Subject: Sustainable Copmmunities Conference at Findhorn,Scotland
Date: 08 Jun 1998 15:11:33 GMT
Message-Id: <1326640959.15111931@findhorn.org>
Organization: www.findhorn.org/nfd/gnosis/gnosis.html
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Reply-To: conference@findhorn.org (Conference)
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"Creating Sustainable Community - Here, There and Everywhere"
An International Gathering at the Findhorn Foundation - 17-24 October 1998
Community and Sustainability are two words increasingly seen and heard in
the media as we approach the Millennium. Community may be as tightly knit
and intentional as a mutually supportive group sharing common spiritual,
ideological or philosophical aims and beliefs, or as loose as an inner-city
neighbourhood forced into communion by common needs or threats from a
perceived 'outside' pressure. Sustainability is likewise applied broadly:
it may refer to the ecological sustainability (and hence safety) of the
planet; social sustainability, which implies that we can all co-exist on an
increasingly crowded planet; and economic sustainability, so that there is
always enough to go around.
For over thirty years now the Findhorn Foundation, an international
community offering non-sectarian spiritual education, has dedicated its work
to exploring the reaches of both community and sustainability. Its past
conferences, on topics such as 'Building Eco-Villages', 'The Spiritual Work
of Our Times', 'Politics As if the Whole Earth Mattered', 'The World
Wilderness Congress' and others, the Foundation's unique ambience has
provided fertile ground for the cross-pollination of ideas, many of them
germinating and taking root and flowering elsewhere. The United Nations has
recently accorded the Foundation NGO status in recognition of its
international contribution.
This October's conference promises to continue the tradition of
excellence, inspiration and informality. Sustainability of spiritual
impulse; of actions, politics and economics in creating community will
feature strongly in this week-long gathering, whose issues include:
* how best to nurture harmony within and with others over the long
term, yet deal responsibly with conflicts as they arise
* how to create sustainable economy
* how to design homes, settlements and institutions in harmony with
nature
* how to make peace with leadership and create optimal governance on
a human scale that serves the common good
* how to delineate clearly both the rights and responsibilities of
membership and/or citizenship
* how to create community wherever we may be
The conference week will include presentations by 'big picture'
thinkers and 'hands on' community builders; workshops, cultural performances,
creative community work projects, and many opportunities for social
interaction and brainstorming. It will also feature presenter Tony Gibson's
Planning for Real process, as well as other focus groups in which
participants can engage with real-life community challenges in a variety of
settings: ranging from the Foundation's own eco-village project to inner-city
issues and those of so-called developing countries. Throughout the week,
particular emphasis is to be given to providing participants with the tools,
information, contacts and skills required for effective community-building in
any situation.
American cultural historian W I Thompson once wrote that the ideas
discussed over the coffee tables of the Findhorn Foundation in one decade
become the practicalities of the world in the next. The themes of this year's
conference, however, are immediately topical. Join us for the adventure!
Conference presenters include:
* Robin Alfred, Coordinator of the 're-invention process' at
Findhorn
* Felix Dodds, Coordinator of the UN Environment and Development
(UNED) committee,UK
* Jim and Liz Donovan, co-directors of the Nepal Trust, a charity
that builds and equips health posts in the remote Humla district of Nepal
* Gill Emslie, Coordinator of the Personal and Spiritual
Development Area at Findhorn
* Lynne Franks, former London- based publicist; author and
spokesperson on ethical business and community outreach
* Stephen Gaskin, former professor at the University of
California (San Francisco) and founder of The Farm community in Summertown,
Tennessee
* Tony Gibson, British lecturer, community organiser and author of
The Power In Our Hands
* Robert Gilman, consultant on eco-villages and sustainable
communities, founder of Context Institute and editor of In Context magazine
* Lawry Gold, educator at Pacific Lutheran University in Olympia,
Washington, who established the Community Studies Programme at Findhorn
* Hazel Henderson, futurist, economist, writer and broadcaster
* David Hoyle, manager of the Phoenix Community Store at Findhorn
* James Hubbell, American artist, creative builder and
coordinator of community arts projects
* Jill Jordan, Australian economist and expert in LETS (the
Local Exchange Trading System)
* Declan Kennedy, Irish architect, urban planner, ecologist and
permaculture designer; former professor, editor and lecturer, now consulting
in over ten countries and a leading light in the Global Eco-village Network
(GEN)
* Satish Kumar, editor of Resurgence magazine, coordinator of the
Schumacher Lectures series and Director of Programmes at Schumacher College
* Ervin Laszlo, founder and president of the Club of Budapest in
Hungary
* Bernard Lietaer, economist, inventor of the European 'ecu',
currently Fellow at the Center for Sustainable Resources, University of
California in Berkeley
* Jan Martin-Bang, coordinator of ecological programmes at
Kibbutz Gezer in Israel and of the Green Forum for eco-initiatives in the
kibbutz movement
* Milenko Matanovic, Slovenian artist who lives in the USA where
he consults on community projects
* Bill Metcalf, Australian academic and international authority
on intentional communities, past and present
* Dmitri Morosov, founder and president of Kitezh Children's
Community in Kaluga, Russia
* Yaacov Oved, Professor of History at Tel Aviv University and
executive director of Yad Tabenkin, Research Centre of the United Kibbutz
movement in Israel and of the International Communal Studies Association
* Belden and Lisa Paulson, co-founders of the High Wind
Community in Wisconsin where Belden is a professor of political science and
consults on sustainability issues
* Linda Reimer and Bruce Davidson, co-founders and directors of
the Sirius Community in Massachusetts
* Walter Schwarz,Guardian correspondent who, with his wife
Dorothy, has just written a book on alternative communities
* Michael Shaw, president of Living Technologies in Vermont, a
founder of 'Ten Stones' co-housing community there, and Findhorn Foundation's
Chairman of Trustees
* Alexander Shubin, Russian historian, Green activist and
adviser to Russian Vice-President Boris Nemtsov
* John Talbott, coordinator of the Eco-Village Project at
Findhorn
* Simon Zadek, director of the New Economics Foundation in
London
After the conference, from 25-27 October, a limited number of places will be
available for participation in an intensive workshop led by Max Schupbach and
his partner Jytte Vikkelsoe (both Process Oriented Psychologists and
Findhorn Fellows). This event is primarily intended to further the Findhorn
Foundation's reinvention process, especially around sustainability issues.
The fee for participating in this workshop will be L150, plus food and
lodging at L25 per person per day. Please write to the Accommodations Office
here at the Foundation for further details if you wish to take part.
Accommodations Office,
Findhorn Foundation,
Cluny Hill College,
St Leonards Rd,
Forres,
Morayshire IV36 ORD
Scotland
Fax: +44 (0)1309-691833
tel: +44 (0)1309-691933
e-mail: conference@findhorn.org
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