History
The Institute for Ethical Leadership was conceived in late 1997 and in December a meeting of 10 leaders encouraged us to proceed. We began with a meeting of about 35 leaders held at the offices of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver in February 1988. Regular monthly events were held for a total of 68 events to November 2004.
The first year's members supported the initial funding of the Institute and subsequent members have maintained the Institute so that although we did not fund-raise we were always free of debt. During this time hundreds of members and guests attended in our audiences.
In 2002 we began working in five Themes:
- Youth and Education
- Business and Sustainability
- Stewardship and the Environment
- Relationships and Personal Development
- Health and Wellness
In addition we gathered for two major events, Connections I in 1999 and Connections II in 2001, creating a web of work where we worked on building bridges between those already making important contributions to the common good in our community.
In 2002 a website was created, www.ethicalleadership.com. with Ashley Webster as Webmaster.
In 2004, we hosted five Mini-Conferences on each theme:
- Safe and Caring Schools in Safe and Caring Communities
- Envisaging a New Energy Future for Greater Vancouver
- The Benefits of Eco-Efficiency in Schools, Institutions and Businesses
- Partners in Action
- Putting Prevention into Health Care
The Highlights of all of these mini-conferences are posted on the website. A major report from the last event was prepared and distributed to Health authorities, ministries and associations as well as to the media.
We met on the fourth Monday of the month, shared a meal, created community, presented important information, engaged in new learning and shared deeply held beliefs and opinions. From 2002 to 2004 our meetings were held at the Vancouver Public Library.
The meeting design was active. We sat in small groups at round tables and engaged and interacted with each other and the speakers. Highlights of the meetings were created and were sent as a permanent record to those who attended, as well as to friends and members. Behind the scenes the leadership team including Desmond Berghofer, Geraldine Schwartz, Dennis and Diane Jennings, Jim Haliburton, Brenda Waechter, Bill Borgen, Maggie Gold and earlier Kristen Cassie, Jean-Pierre LeBlanc, Ashley Webster and Donna McGowin carried on the business of the Institute to act on the ideas presented and discussed at the meetings.
We seriously promoted important projects for good in our Community.
- The Living Values Program to teach values in public schools Leaders: Bill Borgen, Gerri Schwartz
- The Gulf Islands Centre for Ecological Learning to promote nature-based learning for children Leaders: Desmond Berghofer, Michael Dunn
- Integrated Medial Association to promote complementary health care - Leader: Maggie Gold
- Recycling in North Shore Schools, Eco-Efficiency Project, Other Environmental Programs - Leader: Jim Haliburton
These projects are ongoing and making important contributions.
The following documents provide historical information about the work of the Institute: