Save The World Awards 2009 - The first Sustainable World Congress

STRONG INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS. The first SUSTAINABLE WORLD CONGRESS is held at Grafenenegg Castle, Lower Austria. The congress will serve as an international platform in order to promote the implementation of sustainability strategies at all levels to tackle climate change, reverse environmental degradation, establish peace and social justice and defeat infectious diseases for us and for future generations.

The SUSTAINABLE WORLD CONGRESS cooperates with numerous international institutions and organizations such as Austrian Clean Technology, the Austrian National Committee for UNICEF, the Austrian Society for Environment and Technology, CARE, Green Cross International, the Ecosocial Forum, OEKONEWS.at, Platform Footprint, respACT, Sustainable Europe Research Institute and Umweltdachverband.

Renowned and respected speakers from various fields such as business, politics, arts and media will cover some of the most pressing issues of our time, as well as outline various ways and means towards a more sustainable world for us and for future generations.

The Association des Veuves du Genocide d’Avril (AVEGA) is a nonprofit organization founded by fifty widows who are survivors of the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi. In 1994, in the course of just three months, about one million people were killed. “Agahozo”, the Rwandan name of AVEGA, is a soothing poem you sing to dry someone’s tears. Back in those heartbreaking days, the world looked away. Now, fifteen years later, it is high time to encourage the world to look there and help dry the tears. That is our purpose. Life goes on, even stronger than before. Will you join us?
www.helpavega.com

The Austrian Clean Technology (ACT) is the Center of Excellence for Environmental and Energy Technology and Services. Founded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber in summer 2008, its main duty is to coordinate and promote the implementation of the Master Plan Environmental Technology foremost in the fields of qualification, financing and business cooperations.
www.act-center.at

The Austrian National Committee for UNICEF was established in 1962. It promotes the survival, protection and development of all children worldwide through fundraising, advocacy and education. The Austrian Committee’s work focuses on: Fundraising for UNICEF programmes of work; selling UNICEF Greeting Cards; advocating for the world's children, keeping the public informed about situations faced by the world’s children and how to help; lobbying for children´s rights in Austria and around the world and creating educational materials for teachers, children and parents.
www.unicef.at

The Austrian Society for Environment and Technology was founded as a non-party platform for environment, business and authorities in 1985. ÖGUT works in the area of conflicts concerning both economy an ecology and stands for networking, competence and innovation. OGUT is aiming at improving communication between the various stakeholders within society, preparing documents on which to base the implementation of a sustainable environmental policy and initiating and promoting solutions of value to the environment and the economy.
www.oegut.at

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. Non-political and non-sectarian, CARE operates each year in more than 70 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, reaching more than 55 million people in poor communities. CARE helps tackle underlying causes of poverty so that people can become self-sufficient. CARE is often one of the first to deliver emergency aid to survivors of natural disasters and war and, once the immediate crisis is over, we help people rebuild their lives.
www.care.at

The Ecosocial Forum, a non-profit organisation and think tank, is devoted to promoting the concept of an “Ecosocial Market Economy” in Austria und Europa. Its aim is an efficient and, at the same time, socially und ecologically sustainable, balanced economy. As an interdependent platform, the Ecosocial Forum is bringing together personalities und organisations in order to campaign for the “Ecosocial Market Economy” and to work towards the real-political implementation. The Ecosocial Forum promotes faire frameworks in the globalised world. The goal is a world in balance.
www.oekosozial.at

The Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency (EPEA) Internationale Umweltforschung GmbH in Hamburg was founded by Professor Dr. Michael Braungart in 1987. The Cradle to Cradle methodology is the guiding principle of EPEA’s work. The aim of which is to attain eco-effectiveness by nutrient cycles rather than to ensure compliance with environmental standards at least cost using eco-efficiency. Materials are applied with respect to their intrinsic values and their useful afterlife in recycled or even "upcycled" products. EPEA contributes to the process of designing everything from profitable products, safe for human health and the living environment.
www.epea.com

FAIRTRADE Austria is a non-profit association, which aim is to advocate producers in developing countries. According to the principle “change through trade” the association wants to support fair trading conditions for disadvantaged small producers in the Southern countries as an ongoing future instrument for development cooperation and development politics without being involved in trading itself.
www.fairtrade.at

The Forum Science & Environment was founded in 1985 in Vienna. Today about 250 scientists work free of charge and independently for the Forum’s agenda, which aims to realise the sustainable development of our environment and society. They deliver expert opinions and comments on environmental concerns to political authorities, release press statements, organise public events together with NGOs and arrange expert discussions within the scientific community.
www.fwu.at

GLOBAL 2000 is Austria's leading independent organization for environmental protection. As an active part of Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) it fights for an intact nature, a society capable of the future and a sustainable economy. GLOBAL 2000 is an independent organization and works on disruptive societal themes and uncovers possible risks for human beings and nature. GLOBAL 2000 offers information on atomic energy, genetic technology, the protection of the climate and agriculture and demands protection of the nature – right
www.global2000.at

Green Cross International (GCI) forms the umbrella organisation of 30 national Green Cross organisations. Currently Jan Kulczyk serves as the chairman of the Board. Mikhail Gorbachev is Green Cross International Founding President. The mission of GCI is to help ensure a just, sustainable and secure future for all by fostering a value shift and cultivating a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility in humanity´s relationship with nature. GCI concentrates its activities on five focus areas: energy, water, environmental security, social and medical care, education.
www.greencrossinternational.net

