Eco April Alignment
Uniting Community Honoring Life
The Eco April Alignment is a network of intergenerational and cross-cultural organizations, groups, and individuals. We are interconnected and focused on honoring all living things and uniting our community by aligning with extraordinary events in April 2008 in the Seattle area. The principles that guide our participation and partnership are as follows ...learn more
GROUP DETAILS
Created: Dec 24, 2007
Updated: Nov 10, 2009
Membership: Open
Public
What is WiserEarth?
WiserEarth helps the global movement of people and organizations working toward social justice, indigenous rights, and environmental stewardship connect, collaborate, share knowledge, and build alliances.
All tools and content are free to use. The site is commercial-free too.
Here you will find:
The WiserEarth Directory
The world's largest free and editable international directory of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and socially responsible organizations (over 110,000 in 243 countries, territories, and sovereign islands).
WiserEarth Groups
Online community forums where members can engage in discussion, post and share resources, and collaborate on projects.
WiserEarth Community
A vibrant community of over 30,000 members making connections, sharing resources, solutions, jobs, and events. Photo by Craig Marston
WiserEarth Taxonomy
The world's most detailed classification of issue areas related to social justice and environmental restoration.
Why do we need WiserEarth?
There are more than one million organizations and many millions of us around the world who are actively working toward ecological sustainability, economic justice, human rights protection, political accountability and peace -- issues that are systemically interconnected and intertwined.
Our effectiveness to prevent harm and institute positive change is undermined by our lack of collective awareness, duplication of efforts, and poor connectivity.
What has been missing is a map and directory of our network that includes the resources for communication and cooperation; in essence, an infrastructure through which to coordinate our efforts. WiserEarth provides this infrastructure. It provides a way for us to become better connected and more effective at working together.
What you can do in WiserEarth
1. Find people, organizations and groups from all over the world who are involved in the social justice and environmental community
2. Connect, share ideas and network with the people who share your interests
3. Generate visibility and support for your work
4. Create a group for your community of action
5. Make a donation to WiserEarth
6. Learn about more ways to get involved.
History
WiserEarth is a fiscally sponsored project of the Natural Capital Institute (NCI), an organization committed to the restoration of the earth and the healing of human culture.
WiserEarth's vision comes from NCI’s Executive Director, Paul Hawken, who recognized its need when researching his latest book, Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being, and Why No One Saw It Coming.
“I knew that if we could understand the connections and visualize the breadth of global efforts on behalf of social and environmental justice, we would recognize the largest movement the world has ever seen. WiserEarth is where this movement can begin to see itself.”
WiserEarth was launched on Earth Day, April 2007. Initial funding for WiserEarth supported the critical phase of building the platform, populating the site with a base of content, and listening to the needs of partners and community members.
In the Spring of 2008, WiserEarth went "open source", meaning its technical code was released to the world. Other projects can now customize a full scale website based on this WiserPlatform code without relying on NCI’s financial leadership.
Since its release, WiserEarth's functionality and tools have co-evolved with its users. Starting out as a directory, WiserEarth now offers social networking tools and groupware for people to connect and collaborate around issue areas. We invite you to read about WiserEarth's Principles.
WiserEarth will always be a work in progress. We hope WiserEarth community members will donate their time and intellectual property to help make WiserEarth a true global resource. The history from this point onward is collaboratively written by all of us - the community.
Our team
Paul Hawken
Founder
Peggy Duvette
Executive Director
Angus Parker
Program Director
Camilla Burg
Communication & Outreach
Honore Louie
Product Manager
Rehan Iftikhar
Lead Developer
Wibowo Sulistio
Online Community Manager
Kerry Vineberg
Community Outreach Coordinator
Juan Carlos
WiserEarth Spanish Coordinator
Justin Beck
Social Media Intern
Michael MacKinnon
HTML Volunteer
...and all the stewards of WiserEarth, the volunteer WiserEarth Editors community that collaborate to improve the website, grow the directory, and enrich the community.
WiserEarth Advisory Council
The Advisory Council is a voluntary initiative that serves as the ambassador body for WiserEarth, building the bridges into the community and fostering a sense of accountability for the staff. We are currently putting a team of leaders together. Here are the current members of the Council
Paul Hawken
Founder
Peggy Duvette
Executive Director
Michael Kwan
WiserEarth Editor
Deborah Phelan
WiserEarth Editor
Danielle Brigida
Wildlife Advocate
Theresa Williamson
Founder of Catalytic Communities
If you are interested please contact peggy [at] wiserearth.org.
