[1] Network members share ideas and information, transfer technologies and develop cultural and educational exchanges.
Hildur and Ross Jackson from Denmark established the Gaia Trust,[2] a charitable foundation, in 1991.
In 1991 the Gaia Trust convened a meeting in Denmark of representatives of eco-communities to discuss strategies for further developing the ecovillage concept.
By 2001, GEN had obtained consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
[4] In October 2005, at the conference to celebrate the tenth anniversary of GEN, a group of young adults joined to found NextGEN (the Next Generation of the Global Ecovillage Network).