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| Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev, Founding President of the WORLD AWARDS, established Green Cross International in 1993 |
Leader & Visionary. Time Magazine named him a “Hero of the Environment”.
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union and Founding
President of the WORLD AWARDS, started a global movement, Green Cross International, over 16
years ago to help ensure a just, sustainable and secure future for all of us.
In January 1989, when addressing the Global Forum for Survival of Humanity, President Gorbachev
brought up the idea for an organization that would apply the medical emergency response model
of the International Committee of the Red Cross to ecological issues and expedite solutions
to environmental problems that transcend national boundaries.
LAUNCHED IN KYOTO 1993. Developing this idea, delegates at the
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro approached Mikhail Gorbachev mandating him to create and launch
this organization. At the same time Swiss National Council MP, Roland Wiederkehr founded a ‘World
Green Cross' with the same objective. Both organizations merged in 1993 to form Green Cross
International. Green Cross International (GCI) was formally launched in Kyoto on the 18th April
1993. Upon the invitation of Mikhail Gorbachev, many renowned figures joined its
Board of Directors and
The Honorary Board.
In order to gain credibility, it was important that Green Cross International has been establishing
national affiliates, which would enjoy the autonomy to conduct their own projects, whilst also
participating in at least one international program. To date, Green Cross International is represented
in 31 countries around the world. It has been granted consultative status with the Economic
and Social Council of the United Nations and with UNESCO. GCI is also an admitted observer organization
with the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and cooperates directly
with the UNEP/OCHA Environmental Emergencies Section, UN-HABITAT and other international organizations.
Green Cross International is Founding Partner (NGO) of the SAVE THE WORLD AWARDS. |
