History
​The roots and history of the Commons Cluster are deeply entwined with among others those of the All-Win Network, one of the co-founders and co-sponsors of most of its activities.
Ir. Pim van Monsjou, founder of the All Win Network in 2002 with Dr. Lisinka Ulatowska, whose books inspired both much of the work of the All Win Network and that of the Commons Cluster of the UN NGO Major Group.
The All-Win Network was one of the 25 founders of the Commons Cluster and has co-sponsored all of its actions. Now an organization in special consultative status with the UN's Economic and Social Council, it was originally founded by Ir. Pim van Monsjou in 2002 to implement actions outlined in the World Citizens Manual to transform “divide and rule” approaches to life into “all-win” ones. For the first years after it was founded, it organized monthly events on the premises of one of its Co-Founders, Stichting Emma, in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Each showcased the collaboration of 2-3 of its 21 founding organizations, as well as other organizations, using the all-win principle. The outcomes of their combined actions were frequently sent to the UN and its Member States.
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When in 2009, Ulatowska was invited by James Quilligan to explore founding what was to become Commons Action for the United Nations, she agreed with the warm support of Pim van Monsjou to move back to New York. Pim felt strongly that the work of the All Win Network must “go global.”
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World Citizens Manual
The chapters of actions described in this manual (click to see 2nd edition) focus on inner personal transformation; peaceful conflict resolution; ways of introducing education for world citizenship into formal and non-formal education; and the evolution of humanity and the all-win principle.
The penultimate chapter of the World Citizens Manual is on “participating in global governance by developing a global network of action groups to lobby both for and in harmony with natural law and the all-win principle. This became the inspiration that formed what was initially Commons Action for the UN conceived of jointly with 23 others by Commons expert James Quilligan and Lisinka Ulatowska, author of the World Citizens Manual.
Lisinka Ulatowska, was originally trained in 1969 by what was then the UN's Office of Public Information to become a UN guide/lecturer. She later represented the World Federalists, the World Citizens and other organizations at the UN. Her work at the UN is still inspired by many of the actions outlined in the World Citizens Manual and later in the novels, Samenzwering Samenspel—naar spiritueel wereldburgerschap (translation from the English manuscript: Heaven Can't Wait ); and Fearless. Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things in a World Gripped by Fear.
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When in 2009, Ulatowska was invited by James Quilligan to explore founding what was to become Commons Action for the United Nations, she agreed with the warm support of Pim van Monsjou to move back to New York. Pim felt strongly that the work of the All Win Network must “go global.”
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James Quilligan is an expert and prolific writer on the concept of the Commons; and Lisinka has written extensively on World Citizenship. They were both influential in conceiving of Commons Action for the United Nations and two of its 25 co-founders in 2009.
Heaven Can't Wait
This novel illustrates the actions in the World Citizens Manual (above). The plot describes how a group of NGOs affiliated with the UN and others use all of the actions outlined in the World Citizens Manual in everyday life in a race against time. It pits those UN-affiliated NGOs using the all-win principle against the Holy Order of the Snake, an organization of the most powerful, ruthless men, who, like marionettists working behind the scenes, are on the verge of taking over the world, using the divide and rule principle to govern every aspect of our daily lives. These are portrayed as manipulating all of the more visible powers that be—governments, large influential multinationals and people—mostly without them realizing this.
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Although all the people appearing in this novel, as well as all of the organizations are fictional, the actions and their consequences described as originating from the Holy Order of the Snake are clearly in evidence in the world around us and increasingly visible today. The inclination to use actions based on “divide and rule” can also be seen as embedded in our human psyche. The actions outlined in the books described here are ways to help us become more familiar with ways in which we can transform our more divisive ways of being into more unity-building ones. Unity building can be seen as one of the most urgent tasks confronting humankind as we climb the slippery slope to form a global community that works for all people and Mother Nature.
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Fearless. Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things in a World Gripped by Fear is a sequel to Heaven Can't Wait. It builds also on scientific theories which can help us to build unity, illustrating them by means of this novel.
Prof. Dr. Ervin Laszlo, Founder and former President of the Club of Budapest writes about this novel: "Fearless combines front-line scientific information about the nature of our universe with fascinating material addressing the deepest recesses of the human soul. To be read and enjoyed by everyone keen on knowing what this world -- and we ourselves -- are really like."
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