Co mamy umieć na Helmuta?

sniezynkaa

pytanie w temacie;)

Gość

Mamy umieć 4 organizacje: Amnesty International, Transparency, Attack i Greenpeace.
To maja byc bardziej pytania ogolne, a nie np: w ktorym roku zostala zalozona jakas organizacja.

edka

What is Amnesty International?
Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for human rights. Our work is based on careful research and on the standards agreed by the international community. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion.

Amnesty International mobilizes volunteer activists — people who give freely of their time and energy in solidarity with those whose rights have been abused. At the latest count, there were more than 1.8 million members, supporters and subscribers in over 150 countries and territories in every region of the world. We come from all walks of life, with widely different political and religious views, united by our determination to work for a world where everyone enjoys human rights.
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What does Amnesty International do?

Amnesty International works independently and impartially to promote respect for all the human rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amnesty International believes that human rights are interdependent and indivisible – all human rights should be enjoyed by all people at all times, and no one set of rights can be enjoyed at the expense of other rights. It concentrates on ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination.

Historically, the main focus of Amnesty International's campaigning has been:
to free all prisoners of conscience
to ensure a prompt and fair trial for all political prisoners
to abolish the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
to end extrajudicial executions and "disappearances"
to fight impunity by working to ensure perpetrators of such abuses are brought to justice in accordance with international standards
Over the years Amnesty International has expanded this mandate to encompass human rights abuses committed by non governmental bodies and private individuals (non state actors). It opposes abuses by armed political groups (in control of territory or operating in opposition to governments), such as hostage taking, torture and unlawful killings. It opposes human rights abuses against civilians and non combatants by both sides during armed conflict. Amnesty International has also targeted abuses in the home or community where governments have been complicit or have failed to take effective action.
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Is Amnesty International effective?

We have a record of real achievement. We know this because the people we have been trying to help tell us that our pressure has had an effect. Sometimes governments are persuaded to change their laws and practices. Sometimes our solidarity keeps hope alive. Hope is a precious weapon for prisoners battling to survive, relatives trying to obtain justice on behalf of their loved ones or human rights defenders working in dangerous and isolated circumstances.

Further information on good news stories
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How does Amnesty International carry out its work?

Whenever Amnesty International establishes that action is needed to protect people whose rights have been abused, it mobilizes its membership.

We search out the facts. We send experts to talk with victims, observe trials and interview local human rights activists and officials. We monitor thousands of media outlets and maintain contact with reliable sources of information all over the world. Our research is carried out by expert staff, supported by specialists in a range of fields such as international law, media and technology. We publish detailed reports. We inform the news media. We publicize our concerns in leaflets, posters, advertisements, newsletters and websites.

Our members, supporters and staff around the world mobilize the public to put pressure on governments and others with influence to stop the abuses. Activities range from public demonstrations to letter writing, from human rights education to fundraising concerts, from targeted appeals on behalf of a single individual to global campaigns on a specific country or issue, from approaches to local authorities to lobbying at intergovernmental organizations.

Amnesty International’s worldwide network generates thousands of appeal letters on behalf of individuals and communities at risk. If urgent action is needed to save lives, volunteers around the world are alerted and letters, faxes and e mails are sent within hours. When a large scale human rights crisis occurs, our members are quickly mobilized in a global campaign. Sometimes our members “adopt” specific individuals and issues — if necessary, for years — seeking freedom for prisoners of conscience or working to abolish the death penalty in specific countries.

Amnesty International supports programs that help people learn about human rights and how to defend them. We develop materials for use in schools, organize teacher training programs and encourage training programs for government officials and security personnel. Amnesty International presses governments to ratify and abide by international human rights treaties and to strengthen international human rights standards.
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How can I work with Amnesty International?

Join – When you join Amnesty International, you become part of a worldwide movement. As an individual member, or as part of a local group or a specialist network, your individual voice will join with countless others to build pressure for change.

