Organizational History

The Institute for Conscious Global Change (ICGC) was founded on the idea that poverty inall its forms could be eradicated from the planet by gathering extensive data to design each city, town and village to reflect the real-time issues deterring equality for everyone. The goal was to address these issues by designing a world in which everyone had access to a decent quality of life, sufficient food, adequate shelter, safety, good governance and proper education.

The tools of creative imagination, education, technology, finances and manpower are now available for us to design a more equitable world. During the fall of 2006, the initial proposal for "The Virtual Global Earth Project: A Seed Idea for a Global Marshall Plan", and what is now "The Millennium Earth Project: A Visual Framework for Sustainable Development" was created.

Based on the success of the Marshall Plan following the end of World War II, and based on a comprehensive and holistic approach to development, ICGC committed itself to working with experts and governments to create a similar plan focused on rebuilding the least developed countries where the poorest 1.4 billion people reside.The work of ICGC is based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS), GeoDesign, Computer Assisted Drafting and Design (CADD) and related technologies, with all data accessible through the cloud.

The Institute for Conscious Global Change is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that was incorporated in 2007 in New York State. Due to the global focus of our work, the decision was taken early on to partner with the United Nations on the eight Millennium Development Goals, which originally had a completion date of 2015. It was apparent to us at ICGC that infrastructure development (e.g., Water and Waste Treatment, Industry, Urban Planning, Architecture, Transportation and Telecommunication), though not originally incorporated into the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, was a cornerstone to achieving the goals. Therefore we added this pillar to the work.

In February 2011, the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), known as the leading GIS software developer in the world, donated its software to provide the foundation for our work. GIS allows us the capability to create an electronic atlas that is dynamic and provides the landscape topography for everyone to see and interact with. This planning tool also provides a visual resource for decision-makers to collaborate and strategize. Geospatial data is collected and analyzed as the precursor to planning and subsequent in-country implementation.

In July 2012, ICGC was granted Special Consultative Status by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, which helps to facilitate our work with governments, NGOs, and other institutions and organizations that are working towards sustainable development.

The first phase of the Millennium Earth Project was developed predominantly by Millenial volunteers from all over the world, working in the following areas:

• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Research of the MDGs
• Infrastructure research and development
• Education
• Web Interface Network and Communications
• Quality Assurance

Our Proof of Concept was done with St. Raphael in the NORD Department of Haiti. We demonstrated how geospatial data, analysis, infrastructure research and planning could be used to design cities, towns and countries with the resources needed to satisfy the fundamental needs of its citizens by the year 2030. The ultimate goal is to create a world free of war and conflict, which is often fed by poverty.

We envision 2030 as the year we finally have equality on the map and we celebrate a transformed planet!