Positive Energy 2 - Building Bioregional Resilience

This programme is not currently scheduled.

This course does not require previous participation in an Experience Week.

Jonathan Dawson, President of the Global Ecovillage Network &
Mari Hollander, Director of Findhorn College

windmills
‘A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.’
Hazel Henderson, green economist

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Following the success of the Easter 2008 conference, Positive Energy: Creative Community Responses to Peak Oil and Climate Change, we have decided to keep going forward. Where the primary focus of Positive Energy 1 was awareness-raising and inspiration, Positive Energy 2 will showcase tangible, successful models developed by communities to enhance their resilience in the face of the twin challenges of peak oil and climate change.

Not that Positive Energy 2 will be short on inspiration! The first half of the week will take us on a journey of exploration, in the company of visionary poet David Whyte, and founder of Mythodrama, Richard Olivier. We will develop tools for inner resilience, learning to become more aware of the needs of our communities and our world.

The second half of the week will be spent in the company of visionaries and pioneers working on the ground to strengthen the fabric of their communities and to anchor them firmly in their own bioregions.

It is possible to book the first two and a half days of the conference, which is a stand-alone workshop for those not wishing to stay for the full duration of Positive Energy 2. This is the David Whyte/Richard Olivier workshop called Through the Dark Woods, which runs from Saturday lunchtime until Monday evening. For more information please click here.

Income related price (click here for more information):
£575 / £725 / £855
  • Early entry reduction of £50 if paid in full by 1 August 2009.
  • 20% reduction for students in full time education.
  • 20% reduction for group bookings of 5 or more.
  • Some busaries are available. Click here for more info.
  • Includes 7 nights accommodation and all meals.

Richard Heinberg at Positive Energy 1

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The Presenters

Richard Olivier
Richard Olivier is the founding voice of Mythodrama – a new form of experiential learning – which combines classic stories with psychological insights, creative exercises and organizational development techniques to explore issues faced by modern leaders.
David Whyte
David Whyte is a poet with a highly refined bioregional sensitivity. Using poetry and thoughtful commentary, he illustrates how we can foster qualities of courage and engagement that will be needed to face the challenges ahead.
Rob Hopkins
Rob Hopkins is founder of Transition Towns, an international movement of citizen-led sustainability initiatives that seek to increase community resilience in the face of peak oil and climate change. www.transitiontowns.org
Judy Wicks
Judy Wicks is founder of Philadelphia’s 26-year-old White Dog Café, co-founder of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and recipient of countless awards for her business achievements and social action.
Peter Harper
Peter Harper is Head of Research and Innovation at the Centre for Alternative Technology. CAT has been a leading player in the Ecodyfi initiative that is promoting social and economic regeneration in the Dyfi Valley in mid-Wales. Peter is co-author of the CAT report, ZeroCarbon Britain.
So Hie Kim-Hellstrom
So Hie Kim-Hellström is the Environmental Coordinator of ‘Europe’s Greenest City’, Växjö in Sweden, which has reduced CO2 emissions by 32% per capita since 1993. In 2007, Växjö was awarded the EC’s Sustainable Energy Award and Best Environmental Practice in Baltic Cities Award.
Caroline Lucas
Caroline Lucas (by video link) is leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and Member of the European Parliament. She is a tireless advocate of more sustainable and equitable locally-based economic systems.
Richard Heinberg
Richard Heinberg (by video link) is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost commentators and educators on Peak oil and climate change. He is Research Fellow of the Post-Carbon Institute.
Pooran Desai
Pooran Desai (by video link) is founder and Director of the BioRegional Development Group, an environmental organisation based in London, which develops practical solutions for sustainable living, including the development of locally-based enterprise in diverse fields.
Jonathan Dawson Jonathan Dawson is a sustainability educator, teaching up to undergraduate level at the Findhorn Foundation ecovillage in Scotland. He is also President of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) and Executive Secretary of GEN-Europe. Jonathan has spent much of his working life promoting community economic development in Africa and is the author of several books including the recently published Ecovillages: New Frontiers for Sustainability. He is also a gardener and a story-teller. www.gen-europe.org