Donate – A financial donation to Amnesty International is a vital act of support for human rights. To ensure its independence, Amnesty International does not seek or accept money from governments or political parties for its work in documenting and campaigning against human rights abuses. Instead, Amnesty International’s funding depends on the contributions of its worldwide membership and on donations from the public.

Employment opportunities at Amnesty International

Voluntary opportunities
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Who finances Amnesty International’s work?

Amnesty International is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. It does not support or oppose any government or political system, nor does it necessarily support the views of the victims whose rights it seeks to protect. To ensure its independence, it does not seek or accept money from governments or political parties for its work in documenting and campaigning against human rights abuses. Its funding depends on the contributions of its worldwide membership and fundraising activities.

Amnesty International is a democratic, self governing movement. It answers only to its own worldwide membership. All policy decisions are taken by elected bodies. Major policy decisions are taken by an International Council made up of representatives from all the countries where Amnesty International members are organized into groups and national sections. They elect an International Executive Committee of volunteers which carries out their decisions and appoints the movement’s Secretary General, who is also head of the International Secretariat, the professional heart of Amnesty International.
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How did Amnesty International start?

More than four decades ago, the story of two Portuguese students sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for raising a toast to freedom horrified British lawyer Peter Benenson. He wrote to the British newspaper, The Observer, calling for an international campaign to bombard authorities around the world with protests about the “forgotten prisoners”. On 28 May 1961 the newspaper launched his year long campaign, Appeal for Amnesty 1961, calling on people everywhere to protest against the imprisonment of men and women for their political or religious beliefs – “prisoners of conscience”.

Within a month, more than a thousand readers had sent letters of support, offers of practical help and details about many more prisoners of conscience. Within six months, a brief publicity effort was being developed into a permanent, international movement. Within a year the new organization had sent delegations to four countries to make representations on behalf of prisoners and had taken up 210 cases. Its members had organized national bodies in seven countries.

The principles of impartiality and independence were established from the start. The emphasis was on the international protection of the human rights of individuals. As Amnesty International grew, its focus expanded to take in not just prisoners of conscience, but other victims of human rights abuses – such as torture, “disappearances” and the death penalty. In 1977, the movement’s efforts were recognized through the award of the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1978, it was honoured with a United Nations Human Rights Award.

Further information on Amnesty International's history
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How does Amnesty International get its information?

Research teams focusing on particular countries investigate reports of human rights abuses, cross checking and corroborating information from a wide variety of sources and contacts. They receive information from prisoners and their families, lawyers, journalists, refugees, diplomats, religious bodies, community workers, humanitarian agencies and other human rights organizations. They monitor newspapers, websites and other media outlets.

Amnesty International sends fact finding missions to assess situations on the spot. The delegates might interview prisoners, relatives, lawyers, witnesses to human rights violations and local human rights activists. They may also observe trials and meet government officials.
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How does Amnesty International make sure it has the facts right?

Before any statement or report is issued, its text is approved within the International Secretariat to ensure it is accurate, politically impartial and falls within Amnesty International's mandate. Amnesty International is often dealing with allegations rather than undisputed facts. It makes this plain and usually calls for an investigation of the allegations. If Amnesty International makes a mistake, it issues a correction.

Amnesty International's research is recognized as reliable and is widely consulted by governments, intergovernmental organizations, journalists, scholars, other human rights organizations and campaigning groups.
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How does Amnesty International obtain information about 'closed' countries?

