Nation scale change

There's a scent of optimism in the air as attendess for May's Hay on Earth Sustainability Seminars continue to sign up for four days of high energy workshops that move on from talking about what needs to happen (I think we know that now) to how to accelerate the uptake of the behaviours that count by business, government, community, health and NGOs - working together to create connected benefits.

The current programme looks like this:

22 May: Towards a Zero Carbon Wales –  leaders from public, private and third sector organisations working together to understand how they need to work together differently to enable rapid change; learning to move as a shoal rather than a tanker. The Welsh Assembly's Minster for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, Jane Davidson, is launching the new SD scheme at this workshop at which the answers will be explored before the ink is dry. The key outcome is to generate senior officer level understanding across private and public sector organisations of of large scale change can be rapidly embedded through leadership and collaboration.

27 May: Cradle to Cradle Food Security – players from across the food sector – production, processing, packaging, transport, distribution, warehousing, retail, waste and recycling – will be working together to scope a deliverable post-peak oil, low carbon, zero waste food plan for a nation. Welsh Assembly Government Minster for Rural Affairs Elin Jones has been invited to participate in this workshop. The key outcome is for the main players in Wales’ food industry across the whole supply chain have a shared vision for for zero waste reduction and food security with short and medium term actions to deliver transformation.

28 May: Streets Ahead – harnessing collective intelligence and the power of networks to deliver solutions for sustainable change through community action. Businesses, local government, local business, health and education will use shared knowledge and resources to solve problems of a virtual community, before committing to run a trial across three towns in Wales. The Welsh Assembly's Deputy First Minister, and Minister for Economic Development, Ieuan Wyn Jones attended in 2008 and has been invited to take part once again in 2009. The key outcome is to get representative from business, government, third sector and community to commit to running and initial three Streets Ahead change events, to find out how many savings, business improvements, community benefits and CO2 reductions can be achieved in the course of a one day workshop.

29 May: Getting the Message Out – a day to bring creative and communications specialists together to work on clear, fresh and entertaining ways to reach a wider, deeper audience with the benefits of changes that benefit the economy, community and the environment. Creative Directors will mix with poets, writers, cartoonists and comedians to imagine new stories, messages and ‘hooks’ for communication. Key outcome is creating a local, Welsh angle on the previous three days' outcomes from the workshops on nation-scale change, food security and connected, community-based working.

If you're interested in attending, please email Andy Middleton via the form on this site.