Frequently Asked Questions | What's New on WiserEarth | Spread the Word
Testimonials | Success Stories | WiserEarth in the News and on the Web
Feeling inspired?
We're at the beginning of the journey and there are several things you can do immediately to help take WiserEarth forward:
1. Be a part of the WiserEarth community
2. List your organization in the WiserEarth directory.
3. Spread the 'WiserEarth' word to people in your network and on the world wide web
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"Wiserearth.org is important work and true service to the unnumbered individuals out there who, having tuned in to the spirit of the age, now labor for the good of themselves and their neighbors the world over."
Tom Viator, USA
"WiserEarth is the best cooperative site I have come across and a great place to learn, connect and share thoughts - you guys do an awesome job, so thank you!"
John Rainbird, Australia
"There
is nothing like WiserEarth.
Its' community directory, made by us and for us, has over 100,000 organizations working for just and lasting change."
Jon Ramer, USA
"WiserEarth represents an opportunity to weave the intentions of many global networks that are doing similar work around the world."
Juan Carlos, Mexico
"I'm very happy to find WiserEarth, and think it may be a good fit for some organizing and connecting work I feel drawn to doing. I like the social networking, the clean interface, the modules that are available, and the social/wholesome intent."
Brother Faith, France
"Merci pour la bienvenue a WiserEarth. c'est vraiment merveilleux!"
Kevin, France
"WiserEarth has gone ahead and created the thing that everyone has been saying we desperately need."
Jon Warnow, Step It Up Congress, USA
"OH MY GOD THIS SITE IS AMAZING!!!!!... Whether someone wants to volunteer in their community, needs help researching for their thesis, or wants to find a group doing specific work in a foreign country they want to go delve into, it's all here and REALLY well done!!! Kudos!"
Rosemary, USA
“In particular, I see the benefits of making interdisciplinary 'crossover' connections among organizations and institutions, e.g. artists with community development specialists, environmentalists with social justice advocates.”
Lynne, USA
"This is a good example of the community realizing that we can join efforts."
Martine, USA
"WiserEarth is especially important for groups that, for different reasons, do not have the infrastructure or financial stability to maintain their own web presence."
Culture of Peace Initiative, Coordinator
"Thanks for the service. It is very elegant... the combination of map / individual / group / social networking / conceptual mapping, appears to be the best off-the-shelf IT solution I have found."
Paul Cereghino, USA
"WiserEarth has given those of us from the global South the rare opportunity of being a part of the big but yet small global village in terms of e-connectivity and especially creating a forum (free web forum) for us to share ideas with our colleagues up North."
Tola Winjobi, Nigeria
"We like how the WiserEarth platform incorporates the best of a Wiki with a community concept and functionality, among other things."
John, USA
"Every conservation practitioner should familiarize themselves with this site and those it links to. This site has been needed for years. It's here now!"
Paul Butler, USA
"WiserEarth deserves all our support. Any company stressing a commitment to CSR and global collaboration should think hard about supporting it."
Mark Charmer, co-founder of Akvo and director of The Movement Design Bureau
“Thanks again for the opportunity to be part of the women's network on WiserEarth. It has significantly enhanced my profile and work in ways that I couldn't have imagined a year ago!”
Mary, Nigeria
“I interviewed a potential new volunteer today. She found Maitri's info on the WiserEarth website just days after I signed up. So it's already paying off.”
Stan, USA
Comments (1 - 20 of 40)
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This comment was removed by a WiserEarth editor for the following reason:
Out of scope / spam |
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This comment was removed by a WiserEarth editor for the following reason:
Out of scope / spam |
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its wonderfull to be part of WiserEarth. U GUYS U R JUST GREAT
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As you note, there are millions of organizations moving society in these directions. WiserEarth seems to be the best interactive platform for connecting us. Refreshing to see, since good news and people's power deserve higher profile than bad news.
