Welcome to the CONVERGE project's blog. We're using this site to give interested parties basic information on the CONVERGE project while we develop a bigger better website. We hope the new site will be ready soon. The URL will be http://www.convergeproject.org
In the meanwhile you can:
Find out more about the CONVERGE project
Get in touch with the CONVERGE Team
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Contact Us / Get Involved
You can contact CONVERGE via:
email: alice@schumacherinstitute.org.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)117 927 3200
Skype: alicemarie.archer
Post:
The CONVERGE project
The Schumacher Institute
3rd Floor Bush House
72 Prince Street
Bristol
BS4 1HU
email: alice@schumacherinstitute.org.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)117 927 3200
Skype: alicemarie.archer
Post:
The CONVERGE project
The Schumacher Institute
3rd Floor Bush House
72 Prince Street
Bristol
BS4 1HU
Monday, 21 September 2009
CONVERGE READING LIST
Understanding Various Sustainability Issues:
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Sustainability Literacy
: "In this ground-breaking book, leading sustainability educators are joined by permaculturists, literary critics, ecologists, artists, journalists, engineers, mathematicians and philosophers in a deep reflection on the skills people need to survive and thrive in the challenging conditions of the 21st century. Responding to the threats of climate change, peak oil, resource depletion, economic uncertainty and energy insecurity demands the utmost in creativity, ingenuity and new ways of thinking in order to reinvent both self and society. The book covers a wide range of skills and attributes from technology appraisal to ecological intelligence, and includes active learning exercises to help develop those skills. Far from being a rigid or definitive statement of the one right way , the handbook is exploratory, aiming to open up new, previously unthought-of paths, possibilities and choices. It is intended primarily for educators across the spectrum from higher education to informal education, but is also suitable for learners and anyone interested in the literally vital issue of the skills necessary for building a more sustainable future".
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The Transition Handbook:We live in an oil-dependent world, and have got to this level of dependency in a very short space of time, using vast reserves of oil in the process without planning for when the supply is not so plentiful. Most of us avoid thinking about what happens when oil runs out (or becomes prohibitively expensive), but The Transition Handbook shows how the inevitable and profound changes ahead can have a positive outcome. These changes can lead to the rebirth of local communities, which will grow more of their own food, generate their own power, and build their own houses using local materials. They can also encourage the development of local currencies, to keep money in the local area. There are now over 30 Transition Towns in the UK, with more joining as the idea takes off. With little proactivity at government level, communities are taking matters into their own hands and acting locally. If your town is not a Transition Town, this upbeat guide offers you the tools for starting the process.
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Community, Empowerment and Sustainable Development
: "The first in The Converging World Series from the Schumacher Institute, this book explores a compelling range of community-based activities from different cultures and nations which help nurture intercultural understanding and practices of sustainable development. The specially commissioned chapters from practitioners and academics offer a set of interconnected case studies, personal stories, philosophical discussions and critical reflections on direct experiences, focussing on co-operative action, creative media innovation and community empowerment connecting individuals, groups, organisations from across our converging world. At the book's core is a central belief that ecological sustainability can only be attained through social learning, community empowerment, participation and a commitment to global justice. It is the first in a series of books addressing issues emerging from the Schumacher Institute's Converging World Initiative.".
