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Helping our planet to transition to a sustainable world for our grand children and generations to come

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GREEN CROSS HUMANITARIAN AID TO UKRAINE

Help refugees access to safe and Clean drinking water 

Help Ukrainian children experience a happy summer

Green Cross Ukraine stands at the forefront of humanitarian aid, providing crucial support to children and families in need. With your generous contributions, we can continue to make a significant impact on the lives of those affected by displacement and hardship.


Providing Clean Drinking Water to Internal Refugees


You help to provide safe and clean drinking water to the refugee camp located near Terebla Village. Many families critically lack access to clean drinking water. Currently, they rely on untreated river water, leading to numerous health problems.


To address the pressing need for clean water, Green Cross Ukraine aims to implement a water access project in the refugee camp with internally displaced families. This initiative will bring forth the installation of filtration systems to provide safe drinking water for these families.


Revival Summer Camps for Ukrainian Refugees


With your contributions we can help many families who have lost their fathers and the main source of income in Ukraine. These families of mostly women and children are under severe stress and need a place to heal, rest and recover. 


In collaboration with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education, Green Cross Ukraine plans to establish summer camps in the Zakarpattia region. These camps will offer a safe and nurturing environment for Ukrainian children and their mothers, allowing them to recover and rejuvenate amid the turmoil.


The video showed at the Earth-X event in Texas the 23rd of April 2024



Website:

http://www.greencross.org.ua/en/


For further information contact:

Green Cross Ukraine   greencross.org.ua@gmail.com

Green Cross Sweden   gcs@green-cross.se


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In Honor of and thank you to Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev


March 2, 1931 - August 30, 2022

Our beloved Founding President Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev has left us. This is of great sadness for our Green Cross Family worldwide, as well as for the international community. President Gorbachev will be greatly missed by all. 

Never before has our world seen such a visionary leader. "The man who changed the world" was very early to set the seeds of change that can bring forth a sustainable planetary future. 

All the great work that President Gorbachev brought forth, starting some 30 years ago, shows he was far ahead of his time. He was a trailblazer calling to raise awareness, ethical change, dialog and cooperation to address the very critical issues we now face as a human race. 

President Gorbachev has passed, however his beacon of Light now shines even brighter. He lived his life in unwavering commitment to a better world, to cultivate peace, disarmament and environmental security, in solidarity and unity with the Earth. 

Mikhail Sergeyevich brought humanity new hope. He brought “glasnost” and "perestroika", an openness, a new thinking, and restructuring of society. He brought down the Berlin Wall, and ending the cold war, while opening a path for a free Europe, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1990. 

Never before has a world leader in power proposed a full ban of all nuclear weapons, as President Gorbachev did at the Global Forum on Environment and Development for the Survival of Humanity, that same year. There he also proposed the creation of a "Green Cross for the Earth" to promote international cooperation for environmental protection. 

Founded in 1993, Green Cross International is the birth child of President Gorbachev, which became established 30 countries. He was one of the first world leaders to sound the alarm on climate change, and created the international Climate Task Force, with renowned leaders and scientists. 

In a letter to the GCI General Assembly dated August 22, 2019 President Gorbachev reflected over the legacy and achievements of Green Cross International. 

He wrote: "Green Cross as a part of a global movement, and has awakened millions of people to become concerned about the fate of our planet. 

"Our work focused including Earth ethics and environmental education, elimination of the environmental consequences of the arms race, and access to clean water." 

President Gorbachev went on to say, "Each of those areas we have great achievements. I am referring to the Earth Charter we helped to establish, which is a guidelines of governance for all sectors of society, and the school curricula that reached out to millions of children." 

He reflected on the "implementation of the Convention banning chemical weapons, the conclusion of the UN Transboundary Water Convention, and to many projects big and small to which our active supporters gave their efforts and their hearts." 

"Green Cross must continue its important role within the international community to cultivate cooperation and to bring forth solutions for a sustainable future during this time of ecological and human crisis." 

President Gorbachev's long-term understanding of the steps needed towards mankind's planetary future will now live on beyond his time on Earth. 

Let us take his advice to heart: "Let us awaken humanity to the environmental planetary crisis. Let us change from within, our consciousness. Let us work together with all levels of society, and over international borders." 

We thank you Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev for all you have done for our world. 

Green Cross International
 

Mikhail Gorbachev

the founder of

Green Cross

Green Cross International’s roots can be traced back to President Mikhail Gorbachev’s time in office as Head of State of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a period during which he spoke repeatedly about the interrelated threats humanity and our Earth face from nuclear arms, chemical weapons, unsustainable development, and the man-induced decimation of the planet’s ecology.

The Mission of

Green Cross International

The mission of Green Cross International is to respond to the combined challenges of security, poverty and environmental degradation to ensure a sustainable and secure future. We seek solutions through dialogue, mediation and co-operation.

To achieve this we:


Promote legal, ethical and behavioural norms that ensure basic changes in the values, actions and attitudes of government, the private sector and civil society, necessary to develop a sustainable global community;


Contribute to the prevention and resolution of conflicts arising from environmental degradation;


Provide assistance to people affected by the environmental consequences of wars, conflicts and man made calamities.

