For nearly a decade the Joslyn Castle Institute (JCI) has been advocating and promoting sustainable design, defined as human systems living in balance with the natural environment. The Institute is proud to announce its founding role in The North/North Network for Urban Sustainability and Leadership. During the recent World Urban Forum in Barcelona, the organizing committee of global partners appointed  JCI as the secretariat for the North/North Network. As the Secretariat, JCI will coordinate between regional offices, performing the business affairs of the organization, prioritizing projects, networking, and promoting the organization. For the past 10 years, JCI has been a member of the United Nations Best Practices and Local Leadership Program (BLP). One of 27 partners worldwide, the Institute is the designated Thematic Center of Architecture and Urban Design. JCI helps to evaluate submissions for the Dubai Award. The awards recognize and create awareness of outstanding and sustainable achievements. After observing that many of the winning awards weren't directly applicable to northern climates, the formation of the North/North Network was proposed.  Scientific and practical evidence is proving, over time, that much of the threat and depletion of the earth’s resources and ecosystems is a result of the patterns of development and consumption practiced by the the urban centres of the northern hemisphere. The Joslyn Castle Institute was established in 1996 to promote an integrated approach to issues of sustainability. In its educational programs and pilot projects, the Institute provides an opportunity to explore the broad concept of 'sustainable development' and look further at specific applications on a project-by-project basis.  The Institute brings an architectural design and planning perspective to its projects, ranging in scale from community design to international planning. These projects have resulted in schematic designs and studies which show how to implement principles of sustainability. The Institute has offices in Lincoln, NE and Omaha, NE.  The Omaha office is housed on the historical estate of George and Sarah Joslyn. The buildings and grounds of the Joslyn Castle have been entered into the National Register of Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The castle and grounds provide an ideal setting for the Institute's educational programs and preservation efforts.