“Degrowth in the Americas”
International Conference
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
May 13-19, 2012
http://montreal.degrowth.org/
Speakers include: David Suzuki, William Rees, Mary Evelyn Tucker, John Fullerton, Alain Gras, Joan Martinez-Alier, Serge Mongeau, Elizabeth Peredo Beltrán, Juliet Schor, Peter Victor, François Schneider
Want social and environmental justice?
Montreal conference to explore alternatives to growth
Sustaining our future means rethinking the relationship of economic growth to human well-being and environmental integrity. The International Conference on Degrowth in the Americas meets this May in Montreal to explore the possibilities of a post-growth world.
From May 13-19, 2012, Montreal will host academics, activists, artists, environmentalists and indigenous peoples for the International Conference on Degrowth in the Americas. A fixation on economic growth is at the root of our environmental issues and social inequalities. Degrowth challenges traditional economic paradigms that fail to account for environmental and social costs and are obsessively driven by GDP and other flawed measures of well-being. Degrowth aims to achieve human happiness and well-being with less material consumption. Family, music, art, culture, community, and meaningful employment are some values that drive more qualitative increases in well-being.
These issues are a priority for many people around the world, as demonstrated most recently by the Occupy Movement. A new way forward that increases both environmental and social justice is essential.
Building on degrowth conferences in Paris in 2008 and Barcelona in 2010, the conference will place the décroissance movement that began in Europe in the context of the Americas. The Conference will be hosted jointly by Concordia University, HEC, Université de Montréal, McGill University, and UQAM. Registration is now open at http://montreal.degrowth.org
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“Strategies for a New Economy”
Bard College’s main Campus
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA
June 8-10, 2012
http://neweconomicsinstitute.org/conference
We are at a turning point in history. Rising temperatures are now recognized as a sign of our planet in crisis. Inequities between rich and poor, North and South, grow ever deeper. The global economy has failed in its promise to produce and deliver basic goods in an efficient manner for an expanding population, leaving increasing numbers in abject poverty.
The environmental crisis, the equity crisis, and the crisis of distributed production all have their roots in the current economic system, with implications for our culture, for our society, and for our health and well-being.
What would an economy built on principles of fairness and sustainability look like? How do we model it; where is it emerging; how do we collectively strategize to fully implement it? These are the pressing questions of our time.
In response, the New Economics Institute is convening “Strategies for a New Economy,” a conference June 8-10 at Bard College on the Hudson River in New York State. It will gather together what are often diverse and scattered efforts to reshape our economic system, place them under one tent, and raise the flag to announce that transitioning to a new economy will mean engaging politicians, researchers, media, educators, citizen activists, business leaders, financial experts, scientists, union workers, cultural leaders, advocates for the disenfranchised, and youth—all working together to achieve a common goal. The three-day conference will include over 60 workshops, plenary gatherings, and participatory strategizing sessions organized around 10 theme areas. “Strategies for a New Economy” will highlight best research and best practice under each theme and ultimately demonstrate that a decentralized, sustainable, cooperative economy is already taking shape. Registration is now open. We invite you to be part of the dialogue.