Where Amnesty International is denied access to a country, research teams may have to rely on sources of information outside the country, including news media reports, refugees and diplomatic representatives abroad.
What is Transparency International?
Transparency International, the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption, brings people together in a powerful worldwide coalition to end the devastating impact of corruption on men, women and children around the world.
TI’s mission is to create change towards a world free of corruption.
Transparency International challenges the inevitability of corruption, and offers hope to its victims. TI plays a lead role in improving the lives of millions around the world, by building momentum for the anti-corruption movement, raising awareness and diminishing apathy and tolerance of corruption, as well as devising and implementing practical actions to address it.
Transparency International is a global network including more than 90 locally established national chapters and chapters-in-formation. These bodies fight corruption in the national arena in a number of ways. They bring together relevant players from government, civil society, business and the media to promote transparency in elections, in public administration, in procurement and in business. TI’s global network of chapters and contacts also use advocacy campaigns to lobby governments to implement anti-corruption reforms.
Politically non-partisan, TI does not undertake investigations of alleged corruption or expose individual cases, but at times will work in coalition with organisations that do.
TI has the skills, tools, experience, expertise and broad participation to fight corruption on the ground, as well as through global and regional initiatives.
Now in its second decade, Transparency International is maturing, intensifying and diversifying its fight against corruption.
What is corruption?
Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It hurts everyone whose life, livelihood or happiness depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority.
Why does fighting corruption matter?
Corruption hurts everyone, and it harms the poor the most. Sometimes its devastating impact is obvious:
A father who must do without shoes because his meagre wages are used to pay a bribe to get his child into a supposedly free school.
The unsuspecting sick person who buys useless counterfeit drugs, putting their health in grave danger.
A small shop owner whose weekly bribe to the local inspector cuts severely into his modest earnings.
The family trapped for generations in poverty because a corrupt and autocratic leadership has systematically siphoned off a nation’s riches.
Other times corruption’s impact is less visible:
The prosperous multinational corporation that secured a contract by buying an unfair advantage in a competitive market through illegal kickbacks to corrupt government officials, at the expense of the honest companies who didn’t.
Post-disaster donations provided by compassionate people, directly or through their governments, that never reach the victims, callously diverted instead into the bank accounts of criminals.
The faulty buildings, built to lower safety standards because a bribe passed under the table in the construction process that collapse in an earthquake or hurricane.
Corruption has dire global consequences, trapping millions in poverty and misery and breeding social, economic and political unrest.
Corruption is both a cause of poverty, and a barrier to overcoming it. It is one of the most serious obstacles to reducing poverty.
Corruption denies poor people the basic means of survival, forcing them to spend more of their income on bribes. Human rights are denied where corruption is rife, because a fair trial comes with a hefty price tag where courts are corrupted.
Corruption undermines democracy and the rule of law.
Corruption distorts national and international trade.
Corruption jeopardises sound governance and ethics in the private sector.
Corruption threatens domestic and international security and the sustainability of natural resources.
Those with less power are particularly disadvantaged in corrupt systems, which typically reinforce gender discrimination.
Corruption compounds political exclusion: if votes can be bought, there is little incentive to change the system that sustains poverty.
The conclusion - Corruption hurts everyone.

