This story is amazing! Something so beautiful that started with a passion, and no money! Anything is possible!
Showing posts with label #RIF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #RIF. Show all posts
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Reflections From Saturday Afternoon, March 28th
-I want a new way to be an activist.
-The global oneness wombat is cool.
-Check out the Carrot Mob. A revolution in consumer activism.
-Civic engagement. Many roles. "Let's elevate the value of citizen participation."
-Community Engagement in the Climate Era=CE squared
-Portland's Climate Action Plan will be released in April 17th.
-How do you get people to eat less red meat?
-How do you get that real sense of urgency?
-"We have a lot of climate change coming our way, no matter what we do, so let's prepare for that"
-I imagine that moment in Star Wars...But now we need to go into hyper drive. How do we take what we are, which is leading the world, and take the next step to keep green house gases under control"
-The global oneness wombat is cool.
-Check out the Carrot Mob. A revolution in consumer activism.
-Civic engagement. Many roles. "Let's elevate the value of citizen participation."
-Community Engagement in the Climate Era=CE squared
-Portland's Climate Action Plan will be released in April 17th.
-How do you get people to eat less red meat?
-How do you get that real sense of urgency?
-"We have a lot of climate change coming our way, no matter what we do, so let's prepare for that"
-I imagine that moment in Star Wars...But now we need to go into hyper drive. How do we take what we are, which is leading the world, and take the next step to keep green house gases under control"
Friday, March 27, 2009
Regional Innovation Forum-End of Day Notes
Who are we going to be next?
What is the call of the time?
A social learning imperative:
To learn our way forward together;
to build a society that is thriving, green & just
-Doug Cohen
This is a collection of reflections from the dying day. Thanks for such a beautiful and multidimensional time everyone! We'll recreate it all again tomorrow!
Highlights Heard in Passing-
-Everything I learned about the power grid was new for me.
-I really appreciated the story aspect...interesting, richer way to go about doing open sessions.
-It's about "Coming from a place of having enough. Not from a place of fear."
-How can we take this conference back to our homes, our community?
-I appreciate the focus on what track you're interested, not so much who is speaking"
-I'm amazed at how few times, I heard, "Yeah, but we can't do this, we can't do that" I appreciate everyone for that mentality.
-I really appreciate the group learning thing. I learn more from the groups than I ever learned from listening to a single person.
What is the call of the time?
A social learning imperative:
To learn our way forward together;
to build a society that is thriving, green & just
-Doug Cohen
This is a collection of reflections from the dying day. Thanks for such a beautiful and multidimensional time everyone! We'll recreate it all again tomorrow!
Highlights Heard in Passing-
-Everything I learned about the power grid was new for me.
-I really appreciated the story aspect...interesting, richer way to go about doing open sessions.
-It's about "Coming from a place of having enough. Not from a place of fear."
-How can we take this conference back to our homes, our community?
-I appreciate the focus on what track you're interested, not so much who is speaking"
-I'm amazed at how few times, I heard, "Yeah, but we can't do this, we can't do that" I appreciate everyone for that mentality.
-I really appreciate the group learning thing. I learn more from the groups than I ever learned from listening to a single person.
Springboard Innovation Presents...
"What are you going to do with these years. I can't play bingo all the time"
-Michelle McRae
Springboard Innovation has been highlighting amazing innovators at the Regional Innovation Forum all day. I was so grateful to hear of the powerful work of Giving+Learning in Fargo, ND and of Michelle McRae, the program's director.
This is a program that helps refugees from places like Liberia, Burundi and Sierra Leone. She helps these people to find jobs, to learn about the new culture they have fallen into, gain citizenship and even helps them to attain driving licenses, what many of us consider to be a basic and sometimes take for granted. She started after retirement because she wanted something rewarding to do.
All the refugees interviewed appreciated Michelle's listening skills and patience. These skills are important, especially with cross cultural communication. I don't think Michelle could move mountains like she does without these skills.
