Photo courtesy of transitionnetwork.org
The 6th annual Transition Network Conference held last month in London brought in hundred of attendees reflecting the highest number of participants coming from as far as the Philippines and Brazil to facilitate the sharing of ideas and experiences of how to advance living sustainably through community designed and led efforts.
A grassroots network of growing communities known as Transition Town, Transition Network or Transition Movement has been working through community-led responses addressing issues ranging from climate change, shrinking supplies of cheap energy, economic instability to building resilience and well-being and happiness.
Co-Founder of Transition Town, Rob Hobkins, wrote that the conference was held, "in a week when the Arctic ice reached its smallest ever extent, scientists warned that the world’s weather could be on the verge of running amok and it was suggested that Saudi Arabia, always meant to be the ‘swing producer’ on whom the rest of the world could depend for reliable oil supplies, may become a net importer of oil by 2030."
Facilitating efforts toward 'green living', The Transition Network 2012 UK Conference was held formally held from September 14-16th with workshops and symposiums taking place before the official opening. "Building Resilience in Extraordinary Times" was the natural theme. In total, Hobkins called it a 6 day 'Festival of Transition.'
Here are some reasons why:
At opening day Hopkins expressed to participants how increasingly interested he is in how stories can help “breathe life into ideas”.
And ideas flowed. According to TransitionNetwork.org, the Conference included events on the 'Reconomy', a Youth Symposium and what organizers call THRIVE training, a workshop providing practical tools for people to help engage communities toward greater social change for the good.
The conference was executed in a manner that allowed for natural and easy flowing dialogue by using open spaces, discussion groups set up in physically-round arrangements so participants faced each other, along with time to relax and enjoy the entertainment offered at the end of the day,including music, theatre, and films on the evenings.
Transition Network aims to build communities, town after town, toward more a more sustainable lifestyle whereby at community level, people use the Earth's natural resources in appropriate, innovative, and efficient ways and through the use of 'appropriate technologies' and community-led sustainable practices.
"If we're able collectively, to design a way through this [peak oil] using our intelligence, ingenuity, our creativity, then there's no reason why a future with less oil couldn't be a preferable place than the present." -Rob Hopkins