As from May 2003, the headquarters of GEN-Europe leaves its current home in Italy and from that date will be split between the Findhorn ecovillage in northern Scotland and the ZEGG community in Germany. This represents something of a coming-home’ for GEN, which was conceived at the Ecovillages conference held in Findhorn in 1995
***image1***
one of the houses at Findhorn made from a disused whiskey barrel Photos: © Jonathan Dawson

The ecovillage movement has greatly expanded both in scale and diversity over the last eight years, in no small measure due to the catalysing effect of GEN. From being a primarily Northern-based organisation with strong roots in the intentional communities movement, GEN has blossomed into a rich, global coalition, most of whose members are today in the countries of the global South.
Much the largest member of GEN, for example, is the giant Sri Lankan, Buddhist NGO, Sarvodaya that works with around 17,000 villages nationwide and that has been a key player in the country’s recently-brokered peace agreement. The network in Senegal is also growing from strength to strength: the government of Senegal promotes the ecovillage model as an important element of its rural development strategy and the Senegalese network is currently receiving funding from the United Nations Development Programme. In Europe too, the movement’s profile is growing.
Strong teams represented the organisation at the European Social Forum in Florence and at the WSSD in Johannesburg, where it was one of the partners in a UN-led initiative to provide sustainability-related training to city administrations worldwide. In addition, GEN representatives addressed a series of preparatory meetings for the Jo’burg Summit. The straw-bale house built by GEN-Europe on the site of the EU’s Green Week exhibition in Brussels remains at the top of the highlights’ page on the official Green Week website.

Of the 19 European countries in which GEN-Europe has members, the one with the oldest and strongest network is Denmark. Here there is a growing level of contact and cooperation between ecovillages and local authorities. The Munksoegaard ecovillage not far from Copenhagen, for example, received significant assistance from local planners interested in supporting and learning from an experiment in living with a smaller ecological footprint. A similar process of bridge-building between ecovillages and local agencies is also in evidence at Findhorn, where a recent study commissioned by the local economic development agency found that the annual contribution of the wider community and its associated businesses and organisations to the local economy was £5 million and 400 jobs. The Findhorn ecovillage project received Best Practice’ designation from the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) in 1998.
In short, GEN-Europe and its member ecovillages can be seen to be increasingly engaging and building alliances with policy-makers, planners and professionals at all levels who are exploring sustainability solutions to the problems that face us ñ both in the overdeveloped North and the under-developed South. Indeed, it is in the systemic way in which the ecovillage movement addresses this two-edged, global imbalance that its contribution may be most fresh and distinctive. For, by drawing a direct causal link between global affluence and poverty and by seeing the dweller on the land as part of the solution rather than part of the problem, the door is opened to the possibility of a dialogue of respect between equals developing between the rich north and the poor south. Facilitating the flow of information and exchange visits between northern and southern partners is a key element of GEN’s mandate.

The way ahead for GEN as it moves to its new home is full of promise and excitement. A major collaborative programme of strengthening the Living and Learning centres’ (community-based, sustainability research, teaching and demonstration centres) in Senegal and Sri Lanka is under preparation. A study of the ecological footprints of half a dozen European ecovillages is also being prepared. Discussions are under way aimed at trying to build bridges between ecovillages and mainstream educational institutes, seeking to get more community-based, experiential, sustainability-related education onto the curricula of schools and colleges. Efforts to strengthen networks in the countries of Eastern Europe are being prioritised and greater attention is being paid to how the ecovillage model can be articulated in the urban context, where most Europeans live.

At the heart of GEN-Europe is the annual General Assembly of members. This is the highest decision-making body within the organisation and its General Assemblies are grand, celebratory gatherings, emerging models of meaningful democracy that combine the best features of political/philosophical debate, cultural exchange and appreciation, trans-European networking fair and summer camp. Having been held in recent years in Spain, Italy, Poland and France, this year’s gathering will be held between July 6th ñ 13th at the Centre for Alternative Technology in West Wales. A warm welcome is extended to all ñ you do not need to be a member of GEN to participate in most sessions although you do need to be to vote. It would be great to see you there
FURTHER INFORMATION : Jonathan Dawson at Findhorn Ecovillage. Tel: 01309 692111
WEB SITE : http://​www​.gen​-europe​.org EMAIL: jonathan.​dawson@​zen.​co.​uk