Today's lesson for me, and words that I here in passing all seem to revolve around the importance of communication, remembering what we know and learning new ways to do it.
-Michelle McRae
Springboard Innovation has been highlighting amazing innovators at the Regional Innovation Forum all day. I was so grateful to hear of the powerful work of Giving+Learning in Fargo, ND and of Michelle McRae, the program's director.
This is a program that helps refugees from places like Liberia, Burundi and Sierra Leone. She helps these people to find jobs, to learn about the new culture they have fallen into, gain citizenship and even helps them to attain driving licenses, what many of us consider to be a basic and sometimes take for granted. She started after retirement because she wanted something rewarding to do.
All the refugees interviewed appreciated Michelle's listening skills and patience. These skills are important, especially with cross cultural communication. I don't think Michelle could move mountains like she does without these skills.
Today's lesson for me, and words that I here in passing all seem to revolve around the importance of communication, remembering what we know and learning new ways to do it.
Echoes From the Morning, Friday March 27th
"More than half of the world does not qualify to take a loan from the existing financial institutions"-Mohammad Yunus
"Powerful listening is a gift."
"Story telling and dialogue is holistic"
-Jolene Estimo
1. What are your strengths?
2. Who are you sitting next to?
3. How are you connected?
4. What might you do together?
5. You're it.
The way of tribal introductions:
State "In order to live my life fully..."
your name, your role, place & gift to the community #RIF
Your inquiry to the community.
"The tribal form of introductions at the Regional Innovation Forum is helping to open people so much & shift the energy. It's astounding" #RIF
"Powerful listening is a gift."
"Story telling and dialogue is holistic"
-Jolene Estimo
1. What are your strengths?
2. Who are you sitting next to?
3. How are you connected?
4. What might you do together?
5. You're it.
The way of tribal introductions:
State "In order to live my life fully..."
your name, your role, place & gift to the community #RIF
Your inquiry to the community.
"The tribal form of introductions at the Regional Innovation Forum is helping to open people so much & shift the energy. It's astounding" #RIF
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Regional Innovation Forum Keynote Speaker: Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dr. Stephen H. Schneider
If you wish to attend Dr. Schneider's Keynote speech at the Regional Innovation Forum in Portland, Oregon on March 27th, please check out our website and buy your tickets here. Dr. Stephen H. Schneider is the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Professor of Biological Sciences, Professor (by courtesy) of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. Dr. Schneider received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Plasma Physics from Columbia University in 1971. He studied the role of greenhouse gases and suspended particulate material on climate as a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in 1972 and was a member of the scientific staff of NCAR from 1973-1996, where he co-founded the Climate Project.
Internationally recognized for research, policy analysis and outreach in climate change, Dr. Schneider focuses on climate change science, integrated assessment of ecological and economic impacts of human-induced climate change, and identifying viable climate policies and technological solutions. He has consulted with federal agencies and/or White House staff in the Nixon, Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton and G.W. Bush administrations.
Actively involved with the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), an initiative of the United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization since its origin in 1988, Dr. Schneider was co-author of "Uncertainties in the IPCC Third Assessment Report: Recommendations to Lead Authors for More Consistent Assessment and Reporting"in 2000 and the cross-cutting theme paper #4: "Assessing the Science to Address UNFCCC Article 2" in 2004. He has been a contributor to all four IPCC Assessment Reports and is currently a Coordinating Lead Author of Working Group II Chapter 19, "Assessing Key Vulnerabilities and the Risk from Climate Change." For the 2001 IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR) and the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), Dr. Schneider has also been a member of the Core Writing Team for each of the Synthesis Reports, which integrate the contributions of Working Groups I, II and III. The 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report will be used by governments world-wide as the most up-to-date, credible document regarding climate change science, impacts, adaptation, vulnerability, and mitigation until 2012. After decades of work, Dr. Schneider, along with four generations of IPCC authors, received a collective Nobel Peace Prize for their joint efforts in 2007.