Our Programs

We help children, families, and communities break the cycle of poverty by

empowering people of all ages to dream, aspire and achieve.


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Green Cross International is an environmentalist 

organisation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland

Green Cross International is an environmentalist organisation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, founded by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993. Today there are member organisations in 30 countries. Its primary mission is to "respond to the combined challenges of security, poverty and environmental degradation to ensure a sustainable and secure future".


Green Cross International was founded by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993, building upon the work started by the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

On 6 June 1992, the Rio Earth Summit delegates asked Gorbachev to establish Green Cross International, and around the same time Swiss National Council MP Roland Wiederkehr founded “World Green Cross”, with similar aims. The two organisations merged in 1993, becoming Green Cross International, which was formally launched in Kyoto, Japan, on 18 April 1993.


In 1994, the first Green Cross National Organisations (GCNOs) joined GCI in The Hague, including Japan, The Netherlands, the Russian Federation, Switzerland, and the United States.


Read the stories

Green Cross International News

April 18, 2025
Chemical Weapons in the Baltic Sea By: Major John-Olov Fridh Green Cross Baltic Sea Office, Sweden 
By October 23, 2023
ENVIRONMENTAL SYMPHONY: THE MOVEMENT  UNITED NATIONS DAY CONCERT Performance for the United Nations New York City, United Nations Assembly Hall
By Ryuji Kuwahara June 15, 2021
Green Cross Japan published the 2021 version of the Green Lane Diary in May, and began (free of charge) distribution to primary schools nationwide in Japan.
By Andreas Vos April 15, 2021
One of Europe's biggest freshwater lakes. VÄTTERN BELOW THE SURFACE (Documentary 2020) Lake Vättern Below the Surface This documentary brings forth new perspective of Swedish water management. This film is an example of how water management can be risking human health and water quality, not only in Sweden but in countries worldwide. The problem is most of the countries in the western world does not have a functioning water management, nor do they have field personnel or fully employed environmental diving inspectors checking the ecosystem below the surface. Eurofins, a major company in Europe testing for different toxins and substances, can today only provide data on approximately 300 substances. From a average sewer plant there can be an outlet of some 10 000 to a 100 000 chemicals. We cannot see chemicals, but we can see the effects when we dive. What we see are dead ecosystems at the bottom of lakes with algal blooms containing toxic cyanobacteria as a result of chemical discharge. These cyanotoxins are today linked with human diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer's and Parkinson, to name a few. The problem is we don't really know how many toxins there are in our drinking water, or in the food we eat. The film Lake Vättern Below the Surface documents this issue. The international community must begin to reevaluate how we are going to solve this problem. After you view this film some things to consider and discuss are the following topics below. These challenges we now see can easily be solved in a first stage. What is needed is to assess the level of toxic discharge there is in national water systems. We need to begin by digitizing all outlets and create an overview map of the difference in toxins found in the water systems. Then an overall plan can be tailormade made for the infrastructure in country and for the local communities. A common sense example is that placing heavy industrial complexes upstream freshwater lakes which are utilized for drinking water is not a good idea. Sweden has already solved the first stage and created a database showing the direction all water flow in the country, meaning the surface water and most of the groundwater. If a lorry with toxic cargo tips over we can follow the contamination downstream in the database and see how it affects the water system. What the country of Swedish has not realized is that we have laid the foundation for a much bigger database. Within this system we have the possibility to register the toxic discharge that is currently approved by the government. We can for example register into the database the estimated 6,000 covered dumping sites currently leaking toxic wastewater, as well as our thousands of sewer plants, industrial outlets, and the dumping locations of munition materials by Armed Forces. This can be done to provide an overview to assess the impact of the chemical outlets to our water systems. The governments have the necessary data to make this happen. This can be an effective tool to control and stop to sensitive ecosystems and keep our citizens and future generations safe. The next two steps involve diving and field personnel to survey the water systems and assess the state of ecosystems below the surface, in each country. Most important is to begin researching the methods for sampling the thousands of chemicals in our water. If we do not stop the dissemination of toxic chemicals today it could take years into the future before we solve what will become an even greater challenge to provide clean water, which is safe to drink. We need to know what our water contains to keep people, animals and the ecosystem out of harm's way. Water security will also be a major challenge for governments worldwide with the challenge of climate change. Green Cross Sweden, together with Green Cross international, are in talks with the water researchers behind this film to create a pilot studies in several countries that can address this issue or water management internationally on an global scale. Together we can change the world towards a sustainable future. - Andreas Vos Board Member, Green Cross Sweden
By Ryuji Kuwahara March 30, 2021
 Green Cross Japan implemented an environmental education project for school children in 2020. Despite the difficulties posed by the global pandemic, the project has been a success and will continue into 2021.
By Ryuji Kuwahara March 10, 2021
The signing of a contract for a grant from the Japanese Government signified the start of the fourth joint water project between Green Cross Sri Lanka and Green Cross Japan.
By Sunil Chacko July 1, 2019
