What do we imagine Geelong’s future could look like? The Sustainable Hour will be exploring this theme in the months to come, while reporting on how the new community consultations process which has been launched by the City of Greater Geelong rolls out. We talk with the city’s new Chair of Administrators, Dr Kathy Alexander, about this – and we talk with one of the city’s previous councillors, Tony Ansett, about which kind of plans for the future the city council had before it was suddenly fired.
Mik Aidt is ‘back from the future’ – in this case: back from Denmark – reenergised and inspired after having talked with lots of Danish entrepreneurs, developers and visionaries who all have one leg in the future. One of them is Nicolas Vallat, who is organising the first Danish ‘Empty Office Day’ in September 2016.
Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 135 on 94.7 The Pulse:
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Interviews with
Dr Kathy Alexander, Chair of Administrators, City of Greater Geelong
Tony Ansett, Ex-Councillor
Nicolas Vallat, innovator from Denmark
Per Henriksen, climate expert from Denmark
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Content of this hour
Links, excerpts and more information about what we talked about in this Sustainable Hour
Interview with Dr Kathy Alexander
Audio excerpt: Live radio interview with Dr Kathy Alexander about the community consultation process around ‘Our Future’, on what Geelong could look like in 20-30 years from now:
Dr Kathy Alexander, former CEO of City of Melbourne, accepted her position as the State Government-appointed Chair of the Panel of Administrators for City of Greater Geelong in May 2016.
The interview contains a three-minute clip with Per Henriksen, a climate expert from Denmark.
» Kathy Alexander’s linkedin profile
Workshop: What does Geelong’s future look like?
With renowned international futurist Professor Sohail Inayatullah.
Sohail’s dynamic visual presentation will get you thinking about:
• Emerging issues and trends that will change our daily lives in 20 years
• Why thinking about the future is important to us
• How changes might impact you, your family, your community, your industry.
The City of Greater Geelong will shortly start community consultations on what you think Geelong’s future could look like. This session is the perfect kick starter for you to become a future creator!
About Sohail
Professor Sohail Inayatullah is a futurist at the Graduate Institute of Futures Studies, Tamkang University, and Melbourne Business School Executive Education Co-facilitator.
Sohail has over 30 years’ experience as a forward thinking and is the first UNESCO Chair in Future Studies. He has helped leaders from Canada, Turkey, Thailand, Australia and elsewhere create the narrative they need to shape their future.
Find out more about Sohail at www.metafuture.org
Time: 1 September 2016, 5:30–7:30pm
Place: The Playhouse, GPAC, 50 Little Malop Street, Geelong
Costs: Free
Contact: Bonnie Lanham
Phone: 5272 4800
Email: blanham@geelongcity.vic.gov.au
» www.geelongaustralia.com.au/events
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August Geelong Green Drinks:
What’s Geelong’s Future?
Come along to this special Geelong Green Drinks as we begin a very important dialogue about what Geelong’s future should look like.
Be informed – Be inspired – Be connected
Be informed as you watch the short film The Economics of Happiness and be challenged by the imperative to replace globalisation with localisation.
Then be inspired as our prodigal Danish journalist returns to Geelong with visionary tales from his latest European adventure.
And finally, connect with others to identify the important elements for a more productive, liveable and sustainable region.
Keynote speaker: Mik Aidt – Journalist, The Sustainable Hour Co-Host, climatesafety.info Blogger.
Event format:
Welcome and Pop-ups speakers
Short Film: The Economics of Happiness
What’s Geelong’s Future? – Keynote speaker, Mik Aidt will give a presentation on Danish enviro insights and sustainability trends, as the City of Greater Geelong launches its community consultation process to find out what we think ‘Our Future’ should look like. Followed by a group discussion.
What’s on next?
Entry just $2 – Finger food provided – Drinks at bar prices
Come along and join in this fun and informative networking event. See you there!
Time: 24 August 2016 at 17:30–19:30
Place: Beavs Bar, 77-79 Little Malop Street, Geelong, Victoria
» RSVP and more info
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Interview with Nicolas Vallat
Nicolas Vallat explains about ‘Empty Office Day’ – a new initiative in Copenhagen which aims to provide employees a respite where it is possible to reconnect with nature, create relationships, learn together to build free and strong communities, to get closer to thoughts about how we can best take care of the earth – and each other.
“It is about job satisfaction, commitment and relationships. Empty Office Day is a day where you can allow yourself to care – about yourself, your nearest and the environment. Can you convince your boss to hold an Empty Office Day?”
ABC for mental health
A. Do something active
B. Do something together
C. Do something meaningful
and D. Do it during working hours!
A different balance between work and private life
“Most of us have an incredibly conservative experience of working both in the public and private sector. We are engaged in a certain number of hours a week, and it follows most of us so slavishly until we retire. But there are plenty of situations in life where we need a different balance between work and private life. and we want to create a system where it is completely natural and perfectly in order that the working fluctuates frequently through work.”
Ninna Thomsen, Copenhagen’s health and care mayor – in an interview (in Danish language) in www.politiken.dk
» www.facebook.com/Empty-Office-Day-CPH
Podcasts and posts about climate change
Streaming live
» The Sustainable Hour is streamed live on the Internet every Wednesday from 11am to 12pm (Melbourne time):
www.947thepulse.com – click on ‘Listen Live’
Podcast archive
Hours and hours of sustainable podcasts
Listen to all of The Sustainable Hour radio shows in full length and in selected excerpts:
» Archive on climatesafety.info
» Archive on itunes.apple.com – iPhone friendly
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“Participation – that’s what’s gonna save the human race.”
Pete Seeger, American singer
I finally caught up with this ‘Sustainable Hour – and the show was inspiring!
I have a problem with a few of Kathy Alexander’s apparent beliefs:
1. That world population will inevitably ‘double by 2050’ – when the UN is forecasting an increase from 7.3 billion to a plateau of 10-11 billion by 2100.
2. That she ‘didn’t care’ (i.e. didn’t consider as relevant) the cause of climate change, when clearly human fossil fuel burning and deforestation which are the dominant causes need to be acknowledged by all levels of government and urgently fixed – by strong regulatory action, among other things.
3. That Geelong (and by implication, the world) can afford to simultaneously target the ideals of maintaining and raising our existing standard of living, while at the same time achieving a stable climate with net negative emissions by starting early and being required for centuries, as ocean levels continue to rise and weather extremes get worse!
We need to get real and triage our priorities – not least how to balance equity and fairness both here and around the world, which equates to the twin imperatives of a habitable world with stable social and political systems.
4. That the critical urgency of stopping global warming was not mentioned as the front and centre survival issue – there is now zero carbon budget left (for the developed countries) for the +1.5 degree target, and barely any for the +2 degrees target.
Cheers,
Alan