In 1991, Dr. Schneider was awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science/ Westinghouse Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology for furthering public understanding of environmental science and its implications for public policy. In 1992, he was honored with a MacArthur Fellowship for his ability to integrate and interpret the results of global climate research through public lectures, classroom teaching, environmental assessment committees, media appearances, Congressional testimony and research collaboration with colleagues. In 1998, Dr. Schneider became a foreign member of the Academea Europaea, Earth & Cosmic Sciences Section. He was elected to membership in the US National Academy of Sciences in 2002. Dr. Schneider received the Edward T. Law Roe Award of the Society of Conservation Biology in 2003. He and his spouse-collaborator, Terry Root, jointly received the 2003 National Conservation Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation and the Banksia Foundation̢۪s 2006 International Environmental Award in Australia.
Dr. Schneider is Founder and Editor of the interdisciplinary journal, Climatic Change, Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Climate and Weather and author of The Genesis Strategy: Climate and Global Survival; Global Warming: Are We Entering the Greenhouse Century?, The Coevolution of Climate and Life and Laboratory Earth: The Planetary Gamble We can't Afford to Lose. Â In addition, he has authored or co-authored over 400 scientific papers, proceedings, legislative testimonies, edited books and book chapters, and over 200 book reviews, editorials and other pieces for popular media.
Dr. Schneider teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Earth Systems, Civil Engineering, Biological Sciences, the Senior Honors Seminar in Environmental Science, Technology and Policy, and the doctoral program, The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Environment and Resources (IPER), as well as guides the work of Ph.D. candidates, post-doctoral scholars, and other researchers. He has served as Co-Director of the Stanford Center for Environmental Science and Policy (CESP) from 2002 to 2007 and Co-Director of IPER, from 2003 to 2005.
Currently, Dr. Schneider is counseling policy makers about the importance of using risk management strategies in climate-policy decision making, given the uncertainties in future projections of global climate change and related impacts. In addition to continuing to serve as advisor to decision-makers, he consults with corporate executives and other stakeholders in industry and the nonprofit sectors regarding possible climate-related events and is actively engaged in improving public understanding of science and the environment through extensive media communication and public outreach.
A Call to Leadership and Collaboration for Regional Sustainability and our Community’s Livable Future
There is no limit to the creative solutions that can be devised to build our sustainable communities. Yet the scale and urgency of change required offers new dimensions and challenges. We must think beyond traditional boundaries and embrace new ways of working together. Join us at the Regional Innovation Forum, where you can learn, engage and connect to many initiatives and solutions for accelerating regional change.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many -- and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.-–President Barack Obama
"If we wait for government, it’ll be too little, too late...If we act as individuals, it’ll be too little...But if we act as communities, it might just be enough, just in time." -Transition Network
An Era of Change
We have entered an era of unprecedented change. Change that is overdue, and no longer merely ideal, but necessary, if we are to alter the course that has put our planet in peril. The destruction and unrestrained use of natural resources serves and yet threatens our way of life—perhaps our very existence. And the current implosion of our economic system well demonstrates that unrestrained economic growth benefiting a few at the expense of many is not sustainable.
The hallmarks of our industrial civilization are crashing down around us. Our lifestyles and consumption habits were built on a foundation of alienation, oppression and debt. It is time for a new moral imperative that speaks to the sanctity of the earth and its precious resources, the value of human life, and the vision of a whole world, of interconnected communities and personal interdependence.
It is time for our communities to reinvent our futures in sustainable models that will serve people efficiently, effectively and with justice. A new social covenant and foundation of a just democratic society requires that these models serve not only this generation, but future generations, without depleting and destroying the planet.
This imagined future requires all of us to systematically rethink our lives, our institutions and our communities. It demands new ways of collaborating, breaking down traditional walls, refusing to accept barriers and re-engaging with each other. It requires new technologies and new systems. If we do it well, it will provide new jobs, a stronger economy and richer, more livable communities. But we cannot just do things better and faster, and there is no time for incremental change. The current crises require transformational change that cannot come quickly enough.