Switzerland, (July 1, 2019) — Following several months of discussion by the Green Cross International (GCI) Board of Directors, Diane Meyer Simon will assume the chair of Green Cross International from Martin Bäumle as per July 1 2019. Bäumle will remain on the GCI Board of Directors. Diane Meyer Simon is the Founder & Co-Chair of Global Green, the American Affiliate of Green Cross International. Simon founded Global Green in 1993 following a Moscow Board Meeting of Green Cross International and in alignment with her dear friend, President Mikhail Gorbachev. For the past quarter-century, Simon has spearheaded Global Green USA’s agenda and mission, to foster a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future for people, places, and the planet in need. Global Green serves as a model for urban sustainability with projects in responsible resource recovery, green urban design, affordable housing, water management, environmental policy, and climate resilience. Most notable are Global Green’s efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, as well as long-time influence on the Hollywood community – with key Global Green celebrities acting as the essential mouthpiece to environmental advocacy and a more sustainable future. Diane Meyer Simon assumes the helm at Green Cross International during a time of great transition and influence. Green Cross is grateful for Bäumle’s great efforts to benefit GCI in recent years by implementing a leaner structure and several cost saving measures. With her new position, Diane is poised to fortify Green Cross and its mission as originally intended by her dear friend, Gorbachev. In 1990, Green Cross was introduced as a source of global aid to a world in ecological trouble–resembling the emergency response model of the Red Cross. In 1993, Green Cross International was founded in hopes of expediting solutions to environmental problems that transcend national borders. Today, Simon is motivated to defend GCI’s programmatic pillars: Value Shift; Social & Medical (SOC MED); Environmental Security & Sustainability (ESS); Water for Life & Peace; and Smart Energy. Together Green Cross and Global Green’s mission and programs live in harmony, a collaborative response to challenges of environmental security, poverty, and degradation in order to ensure a sustainable and secure future. Diane Meyer Simon’s family serve as her every inspiration and primary motivation to actualize an enlightened human race. A human race with an understanding of the inter-relationship of humans with our living Earth. Simon believes we must learn to lighten the human load on Earth’s resources. Her work with Global Green and Green Cross International is her deepest hope for both her children’s future, as well as all of Earth’s future generations. ABOUT: Global Green USA is dedicated to helping the people, places, and the planet in need through catalytic projects, transformative policy, and cutting-edge research. Global Green USA’s signature programs include greening affordable housing, neighborhoods, and cities as well as rebuilding communities — such as New Orleans and areas of New York and New Jersey — that have suffered from the impacts of climate change, sea level rise, and environmental degradation. Global Green USA is the U.S. affiliate of Green Cross International, which was founded by President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993 to foster a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future. For more information, visit globalgreen.org and follow us @globalgreen . Green Cross International works to promote legal, ethical and behavioral norms to ensure basic changes in values, actions and attitudes of government, the private sector and civil society, necessary to develop a sustainable global community. GCI’s programmatic pillars focus on the critical nexus in the quest for a just, secure and sustainable future for humanity. President Mikhail Gorbachev founded Green Cross International in 1993; its key programs include Water for Life & Peace, Environmental Security & Sustainability, Social & Medical, Smart Energy, and Value Shift.
By Sunil Chacko September 26, 2018
Above: Sculpture depicting St. George slaying the dragon. The dragon is created from fragments of Soviet SS-20 and United States Pershing nuclear missiles. UN Photo/Milton Grant GCI ESS programme director Dr Paul F. Walker commemorates this day with the following: “September 26th is an important annual reminder that the world has pledged for over half a century to abolish nuclear weapons. This was a major part of the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty under Article VI, and has remained a global priority for all to build a more peaceful and sustainable world. Unfortunately some 14,500 nuclear weapons remain in nine nuclear powers today, with Russia and the US accounting for the great majority, and Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan the remainder. It’s long past time that Russia and the United States further reduce their thousands of nuclear weapons, that all countries ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and also join the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Our world will be a more secure and sustainable planet, and billions of funds will be freed for much needed socio-economic priorities.” You can find the UN statement here.Above: Sculpture depicting St. George slaying the dragon. The dragon is created from fragments of Soviet SS-20 and United States Pershing nuclear missiles. UN Photo/Milton Grant GCI ESS programme director Dr Paul F. Walker commemorates this day with the following: “September 26th is an important annual reminder that the world has pledged for over half a century to abolish nuclear weapons. This was a major part of the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty under Article VI, and has remained a global priority for all to build a more peaceful and sustainable world. Unfortunately some 14,500 nuclear weapons remain in nine nuclear powers today, with Russia and the US accounting for the great majority, and Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan the remainder. It’s long past time that Russia and the United States further reduce their thousands of nuclear weapons, that all countries ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and also join the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Our world will be a more secure and sustainable planet, and billions of funds will be freed for much needed socio-economic priorities.” You can find the UN statement here .
By Sunil Chacko September 3, 2018
The Shoe Project is a collaboration between Green Cross Japan , Green Cross Sweden and the Green Belt Movement (GBM) in Kenya, which distributed some 1,000 shoes to children and youth in the Rift Valley, last February.
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