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  • From: Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson <lakinroe@silcom.com>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] Sustainable Resources October 1-4, 2003 University of Colorado at Boulder
  • Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 22:10:56 -0800

First Announcement

Sustainable Resources 2003

An International Forum Connecting People of the Developing
World with Skills, Capital, and Collaborative Organizations

October 1-4, 2003

University of Colorado at Boulder
Boulder, Colorado, USA

"...empowering poor people and the disenfranchised - the people 'at the fringes' - and giving them a real stake in society is the key to building the stronger institutions required for longer term sustainable development." (J. D. Wolfensohn, President, the World Bank Group)


With a current population of 6 billion, the world is becoming a place in which human populations are more crowded, more consuming, more polluting, more connected, and in many ways less diverse than at any time in history. In the next two decades, almost 2 billion additional people are expected to populate the Earth, a number roughly equivalent to the world’s total population in 1940. It is estimated that 95% of that growth will take place in developing or under-developed countries. Such growth will create demands on an unprecedented scale for energy, food, land, water, transportation, materials, waste disposal, earth moving, health care, environmental cleanup, infrastructure, jobs, new skills, new opportunities, and security. Today, 20% of the world’s population lack clean water, 40% lack adequate sanitation, 20% lack adequate housing, and 30% live in conflict zones, in transition, or in situations of permanent instability

The scale of the global problems that planet Earth is facing today and is likely to face in the future requires a new way of thinking and a long-term approach. Quoting Albert Einstein, "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when they were created". As important as international aid programs are, many community problems in the developing world cannot be solved by short-term international aid programs. Decisions need to be made at various levels (global, regional, local, and individual) and over different time scales. They also need to be made in a non-competing environment that is more multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary than ever before and with a mindset that embraces the principles of sustainability, renewable resources, appropriate technology, and system thinking. Finally, the decisions need to be made by a wide range of partnering organizations, all sharing the common goal of improving the quality of life and ensuring productive work for ALL people on Earth through implementation of environmentally and economically sustainable projects that preserve and protect natural and cultural diversity. Sustainable Resources 2003 will provide a new platform of exchange where issues faced by the developing world can be addressed globally and solved locally.
Sustainable Resources 2003 will provide unique opportunities for non-profits, NGOs, donors, funding agencies, humanitarian organizations, educators, engineers, business people, volunteers, and representatives of developing communities to meet, learn from each other, network, discuss new approaches for outreach, and create new partnerships. Such organizations have not traditionally interacted in the past. Sustainable Resources 2003 will provide a “meeting of the mind” and a platform for multidisciplinary exchange. It will also help develop recommendations toward a cooperative action plan in the areas of concern to the developing world.

Sustainable Resources 2003 will consist of a combination of keynote lectures, technical and non-technical presentations, case studies, workshops and short courses on the major issues facing developing communities: water, sanitation, infrastructure, energy, shelter, health and hygiene, economic development, security, strategy, whole systems design, food and nutrition, social and cultural concerns, communications, and environment.

Workshops and short courses will focus on generating cooperative partnerships that can more effectively accomplish each organization's goals. Exhibition space will be available for participants to showcase their projects, services, or products.  One of the goals of the forum is to establish a collaborative marketplace where participants can match their skills and needs to work more effectively for sustainable development.

Paulo Lugari (founder of the dramatically successful, green engineering inspired community in Colombia, Gaviotas) will deliver the opening address on the evening of October 1 and lead one the workshops on the morning of October 2.

Please let us know if you are interested in participating in this forum and at what level (lectures, workshops, short courses, exhibits, participants). More specifically, we are seeking proposals for lectures, workshops and short courses to be presented at the forum. All proposals must be submitted in writing (500 words maximum) and must be received no later than March 1, 2003. Upon receipt, the proposals will be reviewed by an organizing committee. Applicants will be informed of the status of their proposals by March 15, 2003. A number of scholarships will be available for participants from developing communities.

All inquiries and proposals should be addressed to Dr. Bernard Amadei, University of Colorado at Boulder, Tel: 303-492-7734; Fax: 303-492-7317; E-mail: amadei@spot.colorado.edu.





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