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Chairman,
Convener and Co-Founder Telephone:
(613) 9803 9878 Email:
mindquest@ozemail.com.au US
Office: Pastor Randall Denton US
Office: George Besch Russian
Office : Dr Pavel Kasyanov
We travel together, passengers on a little space ship, dependent on its vulnerable resources of air and soil; all committed for our safety to its security and peace; preserved from annihilation only by the work, the care and, I will say, the love we give our fragile craft. We cannot maintain it half fortunate and half miserable, half confident and half despairing, half slave to the ancient enemies of man, half free in a liberation of resources undreamed of until this day. No craft, no crew, can travel safely with such contradictions. On their resolution depends the survival of us all.
The
Centre for Change expresses a new paradigm, encompassing a
consciousness of oneness in which all life maintains itself
at the expense of everything else.In other words we are all
connected – not separate. The
big turning is an integration of the human being with ecology
and technology. We
need to see ourselves as inextricably connected---mind, body,
spirit, society, environment in which we take a holistic approach
to ourselves and our relationship with society and the environment. The
Centre for Change sees the health of an individual in society as
tied up and inextricably related to human rights, human justice,
lifestyle change, reduction of stress and the fundamental conditions
for resources and health including peace, shelter, education, food,
income, a stable eco-system, sustainable resources, social justice
and equity. The aim of The Centre For Change is to promote a renaissance in conscience, consciousness and ethics, which sees the dignity of the human psyche as paramount. The Centre challenges entrenched, conservative, restrictive approaches and over specialization seeing our Global Problems as being interrelated and interconnected. The Centre promotes unity within diversity and enquires into the cause of dis-function within our Global and Australian society whether it be in the context of individuals, societies, communities, governments or the environment itself. It is open-minded in its enquiry and seeks comprehensive solutions.
The
current population of the world amounts to about 6 billion people,
and this will probably rise by 4 billion to 10 billion in the next
20 years, giving rise to enormous problems of maintaining even a
minimum standard of health and subsistence in vast areas. Even at
present, there are 0.5 billion in the world who are underfed, 1
billion who are illiterate, 1.5 billion who do not have adequate
medical care, and a billion who do not have adequate housing. This
problem of deprivation is further magnified by the millions of refugees
and the degree of unemployment in the world. The arms race throughout the world causes an enormous strain on resources. The approximate cost of armaments for 2002 are estimated at over several trillion dollars. In the world today, there is one soldier for every 43 people and only one doctor for thousands of people. Every two seconds a child dies - a victim of avoidable disease - whilst another is bound to be damaged, physically and emotionally, for life.
The
aim is to create a new kind of human being who is aware of her or
his significance, value and worth, and is able to contribute constructively
and creatively in a co-operative way to the well-bring of the whole
planet in order that we may have sustainable survival.
We suggest that some of these objectives are already being
achieved in numerous ways, but with no cohesion or alliance. The
new vision of reality requires us to review our origins, the nature
of evolution and the basic cause behind the need for healing of
the individual, society and the planet. The
suggested process involves:
When we realise that human suffering in the developing world diminishes us in the developed world, in tangible and intangible ways, we are more likely to decide to help rather than hinder. But this realisation can only come through understanding the nature of human relationships. Once the intention is created on a heartfelt basis, and it is decided in our hearts that we wish to co-operate with each other, and nation with nation, then the problems of the world can be solved. By a wiser and more equitable distribution of medical and other resources and by putting the eco into economics, i.e. persuading governments that it makes economic as well as ecological sense to develop environmental protection programs, we can reverse the trend towards the ultimate destruction of our essential means for survival on our planet.
The
approach should address physical development aspects such as nutrition,
safe drinking water, healthcare, technology, and a stable environment
supporting life. In
Indigenous areas, traditional medicine and healthcare should be
preserved and researched.
Locally available raw materials and sustainable agricultural
practices should be used.
Cooking and heating facilities should be enhanced. Educational
systems should encourage the protection of the environment and areas
of historical and cultural interest as well as schemes for flood
and pest control and disaster mitigation. Women’s education and gender equity should be given priority. Literacy skills should be enhanced in order that technical skills may be enriched in terms of craftsmanship and entrepreneurship.
The
Centre for Change will study and promote a genuinely holistic approach
to social, economic, political, health and ecological problems.
The Group will study and promote ancient and universal wisdoms
concerning the meaning of life and the nature of humanity. The
group will promulgate a new human agenda, including the humanisation
of educational systems, the fair distribution of medical resources
throughout the world and the abolition of poverty. It will also promote the safeguarding of personal freedoms,
the creation of an open, caring society and the encouragement of
scientific, cultural and citizen exchanges between all countries,
East and West, North and South.
It will call for the creation of the conditions necessary
for a sustainable peace and health for all in the third millennium,
including the establishment of a steady state eco-relationship with
planetary resources, the protection of species diversity and populations,
the removal of all toxins, waste and radiation hazards from the
environment that threaten the health of the planet, and the abolition
of all nuclear weapons. The
Centre for Change will show no political bias, but will support
all plans, from whatever quarter, for implementing its aims.
People of all political persuasions will be welcomed to the
group’s deliberations. The
group will serve as a catalyst group of “think-tank” for all other
sympathetic groups. The
Centre for Change will encourage an openness of dialogue irrespective
of class, race, politics or philosophy. The
group will offer a resource centre (and later, local resource centres)
where it will share relevant skills, information about new thinking
and about the activities and opportunities offered by other groups
concerned with the peace and health of the world. The Centre for Change is in agreement with the World Social Forum (held in Porta Alegre, Brazil, 2002) that the “Global Commons“ should be public common property protected in perpetuity from privatization and commodification. Such areas include the worlds genetic and biological heritage, basic needs like water, the atmosphere (to prevent carbon trading to tackle climatic change), public services (particularly health and education), the airwaves and the land.
The Centre for Change aims to contribute towards this next great global step – The Final Frontier, acknowledging the common ground of humanity and its connectedness with all life. --------------------------------------------------------------- |