A partnership between the Earth Council Alliance (ECA), the Harmony Foundation of Canada (HF), Environmental Management College of China (EMCC), and the Oriental Environmental Institute of China (OEI) was announced June 21 at 11 am at the United Nations Plaza in the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre as part of the World Urban Forum III conference.

The groups will create a national community leadership training program in China for educators and other local leaders working to initiate positive local projects to further the goals of sustainable development. The Chinese program, in association with the International Community Leadership Training Program, (ICLT) will create training programs for local leaders, obtain and contribute to new learning materials and teaching techniques, participate in exchange programs, and share success stories and best practices with other sustainable development educators around the world.

Program participants Wang Lixin, President of the EMCC and Yanyan Xue, Director of International Programs of EMCC, spoke during the celebration. The program will be based on Harmony Foundation’s Building Sustainable Societies Program. Harmony’s acclaimed training programs and materials have assisted communities around the world to address issues of environment and local development, and have received many awards including the United Nations Environment Programme’s prestigious Global 500 Award.

Harmony Foundation’s mission is to strengthen the skills and knowledge needed to take positive action. “The opportunities presented by this partnership are very exciting,” said Michael Bloomfield, Executive Director of Harmony. “ECA has done great work in identifying program partners and creating active working relationships, so we have a strong start.”

ECA works with Earth Councils and other people and organizations committed to sustainability initiatives and preserving the world for today’s peoples and future generations. ECA recently conducted conferences in China, engaging leading government, civil society, and business organizations there. This initiative is a product of the organization’s work on the ground.

“In order to achieve global sustainability, we must start with model initiatives at the local level, designed to improve communication and increase collaboration, with a focus on measurable results”, said Tommy Short, ECA Chairman. “Through the ICLT, local communities of China will have the opportunity to become a true inspiration in environmental leadership.”

OEI, an ECA member, is a non-governmental organization, offering policy advice in support of Chinese government decision making. OEI seeks to build international alliances and cooperation and to promote public awareness and participation.

ICLT partners will work in China to adapt and deliver the program because of ECA’s active involvement there, keen interest among Chinese colleagues, and the importance of development which is sustainable in the country which holds nearly one-quarter of the world’s population.