Founded in 1993, the Club of Budapest is an informal international association dedicated to developing a new way of thinking and a new ethics that will help resolve the social, political, economic, and ecological challenges of the 21st century. With its roster of internationally renowned members, the Club initiates a dialogue between different belief systems and worldviews in order to co-create and develop effective strategies for responsible and sustainable action with a global focus.
The idea of the Club of Budapest was developed in 1978 in a discussion between Aurelio Peccei, founder and first president of the Club of Rome, and Ervin Laszlo, systems philosopher and member of the Club of Rome. They were convinced that the enormous challenges to humanity can only be dealt with through the development of a cultural and cosmopolitan consciousness.
Based on these ideas, the Club of Budapest was founded by Ervin Laszlo in 1993. The founding city and namesake of the Club lies at the heart of Europe and is spread out over both banks of the River Danube. The successful merging of the two cities Buda and Pest is symbolized by the famous Chain Bridge. It visualizes the ambition of the Club to build bridges between generations, disciplines and cultures. It was selected as the logo and signet for the objectives of the Club.
At the first Conference in Budapest on 26th and 27th of October 1996, The Honorary Members of The Club of Budapest have signed the “Manifesto on the Spirit of Planetary Consciousness".
The initial signatories of the Manifesto were His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Karan Singh, Vilayat Inayat Khan, H. E. Vigdis Finnbogadottir, Árpád Göncz, Tsingiz Aitmatov, A. T. Ariyaratne, Riane Eisler, Willis Harmann, Ervin Laszlo, Peter Russell, Betty Williams, Elie Wiesel, Milos Forman, Marice Béjart, Sir Peter Ustinov, Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Liv Ullmann, Jean Pierre Rampal, Thomas Berry, Edgar Mitchell, Edgar Morin, Robert Muller, Gillo Pontecorvo, H. E. Richard von Weizsaecker, Sir Richard Rothblat, Sir Sigmund Sternberg, Mohammed Yunus, Otto Herbert Hajek, and Sir Arthur C. Clark.