Programme

Go to Sat 30 Sept
Go to Sun 1 Oct

Friday, 29 September 2023

Morning plenary

Location: St George's Bristol- Main Hall

08:15-09:00

Registration

09:00-09:25

Welcome and Opening

Nathalie Kelley, Helena Norberg-Hodge and Dolma Tsering

09:25-10:15

Global or Local? - Two Paths to our Future

Vandana Shiva (recorded talk), Satish Kumar and Rupert Read. Moderated by Rupert Read

10:15-10:50

Rediscovering Humanity: Community, Nature and Us

Darcia Narvaez and Alnoor Ladha. Moderated by Alnoor Ladha

10:50-11:10

Break

11:10-12:20

Food & Farming Revolutions

Patrick Holden, Chris Smaje, Jyoti Fernandes, Salim Dara and Margarita Barcena Lujambio. Moderated by Patrick Holden

12:20-13:00

Living Cultures, Old and New

Daniel Christian Wahl, Keibo Oiwa and Morag Gamble. Moderated by Daniel Christian Wahl

13:00-14:10

Lunch break

Friday afternoon breakout sessions

Location: St George's Bristol and Bristol Folk House

14:10-15:00

Breakout Sessions 1:

Slide
1) In Search of Wisdom for a Broken World
Main Hall, St George’s Bristol
Iain McGilchrist and Bayo Akomolafe
In this conversation, we will look at some of the roots of our predicament, seeing it not as an unfortunate turn of circumstances, but as a predictable consequence of a certain cast of mind.
2) Localisation on the Ground (part 1)
Apollo Room, St George's Bristol
Marianne Brown, Nils Agger, Lily Farmer, James Byron, Alice Freitas and Pete Russell
Come learn from some cutting-edge projects helping create a community-owned, people’s economy in our region, in areas of energy, food, community care, public spaces, and more.
3) From Deadlihoods to Alivelihoods
Garden Room, St George's Bristol
Manish Jain and Salim Dara
How can we move from ‘Deadlihoods’ – work that is soul-sucking, violent, and exploitative – to ‘Alivelihoods’ – careers that benefit not only us but also local communities and natural ecosystems.
4) Designing Reclaimed Civic Space – An Interactive Workshop
St George's Bristol Cafe
Justin Hyatt and Debra Efroymson
We start off by addressing the key features of a carfree city, and its connection to localism. Next, participants design their own civic space and their vision for post-automobile landscapes.
5) Leading the Way to Local Food Prosperity
Main Hall, Bristol Folk House
Jon Jandai, Nelson Mudzingwa, Ruby Van der Wekken and Morag Gamble
Get inspired by transformative local food movement leaders and practitioners working on seed sovereignty, smallholder agroecology networks, CSAs, permaculture and more in Thailand, Zimbabwe, Finland and Australia.
6) Living Lightly Locally
Music Room, Bristol Folk House
Keri Hopeward and James Hopeward
What might a post-extractive, post-inequality, post-carbon, post-growth world actually look like? Take part in a collective ‘Living Lightly Locally’ visioning exercise. The outcome will be transformed into an artwork post-Summit.
7) Learning from Ladakh
Room 2/3, Bristol Folk House
Dolma Tsering, Kunzang Deachen and Alex Jensen
What can be learned from Ladakh’s traditional land-based culture of ‘frugal abundance’, from the ongoing impacts of corporate globalisation, and from emerging alternatives there?
8) New Economic Thinking
Bristol Folk House Cafe
Jay Tompt, Diana Finch and Jenneth Parker
There seem to be abundant alternatives to the dominant economic paradigm. What new economic thinking can help us navigate and lead positive change in these times?

15:00-15:10

Break

15:10-16:00

Breakout Sessions 2:

Slide
1) A transformation so Mythic, it Breaks our very Language
Main Hall, St George’s Bristol
Andri Magnason and Rupert Read
Andri Magnason (‘On time and water’) and Rupert Read (‘Why climate breakdown matters’) discuss how to reconfigure ‘climate change’.
2) Nature-based Economies
Apollo Room, St George's Bristol
Manish Jain and John Perkins
Two elders with many years experience – Satish from the Indian Gandhian perspective, and John from indigenous groups in South America – explore the lessons from nature-based cultures for a new economy.
3) Raising Children: Modern Detours and Indigenous Wisdom
Garden Room, St George's Bristol
Darcia Narvaez and Miranda Wilson
What can we learn from indigenous cultures about how to encourage healthy, secure identities and what we can do to minimise the negative effects of social media on our children?
4) Growing our Human Potential through Community Living
St George's Bristol Cafe
Dicte Frost
Experience social processes born in the ecovillage movement and discover why they are essential navigation tools in a time of multiple crises.
5) Leading the Way to Local Food Prosperity (continued)
Main Hall, Bristol Folk House
Jon Jandai, Nelson Mudzingwa, Ruby Van der Wekken and Morag Gamble
Get inspired by transformative local food movement leaders and practitioners working on seed sovereignty, smallholder agroecology networks, CSAs, permaculture and more in Thailand, Zimbabwe, Finland and Australia.
6) Post Collapse Society
Music Room, Bristol Folk House
Ross Jackson
Our successor society will live within nature’s limits, adopting radically new concepts of economics, money, democracy, taxes and pubic banking to manage the production sector for the common good.
7) Insane Global Trade
Room 2/3, Bristol Folk House
Anja Lyngbaek
How do de-regulatory ‘free trade’ agreements and corporate subsidies prop up unnecessary global trade, waste resources, worsen climate change, and undermine millions of livelihoods worldwide?
8) In Conversation - local challenges and solutions for food system crises
Bristol Folk House Cafe
Phillip Haughton and Heloise Balm
Join Phil Haughton of Better Food and Heloise Balme from Bristol Food Network for an interactive discussion on how the problems in our food system might be addressed through local action.