Transparency International Global Priorities
Transparency International's thematic webpages include the latest anti-corruption research, tools for fighting corruption and examples of best practice. They also contain information about projects from TI’s network of national chapters and contacts around the world, and related links and other resources.
1)Political corruption affects us all. We elect politicians and political parties expecting them to act in the public interest. By electing them we give them access to public resources and the power to take decisions that impact on our lives. Given this privileged position, immense damage can be inflicted by politicians or parties acting out of greed, or in the service of those who bankroll their ascent to power. It is not surprising that people the world over are demanding absolute probity of their political leaders: citizens in three out of four countries polled by TI and Gallup International in 2003 and in 2004 singled out political parties as the institution they perceived as most corrupt.
Reflecting this worldwide concern, TI has been working on the issue of political corruption for several years, focussing initially on corruption during the electoral cycle. Subsequently TI also worked on mechanisms that can help prevent corruption by politicians who are in power - such as codes of conduct and post-employment restrictions aimed at closing the "revolving door" between business and politics. As with so many other areas of anti-corruption work, most innovation in this sphere comes from the practitioners in the field who make up the TI network. Several effective tools have been developed, for example to monitor corruption in politics. This has made the problem manifest for policy makers and for the general public, and has provided evidence to underpin recommendations for reform.
2)Public contracting is one way in which public policy is implemented, and it is an enormous and lucrative area of business. Think of pharmaceutical companies vying to supply a government vaccination programme, the privatisation of a government-owned telecommunications company, or the awarding of contracts to reconstruct destroyed infrastructure in Iraq. Most of these contracts are meant to buy or produce goods or services that should benefit citizens directly, like the construction of a road or a sewage system. Others should benefit citizens indirectly, by contributing to a more efficient or effective delivery of a specific service or good, and prudently investing or increasing public funds. The key question is whether genuine efforts to serve the public interest motivate the contracting decisions being made.
All levels of government perform contracting activities in most countries, from municipalities and towns, to provinces and national or federal governments. While federal or national level contracting can be bigger in terms of value per contract, local government contracting is also significant in terms of the number of processes and their impact.
3)Practices that were once seen as an inevitable part of doing business in many parts of the world are becoming increasingly unacceptable. More stringent domestic laws and international conventions such as the 1999 OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the United Nations Convention against Corruption are compelling companies to develop new anti-bribery policies or to review existing ones. The high-profile corporate scandals of recent years have made companies increasingly aware that corrupt practices pose serious and costly risks to their reputation and sustainability. This understanding, coupled with growing public expectation of accountability and probity in the corporate sector, are putting added pressure on companies to articulate and live up to more ethical business practices.
But in spite of some progress, there are many signs that point to the challenge that remains ahead. The revelation in the report of the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) into the Iraq Oil for Food Programme that more than 50% of the 4,500 companies involved were investigated for making illegal payments is an alarming reminder that corrupt practices are alive and well in the business sector.
4)Welcome to the TI pages on international anti-corruption conventions and other international inter-governmental anti-corruption instruments. In these pages you will find information and resources on various aspects of these agreements. At the bottom of the page you will find a list of international anti-corruption conventions and selected instruments, including links to a summary and to the full text.
