International Conference on Degrowth in the Americas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

International Conference on Degrowth in the Americas
WHERE: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
WHEN: May 13-19, 2012
SPEAKERS INCLUDE: David Suzuki, William Rees, Mary Evelyn-Tucker, John Fullerton, Alain Gras, Joan Martinez-Alier, Serge Mongeau, Elizabeth Peredo Beltrán, Juliet Schor, Peter Victor, François Schneider

WANT SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE?
MONTREAL CONFERENCE TO EXPLORE ALTERNATIVES TO GROWTH

Sustaining our future means rethinking the relationship of economic growth to human well-being and environmental integrity.  The International Conference on Degrowth in the Americas meets this May in Montreal to explore the possibilities of a post-growth world.

From May 13-19, 2012, Montreal will host academics, activists, artists, environmentalists and indigenous peoples for the International Conference on Degrowth in the Americas.  A fixation on economic growth is at the root of our environmental issues and social inequalities. Degrowth challenges traditional economic paradigms that fail to account for environmental and social costs and are obsessively driven by GDP and other flawed measures of well-being. Degrowth aims to achieve human happiness and well-being with less material consumption.  Family, music, art, culture, community, and meaningful employment are some values that drive more qualitative increases in well-being.

These issues are a priority for many people around the world, as demonstrated most recently by the Occupy Movement.  A new way forward that increases both environmental and social justice is essential.

Building on degrowth conferences in Paris in 2008 and Barcelona in 2010, the conference will place the décroissance movement that began in Europe in the context of the Americas.  The Conference will be hosted jointly by Concordia University, HEC, Université de Montréal, McGill University, and UQAM. Registration is now open at http://montreal.degrowth.org

For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact Bob Thomson at montreal(at)degrowth.net

International Conference on Degrowth in the Americas

Next May, Montreal universities will host the first International Conference on Degrowth in the Americas. This conference presents an opportunity for students and the general public to interact with scholars, artists and professionals interested in reshaping society into one that is more just and sustainable.

"Twenty years after the Earth Summit in Rio, the linkage of sustainable development to economic growth requires profound rethinking. It has not offered a convincing solution to one of the most dramatic crises in history: how to avert ecological collapse while enhancing social justice and improving life’s prospects. In advance of Rio plus 20, our Conference seeks to challenge and move beyond the sustainable development agenda. A degrowth perspective will help us visualize and build towards a truly prosperous world." Read more...

There is an open call for proposals with the intent to "build a degrowth movement in the Americas with rigorous examination of issues, involving academia and social movements, arts and sciences, thought and living experiences. For this purpose it will be a "slow" one-week long conference to experience degrowth." Read more...

The Clinton Global Initiative for Universities

Again from a recent email I received, this may be of interest to some folks out there: 


"The Clinton Global Initiative for Universities is an initiative created by ex-President Clinton to engage the youth of the world to commit to social justice and concrete action that could help people in their community, and in their world.

The main activity of the Clinton Global Initiative for Universities is to raise awareness about the CGI U general meeting. In 2011, the meeting assembled thousands of student leaders, dignitaries, and national youth organizations together to discuss issues of global importance. The speakers included Mandy Moore, Sean Penn, and Bill Clinton himself.

Students can apply to this meeting by committing themselves to solving a social issue. This can be in conjunction with efforts that they are already putting in to solving either problems at the local, national, or international level. CGI U aims to foster these commitments, and then help support them with any resources available at our disposal.

While applications and commitments are on hold for CGI U 2012 as the final meeting date and place are being set, interested applicants can apply for the campus representative team at http://www.cgiu.org/about/campus_representatives.asp."

Business Beyond Tomorrow Conference

Later this week (March 11th-12th) three of Montreal’s business schools, John Molson School of Business, Desautels Faculty of Management and HEC Montreal, will be hosting “Business Beyond Tomorrow”,  a sustainability conference for business leaders, professors, and students to share ideas on how the corporate world can develop and implement initiatives for a more sustainable future.

I'll be acting as a moderator for a panel discussion on Green Building. The whole event promises to be interesting as there are a number of great speakers and participants. Seems like an excellent opportunity to be involved and to meet people who are working in and on corporate sustainability

Oil Sands / Tar Sands: A Balanced Discussion

Tomorrow evening I'll be participating in a public dialogue about the Alberta oil/tar sands industry. I was invited to speak by Concordia's David O'Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise. 


The talk was initially part of Concordia's MBA Speaker series, and was simply a presentation by the President of the Oil Sands Developers Group as part of a continuing, government backed $25 million PR campaign, until the DOBCSE decided that this was a topic that needed some perspective. As a result, Cam Fenton from Climate Justice Montreal and myself were asked to share our thoughts on the developments in this industry from an environmental and sustainable business perspective. 


