Symposium & Festival Overview

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Symposium is to:

Educate...
fostering an understanding of the most critical issues of our time
Motivate...
giving a visceral sense of the urgency as well as the possibilities
Activate...
exploring the many daily ways that all of us can contribute

FORMAT

The Symposium & Festival is a two-day event for people of all ages and backgrounds. It takes place on May 13-14, 2006 at St. Mary’s Cathedral Conference Center in San Francisco. It runs from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Saturday and 9:00 am to 5:30 pm Sunday. There will be a dynamic Saturday evening performance. It is likely to sell out at a capacity audience of 800 people.

This is a zero-waste (through Green Mary) and carbon neutral event (through Native Energy).
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Program
The program is a sequential, plenary curriculum that combines experiential presentations, powerful documentary video excerpts and panel discussions. It covers a broad overview of the major global issues we face, how these issues affect our local communities, what is driving the behavior that is causing the damage and suffering, and how we can each make a difference through our actions and choices. The success of the Symposium is demonstrated through participants making (or strengthening) a personal commitment to adopting a sustainable lifestyle and taking solution-oriented actions within their extended communities.
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Special Mother's Day Program
The first two hours of the program on Sunday, Mother's Day, will be open to any mother who is not attending the rest of the event. This will include:

9:00 Mother's Day Ceremony
9:40 Personal Ecology—Green Lifestyle
10:45 Personal Commitment

There is a charge of $8. See Program for more information on these program sections.
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Features
63 exhibitor booths will be on display in the hall outside the main presentation auditorium, providing further access to resources and solution-oriented projects. Also, a special experiential area called Ubuntu Cultural Village will feature performances, workshops, a world café, an art exhibit around the theme of sustainability, and a Youth Symposium (high school level) happening three hours on both mornings.

Note: both the exhibitor booths and Ubuntu Cultural Village areas are free of charge.
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SourceBook
The Sustainable World SourceBook is a high quality resource for action-oriented solutions. It summarizes the event program content, gives a list of non-profit organizations and website tools for getting involved, and outlines daily and strategic actions to promote a lifestyle of high engagement and low consumption. A copy of the SourceBook will be given to all Symposium participants. For further information see SourceBook Info.
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Taking Action
There is a lot of focus in the Symposium on being proactive and getting into action. There is a great deal we can do, both individually and collectively, that will help to turn the tide. At the local level, we can make our personal lifestyle choices in a way that supports the environment and human rights —everything from our choice of toothpaste to our choice of investments. At the regional, national, and international level, we can support organizations that are working to create more powerful networks and wise use of the internet to further focused campaigns and create stronger political and social forces of positive change.

RECORDING & DISTRIBUTION

A digital broadcast-quality video recording will be made of the Symposium, with both a 45 minute overview DVD version, and a 2-1/2 hour DVD version. The 45 minute version will be broadcast on Free Speech TV in the summer of 2006, reaching a national audience.
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PRODUCTION OF THE SYMPOSIUM IN OTHER U.S. CITIES

Based on our experience in producing the Symposium, a Producer's Kit (including the SourceBook, documentary video excerpts, etc.) will be created and made available at cost to public interest organizations in other cities (following the next Symposium in May of 2006), This will make it easy to produce their own version of the Sustainable World Symposium, inviting local speakers and non-profit groups. If they choose to take the next step, they can also distribute the SourceBook and Symposium video package to high schools and colleges in their state. In this way, the Symposium has the potential to educate and inspire many thousands of people across the country.