The Greenpeace is an independent global environmental organisation and exists because our fragile earth deserves a voice. It needs solutions, change and action. Greenpeace acts to change attitudes and behaviour; to protect and conserve the environment. Greenpeace works on: catalysing an energy revolution to reduce climate change, defending our oceans, protecting the world’s ancient forests, creating a toxic free future, campaigning for sustainable agriculture.
www.greenpeace.at

HumanRightsConsulting Vienna is an independent consultancy firm which supports change processes on the basis of human rights and organizational consulting expertise. By combining a systematic human rights approach and systemic consulting we focus on the practical implementation of human rights. This concept is also reflected in our team: Human rights experts cooperate closely with organizational consultants. We thus translate and concretize human rights standards into achievable development steps.
www.humanrightsconsulting.com

The Civil Society Initiative forms a growing network of NGOs, Initiatives and dedicated individuals working together on the idea of reorganizing society to allow a pleasant, livable and sustainable future. Challenges, like the current financial crisis, Climate Change, Peak Oil or democratic deficits in the European Union affect all human affairs and cannot be tackled with singular measures. The Initiative allows people from environmental-, peace-, social-, human-rights, and other backgrounds to jointly work on concepts for creating a more democratic, equal, sustainable and livable world.
www.initiative-zivilgesellschaft.at

Menschen für Menschen was founded in 1981 by Karlheinz Böhm and has since then been actively committed to Ethiopia, one of the world´s poorest nations. The sustainable projects are lead by the idea of “help for self-development”. Menschen für Menschen operates in nine regions in the sectors of agriculture, agro-ecology, water, education, health, and the improvement of the status of women in society. Around 4 million people benefit from the organisation´s humanitarian efforts. Almaz Böhm, a native Ethiopian herself, has taken over the operative management of the organisation in 2008.
www.menschenfuermenschen.at

OEKONEWS.at is Austrian's first online newspaper, reporting on renewable energy and sustainability on a daily basis. OEKONEWS.at is Austria's biggest website in this area. The editorial staff of OEKONEWS.at hopes that as many people as possible can be convinced of the enormous advantages renewable energy offers. OEKONEWS.at wants to support the networking of this important and ever-growing scene through articles and contacts.
www.oekonews.at

Platform Footprint is an alliance of leading environmental and social NGOs and academic institutions in Austria, dedicated to promoting the Ecological Footprint as a key measure for sustainability. Ultimate goal is to end global overshoot and to promote a “one-planet living”. Applying the Ecological Footprint in education and consulting, the Platform wants to contribute to the “great transformation” towards sustainable “future-proof” societies. The platform directly promotes the Ecological Footprint concept to establish it as a parameter for sustainability in politics and economics as well as on the very personal life-style level.
www.footprint.at

respACT - austrian business council for sustainable development is the leading platform for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development in Austria. This association emerged in October 2007 from the fusion of the Austrian Business council for Sustainable Development (ABCSD) and respACT austria. The association supports its members along the path to ecological and social sustainability. The most important areas of activity for the association are communication and public relations, exchange of experiences as well as knowledge transfer and education.
www.respact.at

The Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI) is an interdisciplinary Pan-European think tank exploring sustainable development options for (European) societies, governments, business companies, and individuals. As one of the leading Austrian institutes in this field SERI employs tools such as indicator-based sustainability assessments and policy analyses, and develops sustainability strategies and concepts. In networks and projects on the local, national and European level SERI is co-operating with top experts in the respective fields and disseminating knowledge through presentations, publications and websites.
www.seri.at

"die umweltberatung" – your prime partner in environmental concerns! For insulation with ecological materials, healthy alimentation or environmental projects with children and schools – "die umweltberatung" is independent from companies and has counselors in Vienna, Lower Austria, Burgenland, Upper Austria and Carinthia. Our motto is “From knowledge to action!”. Our experts give practical hints and professional know-how for environmental protection and better quality of life. Our services are personal consulting, seminars and workshops. An ecological way of life and a sustainable economic system needs no expensive repairs and is better for all of us!
www.umweltberatung.at

Umweltdachverband (UWD) is an environmental umbrella organization of 38 environmental NGOs in Austria. UWD works successfully in various projects for regional governments and ministries at national and international level. Additionally UWD participates in the public discussion concerning environmental topics and provides consultant services to decision makers in policy and economy. As environmental NGO Umweltdachverband is concentrated in building up competences in the thematic areas of sustainability, climate policy, rural development, water and nature conservation policy.
www.umweltdachverband.at

The Vienna based NGO ZARA – Zivilcourage und Anti-Rassismus-Arbeit was founded in 1999 and is dedicated to extensive anti-racism work. It was the first organisation in Austria to support victims of racist discrimination. Its mandate comprises counselling victims and witnesses of racism, monitoring and awareness raising. ZARA’s primary target groups are victims and witnesses of racism, who need support and counselling. It offers its services like advice, legal counselling, help and information, free of charge. When it comes to sensitisation and awareness raising the organisation targets discriminators, various professional groups, politicians and individuals interested in the subject.
www.zara.or.at

The Zukunftsinstitutwas founded in 1998 and is today one of the most influential think tanks of the european trend research. Analysis, scenarios and research took the place of mystic predictions to create a universal science which today occupies itself with one main question: Which changes, trends and mega-trends are shaping our present? The Zukunftsinstitut is a platform for future themes and knowledge in the widest sense and we produce trend reports and trend letters for management, marketing and a wider public. We organise speeches, seminars and future events, as well as coaching and consulting.
www.zukunftsinstitut.de