History of Earth Charter US

After Jan Roberts learned about the Earth Charter at a drafting session in Assisi, Italy in July, 1999, she formed an Earth Charter steering committee in Tampa, Florida to organize simultaneous Earth Charter Community Summits in 12 cities connected by satellite to be held on September 29, 2001. Roberts was invited to the 2000 international launch of the Earth Charter campaign at The Hague Peace Palace where the Earth Charter Community Summits were recognized as the major effort in the United States.

Organizers in the 12 cities for the inaugural summits were: Kat Gjovik, Seattle; Bruce Novak, Chicago; Susan Curry, Philadelphia; Anne Zill, Portland, Maine; Peter Hendrix, Santa Rosa; Al Albergate, San Francisco; Andy Robson, Oshkosh; John Gibson, Indianapolis; Joshua Cooper, Honolulu; Philip Thompson, Austin; Stanley Ingman, Denton, TX; and Bob Kochtitzky, Jackson, MS. The organizers included college faculty or students, artists, professionals, retirees and others who all were just drawn to the Earth Charter and wanted to make it a reality in their towns

In 2005, Jan founded Earth Charter US to become the official organization for mainstreaming the Earth Charter in the US, which is now an Affiliate of Earth Charter International. A dedicated board of directors oversees the organization’s mission to inspire, educate and engage Americans to integrate the Earth Charter’s principles into their lives, institutional policies, educational curricula, and community initiatives.

Jan’s Commentary on the historic launch of Earth Charter in the US on September 29, 2001.