| Why Cleveland?
Cleveland is becoming nationally known for green building and other
sustainable development issues (within the city is one of only a
handful of eco villages projects in the country).
Our Mission
Sustainable development is the largest single project in the history
of the world. Organization and stakeholders from around the world
are working on the same problem; each seeking local solutions to
deal with problems of global significance. The context of the information
age offers the possibility of coordinating these efforts into a
coherent whole.
Do it right the first time!
Why Sarajevo? Sarajevo offers two things: a strong grass-roots
organization developing a regional network and a very low-cost translation
market. English language skills have been a key marketable skill
given the presence of international organizations over the last
ten years. Translation to Serbo-Croatian in Cleveland runs as high
as $40 per page, while in Bosnia the same service can cost seventy-five
percent less.
As Cleveland looks towards sustainable development from a postmodern
context, Eastern Europe, which is much less developed, can avoid
some of the problems Cleveland is now trying to overcome. Urban
sprawl for example is almost unheard of in the region, but by recognizing
the danger at this stage, sound planning can support the strengths
of the denser communities.
For the cost of translation, organizations from North-East Ohio
can develop a reputation internationally. The smaller scale of eastern
European cities also offers a test bed for the development of best
practices. In some sense, Cleveland lacks community, but is developing
technology to lead nationally to sustainable development. Conversely,
Eastern Europe has strong community, but lack both technology and
institutional capacity to ensure a sustainable future. |