I've written an article featuring Philadelphia's best grassroots initiatives, "Prepare for the Best." There are probably 100 million such organizations globally, when smallest unincorporated community groups are included. --Paul Glover |
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You are Great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All of you!!!!!!!!!! Thank for your powerfull Idea of this easy and efficiency social network system Hope we could make a wondefull job to contribute at the wisest possible world ...and may be beyond...!!! Stéphane MICHOT Président/Founder IDEAL INTERNATIONAL ONG accréditée au Groupe de Travail des Nations Unies www.ideal-international.eu 18 rue duperré 75009 Paris France Tel : +33 (0) 970 40 67 17 Fax: +33 (0) 179 75 97 31 |
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good
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Wiserearth.org is important work and true service to the unnumbered individuals out there who, having tuned in to the spirit of the age, now labor for the good of themselves and their neighbors the world over. P.S. The first mention (that I am aware of) of this Nameless, Organic, Worldwide, Grass Roots, Phenomenon that Paul Hawken talks about in the Bioneers Video is in the book Cultural Creatives, How 50 Million People are Changing the World (by Paul Ray & Sherry Anderson). (They make reference to an earlier work by Paul, Natural Capitalism, and praise it highly.) I write this because their work published in Cultural Creatives verified, as early as 2000, the emergence of a cultural phenomenon that is exercising greater and greater influence in this country and indeed the world. They foreshadowed the convergence of the movements of the 60's & 70's, initially once-discrete movements, into "a great current of social change". Interesting stuff. 
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You are the one who save the earth in this time!!!
I Love it!!!!
-Jayson Enciso |
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like to say hi to all the people making a defrence out there
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i love wiser earth, thanks those who founded this web page. may God grant them long life by big daf |
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There is digital divide between the global north and the global south. Internet connectivity is still at slow speed in many parts of the developing countries while getting a website costs a fortune. WiserEarth has given those of us from the global south the rare opportunity of being a part of the big but yet small global village in terms of e-connectivity and especially creating a forum (free webforum) for us to share ideas with our colleagues up north. The names of the founder of WiserEarth and his colleagues should be written in gold for their foresight and understanding of the necessity for helping human kind especially from the less developed world. BIG THANK YOU to you all. |
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Bravo and greetings for all good work from Camilla to PARIS. We appreciate her work. Thierno Rampnoux Horizon Afrik-Paris |
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We are happy to say....even at this juncture of solitary community in Mindanao, your team can share with institution here may now reach though a handful click. Good Job PEOPLE....
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Good job! Wiserearth is improving itself with new features.
I still think that in anyway the interoperability of this network and others is very important thing, and is not easy. We need local networks, maybe less workfeel but more friendly with common people, but interconected with each others to promote collaboration on the same issues (sustainability, democratic governance, comunity development, ecoeconomy...)
We are trying also to work on this direction. One of our efforts is to buil our local network (in/out the net). If you want to conect is www.pallarssobira.cat/enxarxa . We need work hard yet.
I will collaborate thinking on how to interact with other networks. |
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Gordon - thank you for your wise comment. WE are in fact hoping to redesign the WiserEarth home page this year. One of the objectives of the redesign is to incorporate some of the thinking that is used on 'best of class' sites like Google or Facebook. Part of our challenge is that we have a very small technical team as we don't have the big budgets that these commercial sites run off. Nevertheless we are committed to making WiserEarth the most useful and user-friendly site we can for the community, even though it may takes us a bit more time to get there.
However, with great input and suggestions from the community, like your own, we have no doubt that WE (WiserEarth) will get better and better.
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This is very good and very interesting. Yes, I did not see this coming. It does make good sense.
Now for the advice: Promotion, time to step it up a notch. Judging by the randomness of the participants in Maryland there is definitely a disconnect which this site is trying to remedy.
I am not an expert, but I would re design the home page so that it addresses your customer as though you were the friendliest restaurant on the planet and the maitre d' were greeting you like his best customer.
But keep it simple like Google. Remember you have about 2 seconds when that new customer comes through your portal. Gotta know right away what you are stepping into.
Content is great. Flow is great.
"Blessed Unrest" suffers from the same visual design problem. I have no idea why I picked it up at the library. I grabbed it with 5 other books. I think someone on the staff put it on the recommended table. It looks like a book about a sharecropper that is unhappy about his peanut crop.
I hope that you will take this as constructive criticism. Promote, promote, sell, sell. You can see I don't come at this from the movement side. Hope that this is helpful. I think I put this comment on the wrong page. Sorry. Best wishes, you have my full support. I gave this page a two star to get your attention. This page is really a 5 star. |
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Congratulations for 'walking your talk' and offering your software/technical back end as an open source download for others to learn from, adopt and develop.
Top marks. |
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whoot
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Thank you for your comment Sabinus and good luck in your work.
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Irrelevant to page