that the momentum built at the Global Forum is not lost too soon.

The ‘92 Global Forum was a unique event where some 20,000 representatives of independent from all over the world met in groups of 2 to 2,000 to work out strategies for an alternative future.

The Gloria and Flamengo districts of Rio de Janeiro are among the oldest and most attractive parts of the city. Unlike the more famous Copacababa and Ipanema areas with their crowded beaches and fivestar water fronts, the residents’ associations of Flamengo have carefully nurtured parks and playgrounds with great scenic beauty by the beach. the largest of these, Flamengo Park, was the site of the ‘92 Global Forum. In requesting permission to use the park, we gave (and kept) a promise to leave it in its original condition. The facilities in the park were, therefore, designed to stand without any damage to the lawns, trees and landscape features.

The 14-day event saw more than 400 separate meetings ranging from highly specialized discussions on topics such as "Bananal Island, the biggest river island in the world" (with 15 participants for an afternoon) to the "Women’s Forum" (with 1500 participants throughout the 14 days). the meetings were organized by independent sector organizations representing environmental NGOs, development agencies, women’s groups, corporate business, trade unions, media, youth, students, and virtually all other sectors of society.

The green and white tented structures were carefully numbered and signposted to enable participants to meet effectively and take part in the discussions of their choice. Each structure had sound equipment and interpretation facilities for three or four languages. An army of several hundred young Brazilian volunteers, connected by highly efficient telecommunications provided total logistical support.

The effectiveness of the meeting arrangements and facilities is borne out by the high level of substantive discussions that took place at the Global Forum. By most accounts, in terms of scientific and policy issues, not to mention the range of concerns addressed, the fare at the Global Forum was far richer and more to the point than could take place at the official discussions at RioCentro.

It was also more colourful. On the theory that sustainable development can only be achieved with the involvement of all sectors of society, it was the professed aim of the Global Forum to make "Space philosophical, political and physical space for all constituencies to share their views. There was no censorship and no exclusion as a matter of policy. This, of course, meant a very wide variety of participation in contrast to conventional, formal and staid conferences.

For this reason, the sessions in various parts of the Flamengo park were occasionally punctuated by the beating of drums and shouting of slogans, accompanied by the occasional dancing and procession by "strange looking people" in unusual headgears.

The future of the planet and of life on it will require fundamental changes. As organizers of the event, we strongly felt that these are not merely a matter of the head-but also of the heart and soul. And, of course, the body. It is for this reason that we actively made arrangements for other forms of communications and commitment, including the arts, spiritual dialogue, symbolic expression and food.

The all-night evils arranged with great care and love by such groups as the Baha’i and the Buddhists culminated in a benediction by the Dalai Lama - an eight hour event of the highest serenity and spiritual impact. Many other religious and inter-faith events attracted large numbers of participants.

The open air auditorium of Flamengo park was host, each evening, to some of the best musical performances heard anywhere in years. Played late into the Brazilian nights, these concerts attracted not only the NGO participants at the Global Forum but also introduced environmental concerns to the lay public of the city.

to symbolize the commitment of participants to a better future, a magnificent bronze tree of life was erected at the centre of the park on an elevated platform surrounded by wooden trellis work. the two million earth pledges received from citizens all over the world, pinned to the trellis frame formed a huge arboretum, guarded by a troop of Brazilian boy scouts and girl scouts.

The individual commitment of ordinary citizens, enshrined in these pledges was added to by eminent participants and visitors to the Global Forum including Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao of India, Prime Minister John Major of the U.K., Oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and innumerable other dignitaries.

the fast food shop scattered throughout the park served local and international fare in environmentally sound and biodegradable or recyclable packages. Coca Cola and kaiser beet notwithstanding, some of the more popular stalls served organic, vegetarian, health foods.

for the media, a full scale Press Centre had been set up, which provided full scale logistical support to more than 6,000 media persons registered with the Global Forum. In addition to press releases and press clippings, journalists had access to word processors, faxes and worldwide communications. a large number of the media people at the Global forum took active pat in the substantive discussions at the various meetings.

Many of the events involved several months of intensive preparations by their respective organizers. these included meetings which were initiated several years prior to the Global forum, such as the meeting of the spiritual and parliamentary leaders (attended by eminent leaders such as Senator Al gore, Chief Oren Lyon, and many others), the EcoUrbis meeting of mayors and experts on urban problems and the Global 500 Planning Workshop which brought together the winners of the UNEP Global 500 roll of Honour from all over the world.

Perhaps the most important events at Rio were those of the indigenous people, who, for the first time, were able to gather together at a global level. their meetings included "the Sacred Earth Gathering" to address the spiritual crisis that exists in today’s world and how to bring society back into balance with the Earth Mother. This led to the Convocation of the Wisdom Keepers at a Ranch near Rio, where some of the most eminent indigenous and tribal leaders, the wisdom keepers, drum beaters and fire keepers participated in meditation, prayer and ritual for the healing and renewal of the Earth. Unquestionably, the Global Forum participants came back with a much deeper understanding of the need for traditional knowledge and insights in designing our path for the future.

To take advantage of the presence of so many eminent people at Rio, we had arranged an "Open Speakers Forum". Everyday, distinguished speakers were invited to a large auditorium opposite the Tree of Life to share insights on sustainable development with the participants at the global Forum. these events were very popular and highly interactive. In many "standing room only" encounters, participants were able to hear such speakers as Wangari Matthai, Helen Caldicott, Martin Holdgate, Ted Turner, Vandana Shiva and Jerry Brown.

At the International NGO Forum, a group of environment and development NGOs worked day and night throughout the 14 days to prepare alternative treaties on issues such as bio-diversity, alternative economics, food security, racism, transnational corporations....Drafting work on 39 such treaties was started at Rio and some 15 of these were largely completed. A large number of participants signed these as an expression of their desire for a better world. in the coming months, final versions of these treaties will become available for wider dissemination.

During the 14 days, some 400,000 people came in through the gates of the global Forum, 15,000 of these were representative of independent organizations from outside Brazil. Political leaders, government officials, media and entertainment celebrities came to express their concern and commitment to sustainable development values. the Global Forum had something for everyone, everything for a few and nothing for another few. Its impact will be felt for many years to come not only on those who were there, but also on the Governments and their representatives who will continue to meet and discuss the issues raised at the Earth Summit. a full evaluation of the global Forum can only be made when this impact is visible. it is for independent sector organizations to ensure that the momentum built at the Global Forum is not lost too soon.

The ‘92 global Forum was organized jointly by the International Facilitating Committee (IFC), of which I am the Chairman, and the Brazilian NGO Forum. The actual work of raising the funds (approximately $ 11 million) and designing and implementing the facilities was entirely the responsibility of W.H. ("Chip") Lindner (Executive Director of the Centre for Our Common Future, to whom the IFC had delegated the full responsibility) and Tony Gross of the Brazilian NGO Forum. they gathered together a team of international and Brazilian colleagues, who worked day and night for several months, taking care of detailed logistical requirements to house the 15,000 international participants and to provide efficient work and meeting facilities for them. By the time, the Global Forum opened on 1 June, the staff including volunteers and security personnel numbered more than 1,000. the effectiveness of this unique event testifies to the organizational skills and efforts put in by the prime movers to whom the IFC and the global independent sector community is highly indebted.

by Ashok Khosla

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