In 1912, Alfred Wegener formulated the hypothesis that all the continents were at one time grouped together to form one whole protocontinent, which he called "Pangaea" (meaning "all lands"). His theory was ignored by his colleagues. It was only in the 60s, with a better knowledge of the tectonics of the Earth's crust and by observing underwater topography, that the novel idea of Wegener was finally accepted.

A 180-million-year-old representation of Pangaea appears as logo in this Newsletter, thus signifying the image of an irreducible unity and an indispensable solidarity amongst all the inhabitants of our planet. Here is an image that reconciles the distant past of the very first movements of life, the present of contemporary knowledge (where poetry is not absent) and the future that can be livable subject to our ability to unite ourselves once again.

Today, we are almost there: the world is coming together -- and certainly not in a narrow vision of the "Global Village" which advocates the all powerful eulogists of economy at Davos in Switzerland every year. What is becoming clearer is the image of a global human community, which is nevertheless diverse, and which bears a fertile and generous vision. A vision that is respectful of the others and of nature.

The miniatures that illustrate this issue are a fine example of this fact: they are the work of an Indian artist from Orissa (a south eastern State of the country) with whom we had shared a fruitful interaction on the state of the world and the Alliance's ambition for an entire week. Here, he conveys his imagery of poular movements in various continents.

Men and women concerned with every individual's welfare, and with their regained freedon: Jess Santiago (Philippines) expresses it wonderfully in a song written to articulate his vision of the Alliance (see Artists in Alliance); Théophile Folly Amouzou (Togo) moves us with his message of compassion to Algerian allies following the assassination of Lounès Matoub, the Kabyle singer (see Letter from Togo to Algerian allies). The committed youth rejects the present state of unending wars and widespread misery: Kerry Ann Cochrane (Canada), Mira Challal (Algeria), T.Z. (Yugoslavia) have sent us messages of hope from places hounted by the torments of social exclusion or civil war (see A personal account of the YW meeting in Manali, India, A young ally that remained invisible for a long time, and Three sides to blame in the Kosovo conflict). A network of committed people fight against the depletion of our planet's soil resources (see Soil Programme); and individuals rooted in their environment patiently regenerate it: Jean Pierre Locatelli (France) and Vinaya Chaitanya (India) present their Oasis (see Oasis of the Alliance). Finally, some partners of the Alliance in Asia -- Bharat Dogra (India), He Huai-hong and Jiang Yi-hua (China) -- who agree with each other by locating the absence of spiritual development as the root of our problems (see Views from China on the Platform and Spiritual development -- the missing link).

"Pangaea," the personal conviction of an impassionate man became a reality. The Alliance for a responsible and united world, a utopia today, which is shared by numerous men and women across the planet (see Special Report on "97 Assembly of the Alliance") is paving its way towards recognition in the same manner. Its influence is increasing at the very least by lending a larger intensity and dimension to our battles.

Here lies the aim of this Newsletter: to show how these immanent forces of life and spirit operate in depth in countless places and at every moment, to bring the world towards a better future. We will unveil an alternative image of globalisation: what we hear and see too often through the media of the monoculture is already cracking up.

Pierre Johnson

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