The GLOBAL COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC) is widening its outreach beyond Germany with a view to fostering genuine international cooperation – a prerequisite of fair global governance – and culture of peace, a precondition for building a sustainable global society. It works closely with the International Press Syndicate.

We believe that instead of clinging on to out-dated social, economic, financial and political perceptions and structures, there is a compelling need to create conditions for a just, truly democratic and secure world whose citizens are empowered to interact with each other and those at the helm of affairs in order to respond rapidly to changes creeping in at a quick pace.

Precisely this is what the GLOBAL COOPERATION COUNCIL has been constantly endeavouring over the previous 32 years through its multifarious activities in Germany, aimed at exploring the realm of North-South and South-South relations and showing possible paths that lead to genuine global governance and promote culture of peace.

The Council was founded under the name 'Nord-Süd-Forum' (North-South Forum) on February 25, 1983 in Bonn, the capital of the then Federal Republic of Germany, by a group of Germans engaged in North-South relations, including a former state secretary in the federal ministry of economic cooperation and development (BMZ) and journalists from countries of the South.

The new name was given early 1997, taking into account the political and economic transformation -- under way since the fall of the Berlin Wall and end of the Cold War -- that continues to impact the social, cultural and political lives of peoples around the globe.

The Council is registered in Berlin as a non-governmental and not-for-profit organization. While serving as a focal point for genuine cooperation and culture of peace as well as a platform for dialogue, it facilitates -- within the framework of HumAN Development Services -- HANDS - an exchange of ideas and practical experiences.

The GLOBAL COOPERATION COUNCIL also provides information in German and English on multifaceted aspects of international cooperation, global governance and culture of peace. It facilitates horizontal communication with a view to promoting collaboration and exchange of knowledge in and about a fast-changing and increasingly complex world.

For this purpose, the Council has joined the Globalom Media Information – Communication – Publishing Agency and its successor the International Press Syndicate (INPS) to set up IDN-In Depth News, a news analysis service on issues that impact the world. The Council and IDN are jointly producing Global Perspectives, a monthly magazine for international cooperation published in Berlin, Tokyo and Toronto.

Since April 2010, the GLOBAL COOPERATION COUNCIL serves as an umbrella organization for IPS-Inter Press Service Deutschland GmbH, which provides a selection of news, features and backgrounders in German.

The GLOBAL COOPERATION COUNCIL has also launched websites as part of a media project sponsored by Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a lay Buddhist association based in Tokyo,  to raise awareness about the need for a nuclear free world and for fostering global citizenship.

Statutes of the German organization GLOBAL COOPERATION COUNCIL (Nord-Süd-Forum) e.V. registered in Berlin are available at: www.gc-council.org/international/index.php/membership/9-statutes