--------------------------
Sustainability Literacy
: "In this ground-breaking book, leading sustainability educators are joined by permaculturists, literary critics, ecologists, artists, journalists, engineers, mathematicians and philosophers in a deep reflection on the skills people need to survive and thrive in the challenging conditions of the 21st century. Responding to the threats of climate change, peak oil, resource depletion, economic uncertainty and energy insecurity demands the utmost in creativity, ingenuity and new ways of thinking in order to reinvent both self and society. The book covers a wide range of skills and attributes from technology appraisal to ecological intelligence, and includes active learning exercises to help develop those skills. Far from being a rigid or definitive statement of the one right way , the handbook is exploratory, aiming to open up new, previously unthought-of paths, possibilities and choices. It is intended primarily for educators across the spectrum from higher education to informal education, but is also suitable for learners and anyone interested in the literally vital issue of the skills necessary for building a more sustainable future".---------------------------
The Transition Handbook:We live in an oil-dependent world, and have got to this level of dependency in a very short space of time, using vast reserves of oil in the process without planning for when the supply is not so plentiful. Most of us avoid thinking about what happens when oil runs out (or becomes prohibitively expensive), but The Transition Handbook shows how the inevitable and profound changes ahead can have a positive outcome. These changes can lead to the rebirth of local communities, which will grow more of their own food, generate their own power, and build their own houses using local materials. They can also encourage the development of local currencies, to keep money in the local area. There are now over 30 Transition Towns in the UK, with more joining as the idea takes off. With little proactivity at government level, communities are taking matters into their own hands and acting locally. If your town is not a Transition Town, this upbeat guide offers you the tools for starting the process.--------------------------
Community, Empowerment and Sustainable Development
: "The first in The Converging World Series from the Schumacher Institute, this book explores a compelling range of community-based activities from different cultures and nations which help nurture intercultural understanding and practices of sustainable development. The specially commissioned chapters from practitioners and academics offer a set of interconnected case studies, personal stories, philosophical discussions and critical reflections on direct experiences, focussing on co-operative action, creative media innovation and community empowerment connecting individuals, groups, organisations from across our converging world. At the book's core is a central belief that ecological sustainability can only be attained through social learning, community empowerment, participation and a commitment to global justice. It is the first in a series of books addressing issues emerging from the Schumacher Institute's Converging World Initiative.".---------------------------
About CONVERGE
"how, given the current situation, do we manage and allocate, today, the Earth’s resources for the survival of a projected global population of 9 to 10 billion people in 2050 - and for their offspring indefinitely?"
Full project title: Rethinking globalisation in the light of Contraction and CONVERGEnce.
Awarded close to 1.4 million Euros for 4 years research, the project is the first EU FP7 funded research to extend the concept of contraction and convergence beyond emissions trading.
CONVERGE aims to re-think globalisation by developing our understanding of convergence beyond emissions-trading across wider social, economic and ecological dimensions of sustainability. CONVERGE will research, develop and test the processes of contraction, convergence and divergence in current forms of globalisation. The research will be based on systems science to integrate social, scientific and economic disciplines in order to create coherent solutions to complex problems.
Key to the success of this study is the interdisciplinary approach and working with stakeholders from civil society, government and business. CONVERGE seeks to explore convergent sustainability relationships across different scales from local, national, global-regional to global.
CONVERGE has a significant role to play in achieving the strategic objective of the EU’s global partnership: "to promote sustainable development actively worldwide and ensure that the European Union's internal and external policies are consistent with global sustainable development and its international commitments."
A poster mapping out some of CONVERGE's tasks that the CONVERGE team has been using to discuss the project is available here:
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
CONVERGE Kicks Off in Budapest
Today sees the launch of the CONVERGE project in Budapest where the project team is meeting to formalise the start of this research. The projects full title: Rethinking globalisation in the light of Contraction and CONVERGEnce hints at the visionary research to be undertaken by this project.
Funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme (theme 6), this project links 9 organisations from European Union old and new, from the developing world and from neighboring Iceland. The University of Bristol, The Schumacher Society and the Schumacher Centre join CONVERGE from the UK. From Sweden comes the University of Lund and the Natural Step International, from Hungary GreenDependent and Szent Istvan University, from Tamil Nadu, India comes regional development agency SCAD and from Iceland, the University of Iceland.
Together these partners hope to explore "how, given the current situation, do we manage and allocate, today, the Earth’s resources for the survival of a projected global population of 9 to 10 billion people in 2050 - and for their offspring indefinitely?"
Awarded close to 1.4 million Euros for 4 years work, the project is the first EU funded research to extend the concept of contraction and convergence beyond emissions trading.
Building from the concept of 'contraction and convergence' that informed the Kyoto process, CONVERGE aims to re-think globalisation by developing our understanding of convergence beyond emissions-trading across wider social, economic and ecological dimensions of sustainability. CONVERGE will research, develop and test the processes of contraction, convergence and divergence in current forms of globalisation. The research will be based on systems science to integrate social, scientific and economic disciplines in order to create coherent solutions to complex problems.
Key to the success of this study is the interdisciplinary approach and working with stakeholders from civil society, government and business. CONVERGE seeks to explore convergent sustainability relationships across different scales from local, national, global-regional to global.
CONVERGE has a significant role to play in achieving the strategic objective of the EUs global partnership: "to promote sustainable development actively worldwide and ensure that the European Union's internal and external policies are consistent with global sustainable development and its international commitments."
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