Anti-corruption conventions and instruments are of key importance in the work of TI and have been since its inception. These texts, agreed by governments, recognise corruption as a worldwide and cross-border affliction, and express a shared high-level political commitment to addressing this critical problem individually and collectively. Each text establishes an international, regional or sub-regional framework of rules and standards, some of them binding, that promote domestic action and facilitate international cooperation. Some take a selective approach and address some key aspects of the problem. Many of them adopt a comprehensive approach to corruption, calling for a wide range of measures to prevent it, measures to punish it when it occurs, measures to check corruption-related money laundering and facilitate the return of corruptly taken assets; and measures to provide assistance to countries where required. The most comprehensive of them is also the most recent, the landmark UN Convention against Corruption (2003), global in its reach and wit the most extensive approach to addressing the corruption problem.
Important as they are, the adoption of anti-corruption conventions is only a first step and only significant if there is follow-up. The key is sustained national implementation by all participating countries. This calls for action by governments, civil society organisations, private sector, international institutions and others to maintain the political will and momentum reflected in anti-corruption conventions. The more committed governments will need to encourage and support those of their peers who are proceeding slowly, reluctantly or with inadequate resources. Citizens and civil society organisations will need to be active in pressing their governments to make the conventions a priority, by reminding them of convention requirements and holding them accountable to convention standards. International institutions can help keep anti-corruption conventions high on the international agenda and provide fora for discussing progress.
Most of the instruments discussed here provide for review and follow-up processes for the conventions. These are essential. Not only do such processes help maintain the needed pressure on governments to give priority to compliance, but they also provide a setting in which concepts can be aligned, difficulties can be discussed and common approaches developed.
TI and its National Chapters have played an important role in promoting conventions from the negotiation phase through to monitoring their transformation into law, and their application in practice. TI contributed to the negotiations for the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. TI has actively promoted ratification, implementation and enforcement of the OECD and OAS Conventions, and is currently promoting ratification and implementation of the AU Convention. TI and its National Chapters have also contributed to the monitoring processes for the OECD, OAS and Council of Europe Conventions, and TI is currently developing proposals for monitoring the UNCAC, which will be followed by a campaign in support of monitoring. All of these activities are discussed in the pages that follow.
5)Transparency International’s national chapters in aid donor and recipient countries are working to create a world free of corruption. This puts TI in a unique position to address corruption and aid. A 2004 feasibility study identified TI's role and the potential for change. The study acknowledges a world-wide concern that money being mobilised for development co-operation is being wasted through corruption. It also notes that donors are prepared to take action and that they look to civil society to play an important role in raising awareness and pressuring governments for reform. The conclusion is that TI should play a more instrumental role in preventing corruption in aid and development cooperation.
One important initiative in the past was the TI Workshop in Nairobi on Aid, Debt Relief and Anti-Corruption Reforms in 2001 [1]. TI has since actively been pursuing policy dialogues with individual donors and multilateral institutions. TI has also been engaged with the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD and is a partner to the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre run by Chr. Michelsen Institute.

