Monday, June 16, 2008

Sustainability Convergence in San Francisco

I was struck last week when a
group of people were discussing local sustainability, and Janell Kapoor
said, "You know, there are groups of local people having this same
discussion." I nodded my head in agreement.



Every place has it's own flavor, but here's another eco-convergence below.

(and not a minute too soon!)



By the way, I am thinking more and more about the UN as a positive
force, and the local UN Association as a sustainability partner as well.

-- Jim

******************************






Community Convergence for Change






The Big ONE 2008
A Grand Collaboration





A village of engagement for healthy body, home, family and community

June 21& 22, 9am-7pm, 2008
Sharon Meadow, Golden Gate Park


next to the Children's Playground and Carousel
http://www.wiserearth.org/group/TheBigOne

The
Big ONE "village of engagement" is a gathering of people from Bay Area
neighborhoods, schools, coops, nonprofits, foundations, businesses, and
municipal agencies. Participants will design, envision, collaborate,
and dialog with new friends about the future of their neighborhoods and
communities.

Prepare for the challenging times ahead; come, be
heard, and engage. You can set up a table or an interactive exhibit to
collaborate and share information and/or do a workshop, presentation,
forum, art project, or hands-on demonstration of sustainable skills. We
provide the space – a large grassy area with open-air tents, a media
tent, and a stage for music encircling a larger gathering tent for food
and socializing.
Fill the space with your dreams.





This
is a 100% noncommercial event; nothing will be for sale. Bring picnic
food and drink, plates, cups, and utensils for an enormous zero-waste
potluck. We will have storytellers and games, and an eclectic mix of
live music will be performed throughout each day.

The Big ONE
movement represents a tectonic shift in thinking toward sustainability
awareness and action, civic engagement, and localization of culture,
economy, and decision-making. Based on respect for all life and the
planet that sustains us, the gathering provides opportunities to build
community through dialogue, committed engagement, and trust.





We are using the Wiser Earth platform to organize, plan, and co-create the event. http://www.beautifulcommunities.org

Who we are:

We
are Bay Area residents from diverse social and ethnic backgrounds. The
seeds of inspiration for this movement were planted in 2005 during the
week-long celebration of World Environment Day in San Francisco, which
coincided with the 60th anniversary of the founding of the United
Nations. A small group of people who felt the need to move beyond a
celebration, continued the dialogue about how to develop awareness
around sustainability issues.

In 2006 we started gathering every
three weeks to discuss community and sustainability. We decided to host
an annual “convergence” that would bring together people from all walks
of life. In order to reach the full spectrum of the diverse community
that inhabits the Bay Area, we focused our vision on the elements
needed by all life. We all need clean air to breathe, clean water to
drink, and healthy soil to grow food. We all want inspiring education,
decent housing, meaningful relationships, and a culture in which all
life is respected and all voices are heard.

Over the past three
years 110 people have flowed in and out of our gatherings. No one
person “owns” this vision. The Big ONE is a collaborative, democratic
embodiment of what we, as engaged members of our communities can
create. It belongs to all of us.

Come experience and participate. "The New Me is We."




Partners: 350.org,
Ahuma Institute,
Alemany Farm, Architects Designers and Planners for Social
Responsibility,
Arizmendi Bakery, Bay Localize, Bayview Farmers Market, Bayview/Hunters
Point
Foundation for Community Improvement, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Buy
Local Buy
Fresh, Cafe Gratitude, Center for Safe Energy, Communities of
Opportunity,
Community Alliance for Family Farms, Conscious Change Collective, Core
Values,
CUESA, Culture Change, Dig Cooperative, Earth Charter Community
Alliance, East Bay Pesticide Alert, Ecology Center of San Francisco,
Farm Fresh Choice, Gabriel Cousens & Tree
of Life, Global Exchange, Global Oneness Project, Green Gulch Farm,
Green Music
Network, Greywater Guerrillas, Hillary Rubin Yoga, JK Sound, Literacy
for Environmental Justice,
National Holistic Institute, Network for Good, Oakland Based Urban
Gardens,
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, Off the Mat into the World, Open
World,
Other Avenues Cooperative, Pacific Edge Institute, Peace Every Day,
People’s
Grocery, Permaculture Guild, Planet Drum, Quesada Gardens, Rainbow
Grocery Cooperative, Regenerative
Design Institute, Roots of Change, SF Bike Coalition, SF Dept, of
Public Health,
SF Dept, of the Environment, SF Food Systems, SF Green Schoolyard
Alliance, SF
Parks Trust, SF Peak Oil Task Force, Slow Food Nation, Sunrise Center,
Sunset
Green, Ultimate Prosperity, Urban Alliance for Sustainability,
Veritable
Vegetable, Wiser Earth, World Savvy, and many more


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have been recommending a book called "My Stroke of Insight - a Brain Scientist's Personal Journey" by Jill Bolte Taylor and also a TEDTalk Dr. Taylor gave on the TED dot com site. And you don't have to take my word for it - Dr. Taylor was named Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People, the New York Times wrote about her and her book is a NYTimes Bestseller), and Oprah did not 4 interviews with her.