Picture taken by the editor of the newspaper “Sulzbach-Rosenberger Zeitung” Mr. Joachim Gebhardt.
Gerd Geismann, mayor of Sulzbach-Rosenberg and chairman of the “Werbegemeinschaft Sulzbacher Bergland” presented a check for 5,000 Euro to Evi Steiner-Böhm, Brigitte Bachmann, and Verena Gerhardt-Hüttner to ensure the co-financing for the LEADER funds that the Erdchartaweg Amberg-Sulzbach (Earth Charter Way in the Amberg-Sulzbach region) has applied for. LEADER is an EU economic development program for regions lacking infrastructure. One of the requirements was that Erdchartaweg had to raise 50% of the sum before LEADER would give the other 50%. They were able to find the funds with 30% from in-county donations, 10% from the participants of the network and the private sector, and the final 10% from other organizations.
The funds received will support a yearly magazine describing new projects and available learning opportunities, a new Web site with a forum and its translation into English, big pictures for exhibitions, and an Earth Charter school book with examples from the region, among others.
The “Erdchartaweg Amberg-Sulzbach” is a key Earth Charter initiative in Bavaria, Germany composed of a network of more than 40 projects (social, ecological, philosophical, projects for children, pregnant women, and others) already run by communities, organizations, or the private sector who support the ideas of the Earth Charter and are also a “best practice example” for how the Earth Charter ethical principles can be implemented in daily life. The organization encourages people to start doing things on a small scale and work in a decentralized way, as suggested in the Earth Charter Initiative Action Guidelines. The organization supports the people that are independently working on these different projects, if needed, and makes suggestions, but does not interfere. The independent project participants are responsible for their own work and do not rely on the organization, which has its own responsibilities.