What is Attac ?
As financial markets and the profit motive increasingly take over society, Attac seeks to be a source of alternatives.

Attac was founded in 1998 and its first concrete proposal was the taxation of financial transactions in order to create a development fund and to help curb stock market speculation. This is what gave A T T A C its name: the Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions to Aid Citizens.

Today, the Attac network is present in many countries and is active on a wide range of issues: the WTO and international financial institutions, debt, taxation of financial transactions, tax havens, public services, water, free-trade zones (Mediterranean, American, European etc.).

In each country, the association has groups working on various themes. All of these groups are involved in national and international campaigns whose aim is to propose concrete alternatives to neoliberal orthodoxy, based on solidarity.

Platffrm of the international movement ATTAC
International movement for democratic control of financial markets and their institutions Adopted at the international meeting of December 11-12, 1998.
Financial globalization increases economic insecurity and social inequalities. It bypasses and undermines popular decision-making, democratic institutions, and sovereign states responsible for the general interest. In their place, it substitutes a purely speculative logic that expresses nothing more than the interests of multinational corporations and financial markets.
In the name of a transformation of the world depicted as a natural law, citizens and their representatives find their decision-making power contested. Such a humiliating proof of impotence encourages the growth of anti-democratic parties. It is urgent to block this process by creating new instruments of regulation and control, at the national, European, and international levels. Experience clearly shows that governments will not do so without encouragement. Taking up the double challenge of social implosion and political desperation thus requires a dramatic increase in civic activism.
The total freedom of capital circulation, the existence of tax havens, and the explosion of the volume of speculative transactions have forced governments into a frantic race to win the favor of big investors. Every day, one hundred billion dollars pass through the currency markets in search of instant profits, with no relation to the state of production or to trade in goods and services. The consequences of this state of affairs are the permanent increase of income on capital at the expense of labor, a pervasive economic insecurity, and the growth of poverty.
The social conseqences of these developments are even more severe for dependent countries that are directly affected by the financial crisis and are subjected to the dictates of the IMF’s adjustment plans. Debt service requires governments to lower social service budgets to a minimum and condemn societies to underdevelopment. Interest rates much higher than in the countries of the North contribute to the destruction of national producers; uncontrolled privatization and denationalization develop in the search for the resources demanded by investors.
Everywhere social rights are called into question. Where there are public retirement systems, workers are asked to replace them by a pension fund mechanism that subjects their own employers to the sole imperatives of immediate profitability, extends the sphere of influence of finance, and persuades citizens of the obsolescence of institutions of solidarity between nations, peoples, and generations. Deregulation affects the labor market as a whole, and the results include degradation of working conditions, the growth of workplace insecurity and unemployment, and the dismantling of systems of social protection.
Using economic development and job creation as a pretext, the major powers have not given up plans for a Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI) which would give the investors all the rights and leave national governments with all the responsibilities. Under the pressure of public opinion and mobilization of activists, they had to abandon plans to negotiate this agreement in the framework of the OECD, but discussions will resume in the framework of the World Trade Organization. At the same time the USA as well as the European Commission continue their free trade crusade, pushing for the creation of new zones of deregulation at the continental or intercontinental level (the PET project between Europe and North America, the extension of NAFTA into Latin America, etc.)
There is still time to put the brakes on most of these machines for creating inequalities between North and South as well as in the heart of the developed countries themselves. Too often, the argument of inevitability is reinforced by censorship of information about alternatives. Thus international financial institutions and the major media (whose owners are often beneficiaries of globalization) have been silent about the proposal of the American economist and Nobel Laureate James Tobin, to tax speculative transactions on currency markets. Even at the particularly low rate of 0.1%, the Tobin Tax would bring in close to $100 billion every year. Collected for the most part by industrialized countries, where the principal financial markets are located, this money could be used to help struggle against inequalities, to promote education and public health in poor countries, and for food security and sustainable development. Such a measure fits with a clearly antispeculative perspective. It would sustain a logic of resistance, restore maneuvering room to citizens and national governments, and, most of all, would mean that political, rather than financial considerations are returning to the fore.
To this end, signatories propose to participate or to cooperate with the international movement ATTAC to debate, produce and disseminate information, and act together, in their respective countries as well as on the continental and international levels. This joint actions have the following goals:
to hamper international speculation;
to tax income on capital;
to penalize tax havens;
to prevent the generalization of pension funds;
to promote transparency in investments in dependant countries;
to establish a legal framework for banking and financial operations, in order not to penalize further consumers and citizens; the employees of banking institutions can play an important role in overseeing these operations;
to support the demand for the general annulment of the public debt of dependent countries, and the use of the resources thus freed in behalf of populations and sustainable development, which many call paying off the "social and ecological debt.
More generally, the goals are:
to reconquer space lost by democracy to the sphere of finance,
to oppose any new abandonment of national sovereignty on the pretext of the "rights" of investors and merchants,
to create a democratic space at the global level.
It is simply a question of taking back, together, the future of our world.

