On June 2nd and 3rd, young co-operators won’t just be talking about sustainability, they will be making the conversation carbon neutral. In a move that has some people shaking their heads and others jumping to get involved, organizers of the 6th annual International Building Co-op Futures Youth Conference have decided to ask young people to stay close to home.
This years’ conference will be held through local forums around the world –Vancouver, Buenos Aires, Karachi, Saskatoon and Guelph — and joined via video and Internet to increase global participation without increasing their carbon footprint. The conversation in each community will focus on creating a sustainable future through co-operation.
According to conference co-organizer Sol Kinnis, “We wanted to bring together young people from around the world to share strategies for making our co-ops more sustainable. But when we considered that people would be flying 5000 km or more to talk about sustainability for 2 days, it just didn?t make sense.” She explained that they took on a risk in changing the format, but in the end they have more international participation and more action planning at the local level.
For young co-operators in BC, the June 2nd and 3rd BC Regional Forum will be an opportunity to meet other young co-operators from around the province, further their understanding of the co-operative model and discuss how co-ops offer a solution to “ReLocalization” now and in the future. There will be opportunities for all participants to fully engage with the themes of the conference and make valuable contributions during the two-day event.
For more information online, register for the BC Regional Forum in Vancouver or listen to an audiofeed to find out more about the conference.
Building Co-op Futures is jointly hosted by BCCA and BCICS.