Dear Friends,

The Research Centre for Global Governance (RCGG) is established with  the main objective of the search for lasting solutions to the problems  of humanity.  It is to form a Think Tank to collect contributions from  all the peoples of the world without any restrictions.  The best ideas are to be put in practice in the measure possible.

Membership is open to all who care for humanity, recognize the interdependency of all the peoples of the world, and appreciate the  concept of world citizenship.

In the new millennium, the globalized world requires a new vision and a change in paradigm for its governance.

Anyone can contribute to the Think Tank simply by identifying a problem that afflicts humanity and offering a solution. You are invited to send a summary of not more than 1000 words for editorial review.

The articles should not only criticize existing situations, but offer solutions and suggestions to attain the objectives of the global governance.

The areas of the study include:

1)Global Prosperity,
2)Global Security & World Peace,
3)Economic Governance,
4)Reforming the United Nations,
5)Moral Development,
6)Human Rights,
7)The Status of Women,
8)Nuclear Activities,
9)Ecology & Environment.

The formation of RCGG was inspired by the activities of the Commision on Global Governance.

In 1995, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, many organizations made an evaluation of the first 50 years of the activities of the UN and the changes that occurred in the relationships among the nations of the world.  Outstanding were the activities of the Commission on Global Governance.

This Commission is an independent group of 28 leaders with diverse experience and responsibilities. Their task has been to suggest ways in which our global community could better  manage its affairs in a new time in human history.  Their intensive work of two and half years produced a report in the form of a book entitled "Our Global Neighborhood" (Oxford University Press, 1995).

It stresses the need for shared values, a global civic ethic, and enlightened leadership to guide people and nations in  the global neighborhood. It explores the challenges facing humanity and offers considered proposals:

-  to promote the security of people and the planet,
-  to manage the global economy,
-  to reform the United Nations, and
-  to strengthen the rule of law worldwide.

One of the objectives of The Research Centre for Global  Governance is to prepare a document for such a World Conference which reflects the melting pot of ideas offered from around the world  by peoples of the various nationalities, cultural, scientific, racial,  religious, class and ethnic groups as a contribution of the peoples  of the world.  This is an opportunity in which you as an individual  can make a difference as this report will be offered to a world summit meeting which is being increasingly called for.
 

Those who would like to participate in this activity  should reply by sending their name, postal & E-mail addresses,  profession, and fax number(if any) to    rcgg@orion.ufrgs.br   in order to be placed on the mailing list.

Please share this information with your friends and the networks you subscribe to in order to give the widest publicity to  this activity in the service of mankind. We would like to make this a truly  world-wide activity to contribute to the goal of world peace by the  third millennium. This is an opportunity for you as an individual  citizen of the world to make a difference.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING ARTICLES:

Please observe the following guidelines:

1.  The articles should not only criticize existing conditions,  but offer solutions and suggestions to attain the goals of global  governance.

2.  Please send a summary of your article in less than 1000 words.  The articles will be reviewed in the first stage on the basis of  the summary. The authors will be informed of acceptance in order
to send the full paper.

3.  As the goal is to reach people of all strata of society, the  articles should be written in a logical scholarly manner, in plain  English, avoiding scientific jargon unknown to the general public in order to be understandable to people of all levels of education  and nationalities.

4.  The article should begin with a title, followed by name,  affiliation (if any), both mailing and E-mail address and fax (if any), abstract, body of the article, references (if any), a short resume of the author(s) of less than six lines, and mention of under which topic the article should be classified.

The articles will be reviewed by an editorial board and published in both electronic and paper form.  It is planned to publish a book with gleanings from the contributions to present to a future conclave
fo world's leaders. A summit meeting of this nature has already  been proposed by various political and non-political organizations.

The Research Center for Global Governance wishes to receive  contributions from all, since the wealth of collective wisdom  comes from the melting pot of ideas from peoples of all races,  nations, classes, religions, sexes, ethnic origins for the benefit of all mankind.

THE RESEARCH CENTRE FOR GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
 

The Concept of Global Governance:

Governance is the sum of the many ways individuals and  institutions, public and private, manage their common affairs.  It is a continuing process through which conflicting or diverse interests may be accommodated and co-operative action may be taken.  Global governance involves non-governmental as well as governmental organizations, citizen's movements, multinational corporations  and the global capital market.  Interacting with these are global mass media.

The globalization process is in danger of widening the gap between rich and poor.  Global governance calls for a new vision, challenging people as well as governments to realize that there is no alternative to working together and using collective power to create a better world.

A global civic ethic to guide actions within the global neighborhood and leadership infused with that ethic are vital to the quality of global governance.  Humanity is required to uphold a common set of  core values.

The Commission for Global Governance proposed a Summit on Global Governance in 1998.  The Summit will take place in 1998 or may beput off until 1999 or 2000. It is doubtful that it will be blocked by the possible objections of any country as it will most likely be a creation of the UN General Assembly.
 