The urgency and scope of the change needed calls for an all-hands-on-deck moment in history. In his inaugural address, President Obama spoke to our need to step up: “For as much as government can do, and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies…. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship.”
Envisioning the types of structures needed to catalyze and manage effective community change is our first and perhaps greatest challenge. These structures must be dynamic, responsive, and continually evolving. They will be learning organizations. They will be characterized by ethical leadership, transparency and inclusiveness. They will be shaped by the spirit of selflessness, the possibility of creativity and innovation, and the power of moral conviction and intellectual courage. And the work that is accomplished will offer every citizen the hope of meaningful engagement in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and will guarantee to meet every person’s needs for food, clothing and shelter, health, education and employment, with regard to preserving resources for future generations. These principles form the foundation of the 21st century sustainable communities.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many -- and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.-–President Barack Obama
"If we wait for government, it’ll be too little, too late...If we act as individuals, it’ll be too little...But if we act as communities, it might just be enough, just in time." -Transition Network
An Era of Change
We have entered an era of unprecedented change. Change that is overdue, and no longer merely ideal, but necessary, if we are to alter the course that has put our planet in peril. The destruction and unrestrained use of natural resources serves and yet threatens our way of life—perhaps our very existence. And the current implosion of our economic system well demonstrates that unrestrained economic growth benefiting a few at the expense of many is not sustainable.
The hallmarks of our industrial civilization are crashing down around us. Our lifestyles and consumption habits were built on a foundation of alienation, oppression and debt. It is time for a new moral imperative that speaks to the sanctity of the earth and its precious resources, the value of human life, and the vision of a whole world, of interconnected communities and personal interdependence.
It is time for our communities to reinvent our futures in sustainable models that will serve people efficiently, effectively and with justice. A new social covenant and foundation of a just democratic society requires that these models serve not only this generation, but future generations, without depleting and destroying the planet.
This imagined future requires all of us to systematically rethink our lives, our institutions and our communities. It demands new ways of collaborating, breaking down traditional walls, refusing to accept barriers and re-engaging with each other. It requires new technologies and new systems. If we do it well, it will provide new jobs, a stronger economy and richer, more livable communities. But we cannot just do things better and faster, and there is no time for incremental change. The current crises require transformational change that cannot come quickly enough.
The urgency and scope of the change needed calls for an all-hands-on-deck moment in history. In his inaugural address, President Obama spoke to our need to step up: “For as much as government can do, and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies…. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship.”
Envisioning the types of structures needed to catalyze and manage effective community change is our first and perhaps greatest challenge. These structures must be dynamic, responsive, and continually evolving. They will be learning organizations. They will be characterized by ethical leadership, transparency and inclusiveness. They will be shaped by the spirit of selflessness, the possibility of creativity and innovation, and the power of moral conviction and intellectual courage. And the work that is accomplished will offer every citizen the hope of meaningful engagement in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and will guarantee to meet every person’s needs for food, clothing and shelter, health, education and employment, with regard to preserving resources for future generations. These principles form the foundation of the 21st century sustainable communities.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Welcome!
The Regional Innovation Forum brings together engaged citizens and community leaders from every sector to explore the systemic challenges facing our region that require coordinated effort between individuals, communities, organizations, and local, regional and national policymakers. Oregon’s deep roots in sustainable innovation and activism provide a platform for the all-encompassing societal change that is required to build a sustainable future.
Imagine a conference where the content is inspiring and the quality of conversations is transformational. Imagine a region leading the way for the nation, sharing our insights with other communities, and prospering. Dynamic leaders will make this happen. Will you be one of them? Learn more at our website.
Imagine a conference where the content is inspiring and the quality of conversations is transformational. Imagine a region leading the way for the nation, sharing our insights with other communities, and prospering. Dynamic leaders will make this happen. Will you be one of them? Learn more at our website.
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