permaculture

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson <lakinroe@silcom.com>]

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.