Saturday October 11, 2008, International Year of Planet Earth

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environmental Program, in his keynote address at the UN DPI/NGO Climate Change Conference in September 2007 said: “Climate change could only be solved by all coming together in an unprecedented way.”  These Climate Change Community Summits will be unprecedented.

The 100-plus Climate Change Community Summits will be:

• Connected via interactive Internet technology, which will allow video and audio communication among the communities on Summit Day and the establishment of an on-going web based network within and across regions.
• Regionally designated site coordinators will receive the necessary free training to continue the on-going web interactions for sharing experiences and successes.
• Summit speakers, including experts, educators, government and community leaders, will be archived on the web

The Climate Change Community Summits will focus on:

• Utilization of dialogues and forums of diverse stakeholders that increase civic engagement, identify and support emerging leaders and community initiatives for constructive and lasting solutions.
• Establishment and maintenance of informed networks across regions that are committed to actions.
• Incorporation of indigenous knowledge and technologies;
• Utilization of communication information technology for educational and action learning projects.

Successful outcomes for International Year of Planet Earth and climate change efforts are more likely to occur if they strengthen the capacity and empowerment of local communities and coordinate local, regional and national policies and initiatives.

To learn more about hosting a Summit in your community, please review the start up kit or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to join our growing Community Climate Change Summits’ network.

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