Convergence Sustainable Living Festival

dublin | environment | event notice Tuesday April 03, 2007 13:53 by Nicola - Cultivate Centre Dublin nicola at cultivate dot ie

What can we and our communities do to respond to Climate Change and Peak Oil?

The Twelfth Convergence Sustainable Living Festival focuses on the issues of Climate Change and Peak Oil as catalysts of sustainable development. What can we and our communities do to respond to these challenges? Over the years Convergence has provided an important platform for the sharing of best practice, networking and the furthering of sustainable development in Ireland. The atmosphere and intensity of the festival has always been a melting pot for ideas and very apt for the theme of sustainable living.

Festival programme:

Rethinking Tourism
Tuesday April 17th | 2 - 5pm | €Free

Launch of the Sustainable Tourism Network and presentations on indicators, best practices and new projects. Best practice presentations include Becoming Carbon Neutral, The Experience of Greenbox: the first Irish eco-tourism destination, and EcoBooley, county Tipperary's eco-project. Presentations on new sustainable tourism projects include Bogland Project: public amenity with sustainable tourism potential, Gaelic Ways: a sustainable tourism cultural project in Co. Mayo, and The Village, Cloughjordan: a future eco-tourism destination in the Shannon Basin.

Biodiversity and Climate Change
A lecture with Dr. Matthew Jebb
Tuesday April 17th | 8 - 9.30pm | €15.00

Dr. Matthew Jebb is a Taxonomist and curator of the Herbarium at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin. He represented the European Union during the "Eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity" in Brazil.

National Sustainable Development Strategy
Wednesday April 18th | 10am- 5pm | €Free

This conference will provide an opportunity for interested members of the public and stakeholder groups to have their say on Ireland’s National Sustainable Development Strategy, which Ireland will review over the coming months. An innovative conference format will draw on participants’ interests, knowledge and experience to explore ideas and insights. Supported by Comhar, The Sustainable Development Council, in association with the UK Commission for Sustainable Development, Northern Ireland.

Biofuels - ‘What is the Potential For Ireland?’
Wednesday April 18th | 7.30 - 9.30pm | €15

Biofuels could help Ireland decrease its dependency of fossil fuels and fulfill its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. A panel including Richard Douthwaite from Feasta, Pearse Buckley from SEI, Mary White from the Green Party, Michael Prendergast - biofuel producer and others discuss the pros and cons of biofuels.

The Powerdown Community Toolkit
Thursday April 19th | 10am - 12pm | €Free

Formal launch of the Powerdown course and CD Rom. Using the energy and climate crisis as an opportunity and catalyst this Cultivate project will encourage active citizenship, build community and strengthen the local economy.

Education for Sustainable Development
Thursday April 19th | 1.30 - 5pm | €Free

A forum including best practice case-studies to communicate the progress that Ireland has made so far in developing a National Strategy for ESD and to engage participants in the preparations for the UNECE meeting in October. A Comhar event.

Sustainable Community Transport
Living, working and playing without owning a car
Friday April 20th | 10am - 4.30pm | €100 (€50 for Members) | Booking Form | Full details

Conference held in partnership with the Community Transport Association. Read more....

The Local Economy - The Community Lecture
Friday April 20th | 7.30 - 9.30pm | €15

Dr. David Fleming outlines why we need to build social capital and strengthen our communities to make a real response to climate change and peak oil.

The Sustainable Community Conference
Saturday April 21st | 10am - 5pm | €40

How can our towns, villages and even our cities transition to economically localised communities? Using the example of processes begun in Totnes, Kinsale and Cloughjordan this dynamic event will look at steps that communities can take to prepare themselves for living with less fossil fuel.

Bicycle Maintenance Masterclass
Saturday April 21st | 2 - 5.30pm | €15 | Max 15 people | Outside in the Courtyard

Damien O'Tuama, cycle advocate and planner, will run an afternoon masterclass in bike maintenance. Participants should wear old clothes, bring your bike, tools & pump if you have them - but not essential. Introduction to include: purchasing the right bike, safety, bike accessories/ essential kit and the Dublin Cycle Campaign - Campaigning to Make Dublin a More Bicycle Friendly City. Practical Session to include: basic tools, mending a puncture, mending brakes/ changing brake-pads and fixing gears.

The One-Moment Master: Stillness for People on the Go
A Talk and Workshop With Author Martin Boroson
Saturday April 21st | 7 - 8.30pm | €15

In busy, modern Ireland, how can we find time to re-source ourselves?

Surely you have a moment to spare. No matter how busy you are, you have at least one moment. What if, in that moment, you could reduce stress, make better decisions, prevent accidents, have a wonderful new idea, become more responsive to change, and live in a more sustainable way? In this lecture/demonstration, based on his new book The One-Moment Master, Martin offers a simple technique, based on meditation, that enables you to notice the moment, be in the moment, and harness the power of the moment. Meditation is increasingly understood to be an important component of well-being and a tremendous aid to health, creativity, and the ability to focus - yet it is often considered an esoteric and time-consuming technique. But this radical and playful new approach takes almost no time at all - it only takes a moment. With moments of meditation, peppered throughout your day, you can find timelessness in time, and stillness even when you're on the go.

Martin Boroson studied philosophy at Yale and earned an MBA from the Yale School of Management. He then studied alternative decision-making techniques--those used in psychology, the arts, and the wisdom traditions, and facilitated Holotropic Breathwork workshops in Ireland with the
Transpersonal Group for many years. He is the author of the interfaith creation story, Becoming Me, now a short film on YouTube. More info at www.martinboroson.info.

The Universe Story with Dr. Lawrence Edwards
Earth Day Celebration
Sunday April 22nd | 2 - 5pm | €20

"Every known culture in human history organized its creative energies by means of its cosmological epic - its account of where the Universe came from, how it developed into its present state, and what meaningful role humans play in the midst of this cosmic drama." - Brian Swimme

Dr. Lawrence Edwards presents “StoryUniverse” outlining the central discoveries that led to our current evolutionary cosmology and the startling implications of these new understandings. This inspiring session will guide participants through the process of transformation that carries us from the destructive nature of our western culture to a new era of well being throughout the planet, for every form of life.

Lawrence Edwards received a Ph.D. in chemical-physics from Harvard University. He has been on the faculties of the American University of Beirut, the California State University of Northridge, the California Institute of Technology, and was a research associate at the Jacques Cousteau Oceanographic Museum in Monaco. Larry worked 17 years at the U.S. National Science Foundation in Washington D.C. He is currently on the faculty of the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, Wisdom University in Oakland, CA, and Genesis Farm in Blairstown, NJ.