Hutchinson Center to host conference on developing sustainable communities
“ReDesigning Culture” by sharing stories of hope, with a focus on local, national and international efforts toward developing peaceful, just, ethical and sustainable communities, will be the focus of this year’s conference by ESTIA: The International Ecopeace Community, Oct. 28 at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast.
The conference, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., will be highlighted by keynote addresses by Ralph White, co-founder of the New York Open Center, America’s leading urban institution of holistic learning visited by 60,000 visitors annually; Joline Blais, associate professor of new media at UMaine, co-director of Still Water and co-founder of LongGreenHouse; and Deb Soule and Tom Griffin of Avena Botanicals and Hope’s Edge Farm.
Other topics at the conference include: the wisdom of Rudolf Steiner; the inclusion of indigenous people’s wisdom traditions; the creation of Jonno’s Place, a Camphill-inspired ecovillage; and biodynamic farming and the healing qualities of plants. Roundtable discussions will focus on cultural aspects of sustainability.
Artists Tori Morrill and Paul D’Alessio will play music for world peace.
ESTIA is a Maine-based nonprofit organization established in 2004 to promote and facilitate sustainability and peace through education. The goal of the conference is the redesigning of an Earth community in the United States and abroad consisting of social, cultural, ethical, economic and physical environments in which we can satisfy our needs and aspirations without diminishing the chances of future generations through ethical action for the restoration of a planet in peril.
The conference is $35 for the general public; $25 for seniors; $15 for students. Lunch is an additional $5. To register, contact Kim Raymond at 338.8034, kim.raymond@maine.edu; or Emily Markides at emily.markides@umit.maine.edu.