All are welcome. 


Price: $3 in advance, $5 at the door, includes snacks.
Concordia University, Hall Building H-767, 1455 De Maisonneuve W.

Wednesday, March 2 · 5:00pm - 8:00pm

Click here for the facebook event page. 

Desautels Business Conference on Sustainability

I'll be speaking again at this year's Desautels Business Conference on Sustainability. This year's theme is "REdefine, REdesign, REbusiness". The conference is using the recent economic crisis and the ongoing ecological crises to revisit the concept of doing business, doing well and doing good. 

On Friday, January 21st I will deliver a presentation on "Creativity, Diversity and Transformation" where I will work with students to recognize some assumptions that many of us carry about - about change, the status quo and changing the status quo. I hope to communicate how important it is for us to harness the power of the wildly creative energies that surround us to make our business more human, while at the same time making them  more innovative.

The full conference will be held January 20-22 at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec - you can get more details on the full program at the website.

Integrated Design Charette

On Monday November 1st, at the at the EQuilibrium™ Housing Forum — True Stories: Sustainability in Action - I've been granted the opportunity to present the the Integrated Design Process for the Abondance, Le Soleil project. I'll be introducing the concept of a design charrette and it's role in the implementation of a systemic, facilitated integrated design process. The conference presents to people in the larger building community the successes and challenges of the development of three net zero home building projects in the province of Quebec. 

The fundamental importance of the integrated design process was one of my personal take-away lessons form having participated in the development of the Abondance Montreal project. Not only were we able to understand the project from a variety of perspectives and work out complex design issues as a group - but when challenges arose (and they always do in construction projects), the sense of collective ownership and commitment to the team that was developed through the collaborative design and development process was invaluable in over coming challenges. It's a civil and incredibly democratic way to work.


If you weren't aware there are these advanced homes in the province - you can actually visit the projects to learn more about them. Visiting these sites provide an excellent opportunity to witness the culmination of many years work the teams involved.

Happengläd's New Hat #4

Happengläd's New Hat is a monthly New Work Salon, hosted by the ever-labouring lady of laughs  DeAnne Smith. It's a chance for Montrealers to watch local performers "try things out." If you are familiar with the concept of creativity, trying things out is very, very important. However, things tried are not always perfect or particularly refined. At other times they are truly magical. You don't know until it's tried, honestly. And that's half the fun (I'm not sure what the other half is - but I believe it has something to do with the cheap refreshments available at the theatre). 

I'll be participating this month in my first attempt at what I'm calling a "public service announcement" of sorts. I have a few of these percolating, this will be the first public execution of one. This one has a decidedly light tone - it deals with murder, hospital visits and dogs. Come, watch - and let me know what I can do to improve on this sort of thing.    

Tuesday September 28, 8pm - only $5 tiny loonies, 264 St. Catherine Est, near Berri Metro. 

"Si amoureux/se de toi" Campaign launch August 14th

Photo: VDireck/Vanessa Dorvily

As part of the Community Cocktail held during Montreal's Pride Celebrations, Photographer Vanessa Dorvily and the Quebec Gay and Lesbian Council (Le Conseil québécois des gais et lesbiennes - CQGL) will be launching a post card campaign entitled "So in love with you" or "Si amoureux/se de toi." The campaign features images captured by Vanessa of a diverse range of queer couples - and my lovely partner and I are one of the couples that are part of the campaign. 


It will be possible to both have a cocktail and pick up some of these postcards on August 14th at 18h30 au Cabaret Mado (1115 rue Ste-Catherine East).

Tale Spin - Story Telling Event

 

Thursday January 28th at 8:30pm, I'm going to be telling stories as part of DeAnne Smith's kinda monthly story telling event "Tale Spin." This will be my first time sharing my stories publicly, so it should be interesting. I plan to share a few tales involving dogs and hairstyles, but not dog hairstyles. It might also be the last time for a few months to see DeAnne perform, as she's heading south for a few months of touring down-under. $5 tiny dollars at le Cagibi.  

Desautels Business Conference on Sustainability 2010: A Catalyst for Change

On Friday November 29th, I'm participating in a round table discussion on the "Moral Obligation of Management Education" as part of the 2010 Desautels Business Conference on Sustainability. The conference will be held January 28-30 at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. The theme is "A Catalyst for Change".

"Students and professionals from all over North America will be getting together to discuss current issues about sustainability, focusing on the three realms of sustainability that affect and are affected by today's business practices: social, economic and environmental." get more details at the website.