Greenpeace exists because this fragile earth deserves a voice. It needs solutions. It needs change. It needs action.
Greenpeace is a non-profit organisation, with a presence in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
To maintain its independence, Greenpeace does not accept donations from governments or corporations but relies on contributions from individual supporters and foundation grants.
As a global organisation, Greenpeace focuses on the most crucial worldwide threats to our planet's biodiversity and environment.
We campaign to:
--Stop climate change
--Protect ancient forests
--Save the oceans
--Stop whaling
--Say no to genetic engineering
--Stop the nuclear threat
--Eliminate toxic chemicals
--Encourage sustainable trade
Greenpeace has been campaigning against environmental degradation since 1971 when a small boat of volunteers and journalists sailed into Amchitka, an area north of Alaska where the US Government was conducting underground nuclear tests. This tradition of 'bearing witness' in a non-violent manner continues today, and our ships are an important part of all our campaign work.
We exist to expose environmental criminals, and to challenge government and corporations when they fail to live up to their mandate to safeguard our environment and our future.
In pursuing our mission, we have no permanent allies or enemies. We promote open, informed debate about society's environmental choices. We use research, lobbying, and quiet diplomacy to pursue our goals, as well as high-profile, non-violent conflict to raise the level and quality of public debate.
And we believe that the struggle to preserve the future of our planet is not about us. It's about you. Greenpeace speaks for 2.8 million supporters worldwide, and encourages many millions more than that to take action every day.
We take the name of our flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, from a North American Cree Indian legend. It described a time when humanity's greed has made the Earth sick. At that time, a tribe of people known as the Warriors of the Rainbow would rise up to defend her.
As one of the longest banners we've ever made summed things up, "When the last tree is cut, the last river poisoned, and the last fish dead, we will discover that we can't eat money..."
What is Greenpeace's mission? When did it get started? How many supporters does Greenpeace have? Plus many more answers!
This is our mission:
Greenpeace is an independent, campaigning organisation which uses nonviolent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to force the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace's goal is to ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all its diversity.
How did Greenpeace get started?
In 1971, motivated by their vision of a green and peaceful world, a small team of activists set sail from Vancouver, Canada, in an old fishing boat.
The founders of Greenpeace believed a few individuals could make a difference. Their mission was to "bear witness" to the USA's underground nuclear testing at Amchitka in one of the world's most earthquake-prone regions.
A tiny island off the West Coast of Alaska, Amchitka was the last refuge for 3000 endangered sea otters, and home to bald eagles, peregrine falcons and other wildlife.
Even though their old boat, the Phyllis Cormack, was intercepted before she got to Amchitka, the journey sparked a flurry of public interest. The US still detonated their bomb, but the voice of reason had been heard.
Nuclear testing on Amchitka ended that same year, and the island was later declared a bird sanctuary.
Today, Greenpeace is a global organisation that gives priority to campaigns that can be addressed on a global scale. Based in Amsterdam, Greenpeace has 2.8 million supporters worldwide, and national/regional offices in 41 countries.
You can find out more about our history, at our 30th Anniversary page.
If you want to read more, there are several good books about Greenpeace: "The Warriors of the Rainbow" by Robert Hunter, "Journey into the Bomb" by David McTaggart, and "The Greenpeace Story" by John May and Michael Brown. They can often be found at used book and auction sites such as Ebay , Amazon and Powells.
Who founded Greenpeace?
There's an old joke around the organisation that in any bar in Vancouver, Canada, you can find at least one person who claims to have founded Greenpeace.
In truth, many talented folks contributed to the creation of Greenpeace. Bill Darnell coined the name when someone flashed him a peace sign and he said "let's make that a green peace!" Bob Hunter created the concept of the "Media Mind Bomb" - reaching the public consciousness through dramatic, camera-ready opposition to environmental crimes. Jim Bohlen, Paul Cote, and Ben Metcalf led the first direct action by the "Don't Make a Wave Committee," sailing to Amchitka Island in the Aleutians to try to stop a nuclear weapons test with their presence. David McTaggart convinced a half dozen loosely connected early groups to put aside their differences and join in a single worldwide organisation, creating Greenpeace International in 1979.
How is Greenpeace organised? Who runs Greenpeace?
The Greenpeace organisation consists of Greenpeace International (Stichting Greenpeace Council) in Amsterdam and Greenpeace offices around the world. Greenpeace currently has a presence in 41 countries. Greenpeace national or regional offices are licensed to use the name Greenpeace. Each office is governed by a board which appoints a representative (called a trustee).
Trustees meet once a year to agree on the long-term strategy of the organisation, to make necessary changes to governance structure, to set a ceiling on spending for Greenpeace International's budget and to elect the International Board of four members and a chairperson.
Greenpeace International monitors the organisational development of Greenpeace offices, oversees the development and maintenance of our fleet of ships, coordinates planning and implemenation of our global campaigns, and monitors compliance with core policies.
The International Board approves the annual budget of Greenpeace International and its audited accounts. It also appoints and supervises the International Executive Director who, together with senior managers, and consulting widely with national office staff, leads the organisation.
Greenpeace does not solicit or accept funding from governments, corporations or political parties. Greenpeace neither seeks nor accepts donations which could compromise its independence, aims, objectives or integrity. Greenpeace relies on the voluntary donations of individual supporters, and on grant support from foundations.
Greenpeace is committed to the principles of non-violence, political independence and internationalism. In exposing threats to the environment and in working to find solutions, Greenpeace has no permanent allies or enemies.
The Chair of Board is currently Australian journalist and author Anne Summers. The Executive Director is currently German activist and advisor Gerd Leipold.