
countries and undermine authoritarianism.
Third, allowing representatives from different countries and civilizations
to work together to advance mutual interests and discuss differences in an
assembly setting would help promote a climate of civility in global affairs,
encouraging universal values to prevail over more parochial concerns, as well
as over sectarian loyalties and beliefs.
Finally, the establishment of such a global assembly with direct electoral
accountability to workers, peasants, and other citizens would give currently
vulnerable groups a voice and help them regain some of the power lost to
international capital as a result of globalization.
The major argument likely to be advanced against such n undertaking is that
it is naive, idealistic, and, at best, premature. To be sure, logistical
problems would have to be overcome. Worldwide elections would have to be
independently organized. A voting formula based upon one person, one vote,
would have to be put into place, and elections would need to be certifiable as
free and fair.
There would of course, be glitches. Some governments would undoubtedly not
allow such elections to occur on their territories, and until sufficient
pressure could be brought to bear, their citizens would have to go
unrepresented. But these problems would not be fatal to the endeavor.
There is no reason to think that this lies beyond the realm of the
possible. Indeed, a bold, visionary undertaking at the start of a new
millennium might activate the political and moral imagination of all those who
aspire to construct a world order more responsive to the values associated
with democracy.
Those with the resources have the capacity to make this proposal a reality
by seizing the initiative and promoting the democratization of the emerging
international order. Democracy at the global level is needed and long
overdue.
(Mr. Strauss and Mr. Falk, international law professors at Widener and
Princeton Universities, respectively, contributed this to the Herald Tribune.)
