Earth Council Alliance Chairman Tommy Short, a founding member of the Earth Charter Initiative International Council, attended the Earth Charter International Council meeting at the Pocantico Conference Center of The Rockefeller Brothers Fund May 9-11, 2008. Members of the International Council, each from diverse geographical and professional backgrounds, combine expertise in effort to spread the principles of the Earth Charter toward civil society, education, and global governance.

At this meeting, an Earth Charter UN Task Force was created. The seed group for the Earth Charter UN Task Force comprises Nick Robinson, Song Li, Brendan Mackey, Steven Rockefeller, Alide Roerink, Tommy Short and Mirian Vilela.

The purpose of this task force is to achieve recognition of the Earth Charter by the United Nations and demonstrate the contribution of the Earth Charter’s values and principles to global governance.

The creation of the Earth Charter was one of Earth Council's first programs in cooperation with Mikhail Gorbachev and The Green Cross International.

For more information on Earth Charter Initiative and its ongoing programs and projects, visit www.earthcharter.org.