GEN-Europe is a membership organisation founded in 1996 and is open to a wide range of projects regardless of their political, religious or cultural backgrounds. GEN-Europe forms part of GEN International, an NGO with special consultative status at the UN-Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) commission, and a partner of United Nations Institute for Training and Research, UNITAR.
GEN-Europe’s Mission, Vision and Purposes;
Vision:
We envision a planet of diverse cultures of all life united in creating communities in harmony with each other and the Earth, while meeting the needs of this and future generations.
Mission:
 - GEN-Europe promotes the development of sustainable settlements.
 - GEN-Europe communicates the benefits of the ecovillage experience to wider society, to professionals in government, the private sector, and other NGOs.
 - GEN-Europe works to strengthen the capacity of individual ecovillages as well as the national ecovillage networks.

Aims:
- foster the dissemination of information on ecovillage concepts, practices and demonstration sites
 - encourage and strengthen global, regional and local networking between ecovillages and related projects
 - promote the transformation of the human habitat and seek greater sustainability through whole system approaches which integrate ecology, education, participatory decision-making, green technologies and businesses
 - provide practical examples of the implementation of Agenda 21
 - support community-building activities
 - bridge cultural differences, encourage dialogue and create tools for non-violent communication for community building that range from consensus decision-making to facilitation of meetings, forums and conflict resolution.
 - offer an ongoing educational opportunity for visitors, students and interns interested in sustainable development though guest programs and a variety of courses and workshops on Agenda 21-related topics.

Membership
There are different kinds of membership:

The full member category:
This membership is for fully established ecovillages and national networks (incorporating at least two ecovillages with elected representatives). As a full member, you will have voting right at the General Assembly and the benefits of membership are fully available to you. Full members must be approved by the GEN-Europe council. No applicant will be given full membership unless
 1) they are well known to the Council
 or 2) they have participated in a General Assembly.
 The yearly membership fee is on a sliding scale between 100 Euros minimum and 600 Euros max. according to the size of the ecovillage – each member is asked to estimate itself. Negotiations are possible if 100 Euros could not be afforded, this member makes an offer. The membership fee may also be paid in Ecorates.

 GEN criteria for full membership status as a fully-established ecovillage
* should have a common purpose and vision
 * should have a community of people living together on the chosen site with a membership structure and a decision-making process
 * should aim at the creation of a new culture that balances ecological, social and spiritual /cultural dimensions of human settlements
The Ecovillage Supporters:
It's composed by individuals and ecovillage initiatives (starting Ecovillages, related projects, new applicants). This second category does not have the right to vote at the assembly. The yearly membership fee is 25- Euro (may also be paid in Ecorates) as decided by the General Assembly.

Benefits of Membership
- membership of an international network dedicated to pioneering new models for equitable, sustainable communities, in both urban and rural settings
 - access to financial support for participation in education courses
 - access to financial support for national network meetings
 - access to financial support for exchange visits between ecovillage projects
 - make nominations and qualify for annual €3,000 ecovillage excellence award
 - 50% travel refund for participation at GEN-Europe’s annual General Assembly (full members)
 - support for promotion of your courses and seminars
 - access to free advertising and news pages in Permaculture Magazine to make announcements about courses, initiatives and events in your ecovillages
 - discounts on all GEN-Europe products: T-shirts, CD-ROMs, books, video
 - a link from the GEN-Europe database to your own website
- access to our inter-active web-site, on which you can regularly update your own entries
 - participation in a wide range of email discussion groups
 - assistance in fund-raising from an experienced fund-raising team that has secured EU funding for GEN-Europe
 - represent GEN-Europe at national and international events
 - opportunities to develop new friendships that can support your dreams and visions