December 2012

It’s December 21, 2012, and we’re still here. In fact, a Guatemalan farmer recently explained that today’s Mayans do not see the calendar as the end of the world, but as the beginning of a new cycle. The human species will be part of it if it goes in the direction of conserving, not destroying, the resources it needs simply to live. This new cycle will have to be underpinned by the active valuing of ethical principles shared by all peoples, and this is a cross-cutting theme in this December issue. It is no coincidence that the thinking on new world governance always includes the question of ethical foundations: justice, fairness, democracy, inclusion of all, conservation of the biosphere, etc.
“Global civil society” will be a major actor in promoting these values, and we recommend the very detailed report of a conference held on this theme last spring.
Focus, too, on the “territory” as anchor point for developing governance models that factor in local or regional diversity to manage the territorial scale today … and the global one tomorrow? Our ally, the Institute for Research and Debate on Governance, offers a current example of a regional institution interacting with its corresponding national institutions.
Finally, we are showing you the World Governance Indexes of Norway (ranked first worldwide) and Somalia (ranked last): a chilling contrast with a subtle revelation.
And a Happy New Cycle to all!

FnWG Team
info@world-governance.org