U.S. Participation in the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

Read "SUSTAINABILITY: Education for a Sustainable Future" by Debra Rowe in Science magazine, 20 July 2007. I quote:

After the United Nations declared a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-14), a grassroots effort from higher education developed in the United States in the absence of a federal government response. The National Council for Science and the Environment hosted its annual conference in 2003 on Education for a Sustainable and Secure Future. Out of that meeting, the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development was created to catalyze a U.S. response for this decade and beyond. This national network of over 300 organizations has sector teams in Faith, Business, Communities, Higher Education, K-12 schooling, and Youth. The U.S. Partnership convenes mainstream leaders and catalyzes their commitment to educating for a sustainable future. With impetus from multiple sources interested in sustainability, three major efforts emerged in the higher-education sector: the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC), the Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability (DANS), and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). (Links added)

The article describes U.S. efforts in support of education for sustainable development in some detail.

Check out the United Nations website for the Decade.

Check out UNESCO's website for the
Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
(UNESCO is the lead agency in the UN system for the program.)

California students working to save energy on campuses.
CREDIT: CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AT CHICO via Science magazine.

U.S. Participation in the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

Read "SUSTAINABILITY: Education for a Sustainable Future" by Debra Rowe in Science magazine, 20 July 2007. I quote:

After the United Nations declared a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-14), a grassroots effort from higher education developed in the United States in the absence of a federal government response. The National Council for Science and the Environment hosted its annual conference in 2003 on Education for a Sustainable and Secure Future. Out of that meeting, the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development was created to catalyze a U.S. response for this decade and beyond. This national network of over 300 organizations has sector teams in Faith, Business, Communities, Higher Education, K-12 schooling, and Youth. The U.S. Partnership convenes mainstream leaders and catalyzes their commitment to educating for a sustainable future. With impetus from multiple sources interested in sustainability, three major efforts emerged in the higher-education sector: the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC), the Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability (DANS), and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). (Links added)

The article describes U.S. efforts in support of education for sustainable development in some detail.

Check out the United Nations website for the Decade.

Check out UNESCO's website for the
Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
(UNESCO is the lead agency in the UN system for the program.)

California students working to save energy on campuses.
CREDIT: CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AT CHICO via Science magazine.

New Tax Break for Donations to Charities

This posting is by a non-expert on tax law, and is intended to stimulate thought. You should verify the information with a tax lawyer or other knowledgeable source before acting on the information. But for some readers, this may be a great time to make charitable contributions to qualifying organizations such as Americans for UNESCO.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) permits an an individual who is 70 ½ or older to roll over up to $100,000 from an individual retirement account (IRA) directly to a qualifying charity without recognizing the assets transferred to the qualifying charity as income. This provision is time-limited; it applies only to distributions made in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2005 and before January 1, 2008. However, since the rollover does not count as income, the donor can not take a deduction against taxes for the contribution (since to do so would be to double count the donation).

This provision of the law will benefit certain tax payers. For those who itemize donations on their tax returns, the rollover will not count against the limit on deductions for donations. Thus a large donation could be made via the rollover without affecting the deduction available for other charitable donations. For those who do not itemize deductions, the rollover would still be tax free.

Read more from the Council on Foundations about this new tax provision.

According to an article in Independent Sector

Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Representatives Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Wally Herger (R-CA) have introduced the “Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2007” in the House (H.R. 1419) and Senate (S. 819).......

The “Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2007” would extend and broaden the current IRA Rollover, scheduled to expire this December, by making it permanent, removing the current $100,000 annual limit on donations, making all charities eligible to receive donations, and providing IRA owners with a planned giving option starting at age 59½.

However, the bill has not been passed and may not become law. If you qualify, this may be the moment to take advantage of the provision of the current law which is scheduled to expire at the end of December.

New Tax Break for Donations to Charities

This posting is by a non-expert on tax law, and is intended to stimulate thought. You should verify the information with a tax lawyer or other knowledgeable source before acting on the information. But for some readers, this may be a great time to make charitable contributions to qualifying organizations such as Americans for UNESCO.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) permits an an individual who is 70 ½ or older to roll over up to $100,000 from an individual retirement account (IRA) directly to a qualifying charity without recognizing the assets transferred to the qualifying charity as income. This provision is time-limited; it applies only to distributions made in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2005 and before January 1, 2008. However, since the rollover does not count as income, the donor can not take a deduction against taxes for the contribution (since to do so would be to double count the donation).

This provision of the law will benefit certain tax payers. For those who itemize donations on their tax returns, the rollover will not count against the limit on deductions for donations. Thus a large donation could be made via the rollover without affecting the deduction available for other charitable donations. For those who do not itemize deductions, the rollover would still be tax free.

Read more from the Council on Foundations about this new tax provision.

According to an article in Independent Sector

Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Representatives Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Wally Herger (R-CA) have introduced the “Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2007” in the House (H.R. 1419) and Senate (S. 819).......

The “Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2007” would extend and broaden the current IRA Rollover, scheduled to expire this December, by making it permanent, removing the current $100,000 annual limit on donations, making all charities eligible to receive donations, and providing IRA owners with a planned giving option starting at age 59½.

However, the bill has not been passed and may not become law. If you qualify, this may be the moment to take advantage of the provision of the current law which is scheduled to expire at the end of December.

We regret to inform you of the death of F. Champion Ward

A distinguished American educator, F. Champion Ward was a member of UNESCO's International Commission on the Development of Education in the 1960's. Dr. Ward was a Vice President of the Ford Foundation executive and helped devise the process by which winners of the MacArthur Foundation's "genius awards" are selected each year. He died July 2 at his home in North Branford, Conn. He was 96.

Read obituaries for Dr. Ward:

• The Boston Globe
• The Los Angeles Times
  
• The Greenwich Time
  

We regret to inform you of the death of F. Champion Ward

A distinguished American educator, F. Champion Ward was a member of UNESCO's International Commission on the Development of Education in the 1960's. Dr. Ward was a Vice President of the Ford Foundation executive and helped devise the process by which winners of the MacArthur Foundation's "genius awards" are selected each year. He died July 2 at his home in North Branford, Conn. He was 96.

Read obituaries for Dr. Ward:

• The Boston Globe
• The Los Angeles Times
  
• The Greenwich Time
  

Dialog among civilizations

© Kenji Yoshida, Unesco

The promotion of dialog in the service of peace – in order to build “peace in the minds of men” – is one of the main themes of UNESCO’s mission. Globalization and the emergence of new contemporary challenges and threats to humankind make the need for dialog among peoples ever more topical.

Click here for the website describing UNESCO's actions for the Dialog Among Civilizations.