1. Global Prosperity

We need to have a vision of human prosperity in the fullest sense of the term which is an awakening to the possibilities of spiritual and material well-being.  Its beneficiaries must be all the peoples of the world without any restriction.  The concept of development must be redefined. Social and economic development
based on merely a materialistic conception of life has proven unable to meet humanity's needs.  We need to re-examine our attitudes and assumptions that currently underlie approaches to social and economic development.  We need to reach a broad  consensus of understanding about human nature itself.

2. Global Security and World Peace

With the physical unification of the planet in this century and acknowledgment of the interdependence of all who live on it,  the history of humanity as one people is now beginning.  The concept of global security must be broadened from the traditional focus on the security of states to include the security of peoples and the security of the planet.  To achieve peace we need a new orientation of thought and a new knowledge of the dynamics of change in the history of human society.

In the struggle for primacy in which each sees virtue in advancing its national self-interest, with states and peoples pitted against each other there can be no winners.  Everyone will lose; selfishness will make genius the instrument of human self-destruction. Peace is more than the absence of war.
 

3. Economic Governance

Globalization is in danger of widening the gap between rich and poor.  A sophisticated, increasingly affluent world currently coexists with a marginalized global underclass.  The pace of globalization of financial and other markets is outstripping the capacity of governments to provide the necessary framework of rules and co-operative arrangements.

It is the time to build a global forum that can provide leadership in economic, social, and environmental fields.
 

4. Reforming the United Nations

The United Nations may be reformed to make way for a new architecture of global governance.  UN reform must reflect the realities of change, including the new capacity of civil society to contribute to global governance. The vision that drove the process of the founding the United Nations as well as a spirit of innovation to usher in a new era of global governance must prevail.

A world meeting to decide on the possible restructuring of the United Nations may be held.  Decisions would be arrived at through a process of consultation, that is , arriving at a consensus about the truth of a given situation and the wisest choice of action among the options open at any given moment.
 

5. Moral Development

A new morality in the relationships between the nations and the peoples of the world is needed.  The goal is the establishment of world unity in diversity.  The concept of unity is both simple and complex - simple because every one has some notion of its nature, and complex because it demands a total reorientation of views concerning every aspect of life.  The concept of the unity of mankind implies an organic change in the structure of present day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced.

The concept of the spiritual nature of man introduces a new dimension into the question of equality - the dimension of humanness.  An equal relationship calls for co-operation rather than competition, flexibility rather than rigidity, tenderness rather than forcefulness, and humility rather than arrogance.
 

6. Human Rights

All humanity should uphold the core values of respect for life, liberty, justice and equity, mutual respect, caring, and integrity. These provide a foundation for transforming a global neighborhood based on economic exchange and improved communications into a universal moral community in which people are bound together by more than proximity, interests, or identity.  They all derive in one way or another from the principle, which is in accord with religious teachings around the world, that people should treat others as they themselves wish to be treated.  It is this imperative that was reflected in the call made in the UN Charter for recognition of "the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family."
 

7. The Status of Women

There must be an equality of rights between men and women. The lack of this equality brings injustice against half of the population of the world.  As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibility, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs.
 

8. The Nuclear Activities

The safe production of nuclear energy as well as the disarmament of nuclear weapons and the peaceful utilization of plutonium and highly enriched uranium resulting from dismantling of such weapons at the service of humanity are the formidable problems of global governance.
 

9. Ecology & the Environment

The new generation knows how close they stand to cataclysms  unless they respect the limits of the natural order and care for the earth by sustaining its life-giving qualities.

There is a need to evaluate our basic attitude towards nature and the equilibrium that must exist between the physical and spiritual realities which affects all aspects of man's life on earth as they are interdependent.

A holistic vision leads us to a new profound ecological consciousness which makes us ask deeper questions such as which type of society, which kind of education and which kind of religion is useful for all the people who live on the surface of the earth.

Some of the issues which may be discussed are as follows:

-  A universal language
-  A world currency
-  A world legislature
-  Eradication of poverty
-  An International Force
-  Ethical & technical principles for global communications.
-  Global standards in all fields; i.e., scientific, technological,
   trade & commerce, transportation, etc.
-  International patent rights.
-  Cultural diversity versus cultural homogenization.
-  Demilitarization
-  Collective security
-  Resolving territorial/border questions.
-  Global social & economic development.
-  Sustainable development
-  Global resources; use and management.
-  Global Heritage
-  Population movements
-  Global health care
-  Harmonizing globalization and decentralization.
-  Harmonizing international legal systems.
-  Harmonization and democratization of various UN Agencies.
-  International taxation and revenue raising schemes.
-  Global democracy
-  Global leadership
-  Promoting equality of the rights of both sexes.
-  Global common values.
-  Oneness of human race.
-  Global human responsibilities.
-  Global decision making.
-  Global social welfare.
-  Combating racism
-  Combating religious fanaticism.
-  Combating militant nationalism.
-  Global education
-  Global civic ethic.
-  Concept of world citizenship.