Earth Council Alliance (ECA) and Oriental Environmental Institute (OEI) collaborated to produce the “2nd Annual OEI/ECA International Conference”, on Monday, Oct. 23 and Tuesday, Oct. 24 in Beijing, China.

The conference provided participants with an opportunity to conduct meaningful dialogue with Chinese experts in sustainable community development. Representatives from Peking University, Tsinghua University, Environmental Management College of China (EMCC), Oriental Environmental Institute (OEI), Harmony Foundation (Harmony), Earth Council USA, ECA, and China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) presented at the conference.

ECA Chairman Tommy Short presided, and Honorable Maurice Strong, former UN Under-Secretary General, and Professor Qu Geping, China's first Minister of SEPA, attended the conference.

ECA is collaborating with Harmony, OEI, and EMCC to establish a national community leadership training program in China. The program, as part of Harmony's International Leadership Training Program, seeks to transmit the skills and knowledge necessary to enable local leaders and inspired citizens to take effective action on problems related to sustainable community development.

Two Harmony publications: "Green Cities: A Guide to Sustainable Community Development", and "Community Action Workshop Manual", have been translated into Chinese and will be used as core materials for the program.