Ground-Breaking Research on ``Money and Sustainability'' To Be Presented at ACCESS Foundation and Naropa University-Sponsored ``Money Crunch'' Conference on Sunday, March 21, 2004.

Business Editors/Education Writers

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 10, 2004

First U.S. Presentation of the Follow-Up Report to Meadows'

"Limits to Growth"

On Sunday, March 21, 2004, the third and final day of the upcoming "Money Crunch: Complementary Currency Solutions" conference, the results of the follow-up study to the Meadows Report -- entitled "Money and Sustainability -- The Overlooked Connections," will be presented publicly in the U.S. for the first time.

Stefan Brunnhuber, Ph.D., M.A. and M.D., will present the findings at 10:00 a.m. MST on March 21. The report was initially published in German in October 2003 and is the first official follow-up to the landmark Club of Rome report, "Limits To Growth," published in 1972. The "Money Crunch" conference -- co-sponsored by the ACCESS Foundation and Naropa University -- will take place from Friday, March 19, through Sunday, March 21, at the Performing Arts Center at the Naropa University main campus, 2130 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder. (NOTE change in location.) Details can be found at http://www.naropa.edu/extend/MarpaMoneyCrunch.html. To register for the conference, prospective attendees should call 303-245-4800.

Dr. Brunnhuber will address the core findings and solutions documented in "Money and Sustainability -- The Overlooked Connections," a 600-page report that has already been recognized as one of the top ten most influential books on the future by the Robert Jungk Library of the Future, a leading European think-tank.

"This report is about one of the most influential legacy systems -- a particularly important and overlooked one in the sustainability debate -- the monetary system. This report's purpose is to make a first dent into raising human awareness about the crucial role that the money and financial systems play in shaping our present and our future," stated Dr. Brunnhuber, a member of the directorial board of the European Institute of Medicine (EOM), member of the European Academy of Science and Arts (EASA) and of the Austrian Chapter of the Club of Rome.

The impetus for this study sprang from the pioneering work of Bernard Lietaer, one of the two principal architects of the "ECU," the convergence mechanism that developed into the European single currency known as the Euro. Lietaer is also the author of internationally acclaimed books such as "The Future of Money" and "The Mystery of Money." He is a co-founder of the ACCESS Foundation. Besides participating in the original 16-person committee that prepared the original report, Lietaer will be responsible for updating the materials for an English-speaking audience. The English version will be translated in 17 other languages and published later in 2004.

According to Bernard Lietaer, a visiting professor at Naropa University's Marpa Center for Business and Economics: "Our current monetary system promotes primarily short-term priorities, thereby creating the systemic conflict between financial interests and long-term sustainability. As long as this issue remains unaddressed, sustainability will remain an uphill battle."

Part of the solution is complementary currencies. These systems are designed specifically to have different functional dynamics than conventional money. The currencies use something other than conventional national currencies to facilitate exchanges and can be specifically architected to tackle a particular local problem like elder care, unemployment, education or environmental matters. This money does not replace, but rather complements, the national monetary system. Complementary currencies, at a community level, are designed primarily to facilitate exchanges and are not instruments for savings and investment.

The Boulder-based ACCESS Foundation (Alliance of Complementary Currencies Enabling Sustainable Societies) and Naropa University's Marpa Center for Business and Economics will co-host this conference, which is open to all. Accredited media are also welcome. For more information on costs and registration, prospective attendees can call Naropa University at 303-245-4800.

The ACCESS Foundation -- the Alliance of Complementary Currencies Enabling Sustainable Societies -- is an educational non-profit organization dedicated to the betterment of humankind through the understanding and use of complementary monetary innovations. The organization's U.S. headquarters are based in Boulder, Colorado. For more information, visit www.accessfoundation.org.

The Marpa Center for Business and Economics was established by Naropa in 2002 to integrate Naropa's unique experience of contemplative liberal arts education with the contemporary world of business, economics and work to nurture the growing convergence between for-profit and non-profit realms, as businesses recognize the need to expand their missions to include social responsibility, and non-profits recognize the benefits of using for-profit strategies to accomplish social missions. Currently, the Marpa Center offers certificate programs in professional development, an on-going lecture series and conferences that showcase innovative ways in which for-profits and non-profits can tackle challenging business, economic and social issues.

Naropa University is a private, non-profit, non-sectarian liberal arts institution whose core mission is contemplative education. Contemplative education is an approach to learning that integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, creating and implementing a new paradigm in higher education. This model seeks to help students know themselves deeply so that they can engage constructively in a world of individuals who are not like themselves. The university comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate programs in the arts, education, environmental studies, psychology, religious studies, and creation spirituality. It offers B.A., B.F.A., M.A., M.F.A., M.Div and M.L.A. degrees, as well as professional development training and classes for the community through its School of Extended Studies and the Marpa Center for Business and Economics. In addition, the university runs study abroad programs in Sikkim, the Czech Republic, South India, Bali and Costa Rica. For more information, visit www.naropa.edu.