Design Principles

for Voices for Sustainability Symposia

1. Keep it Simple

We all lead busy lives. Facilitating these ‘gatherings’ should not create a lot of stress. Rather they should

(once we have the inaugural events behind us) be events that are relatively easy to organize and make happen.

2. Keep it Personal

The Symposia must focus on the ‘practice’ of Sustainability Education (SE). Educators must experience a weekend of learning that makes them more effective educators. The weekend must speak to them on a very personal level. Events should foster a rich community experience for all and encourage the ‘Law of Two Feet’ – if you find yourself in a situation where you are neither learning nor contributing move to somewhere where you can.

3. Role model ‘sustainability in action’

Make every effort to design events that are living demonstrations of sustainability. Pay attention to food choices, food delivery, energy and materials used, learning approaches taken, etc. without ‘beating ourselves up’ when hypocrisy looms. Let’s just do the best we can with good intentions and meaningful decisions.

4. Financially self supporting

Thinking longer term, these symposia should not require big funding from outside donors to make happen.

5. Cultivates annual gatherings and ‘learning communities’

One measure of success will be if these weekends lead to more than one gathering in the east and west next year. Do participants come away with the tools to organize their own SE gatherings? Are bioregional learning communities cultivated, offering educators collaborative support to move innovative pedagogy forward?

6. Focuses on sustainability education

Embrace the ‘exploratory’ spirit but be mindful of the value of focus in catalyzing the changes we need in education. Let’s celebrate and encourage critical thinking and confront the tough questions.

7. Models the wisdom of SLOW.

Weekend schedules reflect the importance of not being hurried or trying to jam too much into a short amount of time. To create this relaxed atmosphere for participants a strong team needs to have everything organized

by arrival day. Once together we have a collective responsibility to facilitate this ‘slow zone’ for each other.

8. Seeks participants from the local bioregion

At future gatherings the majority of educators come from within 3 hours travel of the venue. The intent would be to shrink footprints, reduce GHG emissions and cultivate more local networking.

9. Small in scale

Small is not only beautiful it is where the deepest learning often occurs. 15-30 educators gathered together

for a weekend of sharing and learning is as good as it gets.

10. Big vision with bold goals

Let’s facilitate a visioning that is bold and aggressive…..and that has inspiring and achievable goals.

11. Links goals to actions

These weekend gatherings must reflect the vision and goals through the actions that are encouraged or taken. What participants experience should mirror our stated vision and goals.

12. Is carbon neutral.

Working towards having each event carbon neutral profiles a great concept and a responsible approach for running any such gathering.

13. Embraces the spirit of ‘open space’

Don’t get stuck on outcomes. Go into each gathering with no preconceived ‘agenda’. Offer up short catalytic presentations intended to trigger sharing and discussion. Foster the development of a creative space shaped

by the skills, passion, commitment and ideas of those present.

14. It’s fun, upbeat and hopeful.

Life’s too short not to add big doses of playfulness into the mix. And besides if its fun we may just want to do

it again! We need to profile what’s working, share our success stories and identify, as Wendell Berry would

say, ‘the authentic underpinnings of hope’.