16:00-16:10

Break

16:10-17:15

Breakout Sessions 3:

Slide
1) Strategies to Strengthen Local Economies
Main Hall, St George’s Bristol
Jay Tompt, Carla Denyer and Diego Isabel La Moneda
How can we strengthen local economies to help people meet their needs in ways that work with natural systems, are inclusive and fair, and increase the wellbeing of the entire community?
2) The Global Tapestry of Alternatives
Apollo Room, St George's Bristol
Ana Cecilia Dinerstein, Franco Augusto and Alex Jensen
Explore lessons emerging from grounded initiatives around the world for radical political-socioeconomic transformations, and discuss the idea of hope for creating local futures and weaving local alternatives into global networks.
3) Localising in the City
Garden Room, St George's Bristol
Jonathan Rose and George Ferguson
Jonathan and George will be sharing their experiences of co-creating inspiring local communities within our cities with a fairer distribution of opportunity, environmental quality and health.
4) Open Space
St George's Bristol Cafe
5) The Future of Farming in the UK
Main Hall, Bristol Folk House
Chris Smaje, Jyoti Fernandes and Patrick Holden
Can we renew the rural and make small, diverse, local and sustainable food and farming the norm, or are we headed for 100% urbanisation and lab produced food?
6) Juntos – A Food System Cooperative
Music Room, Bristol Folk House
Christian Jochnick
Come and hear the story of Juntos Farm cooperative, a local food, farming and community initiative in Spain.
7) From Corporate Capture to Climate Action
Room 2/3, Bristol Folk House
Camila Moreno and Mika Tsutsumi
Corporate-friendly responses to the climate emergency like technological solutionism and carbon trading leave the growth-based economic system unquestioned. What would genuine, radical action on the climate emergency look like instead?
8) Healing Wealth in Time of Collapse
Bristol Folk House Cafe
Alnoor Ladha and Lynn Murphy
From the history of wealth accumulation to the logic of capitalism, what are lived possibilities of other ways of knowing, sensing and being that can usher in life-centric models?

17:15-19:00

Supper break

Friday evening plenary

Location: St George's Bristol - Main Hall

19:00-19:40

Systems Change - How to Get There?

Zac Goldsmith and Roger Hallam. Moderated by Helena Horton

19:40-20:00

Irreverent Observations

Heydon Prowse 

20:00-20:35

Small, Slow and Connected

Bill Powers, Thais Mantovani and Eva Henje. Moderated by Bill Powers

20:35-21:05

Rapid Fire Presentations

Activists from across the world. Ruby Reed, Franco Augusto, Priya Joshi, Diego Isabel La Moneda, Ruby van der Wekken, Benjamin Christie, Ele Saltmarsh. Moderated by Ruby Reed

21:05-21:30

Community-Driven Music

Jurgis Didžiulis (aka Jurgis DID)

Go to Fri 29 Sept
Go to Sun 1 Oct

Saturday, 30 September 2023

Morning plenary

Location: St George's Bristol - Main Hall

08:15-09:00

Registration

09:00-09:10

Welcome and Opening

Aubrey Yee and Andrew Simms

09:10-10:20

The Matrix of the Global Economy
Moderated by Andrew Simms

Insights from an Economic Hitman - John Perkins
Carbon Colonialism - Camila Moreno
Tech Dictatorship - Mika Tsutsumi
Escaping the Apocalypse - Andrew Simms

10:20-10:55

Beyond Progress: The Economics of Life (part 1)
Moderated by Michael Shuman

The Way Back - Nathalie Kelley
Economic Solidarity - Jason Nardi
Local Finance: Creating Self-reliant Communities - Michael Shuman

10:55-11:20

Break
Qi Gong offered on the lawn with George Thompson

11:20-12:15

Beyond Progress: The Economics of Life (part 2)
Moderated by Michael Shuman

Ecological Civilisation - Jeremy Lent
Economic Solidarity - Liz Hosken
Economies of Happiness - Helena Norberg-Hodge

12:15-13:00

Going Local - International Examples & Perspectives

Jon Jandai, Patricia Moguel Viveros, Tiziana Alterio and Rema Kumar. Moderated by Anja Lyngbaek

13:00-14:10

Lunch break

Saturday afternoon breakout sessions

Location: St George's Bristol and Bristol Folk House

14:10-15:00

Breakout Sessions 1:

Slide
1) Inheriting a World in Crisis
Main Hall, St George’s Bristol
Poppy Okotcha, Jack Harries, Ele Saltmarsh, Thais Mantovani and Henry Coleman
Young people face an extremely troubled future, unless systemic change is implemented. In the context of a calcified political status quo, how do young activists face up to the challenge?
2) Catalysing Community-Led Movements for Systemic Change
Apollo Room, St George's Bristol
Juan del Río, Laura Kaestele, Jason Nardi and Ruby van der Wekken
How do community-led movements address today’s polycrises and change systems? Learn from ECOLISE and RIPESS metanetworks on community climate action and social and solidarity economy, and explore how local actions and social innovations are catalysing a just and regenerative future.
3) Ecological Civilisation
Garden Room, St George's Bristol
Jeremy Lent
What would it look like if our entire civilization were transformed from one based on exploitation and extraction to one based on life-affirming principles? Let’s explore what’s possible.
4) Bioregional Regeneration
St George's Bristol Cafe
Daniel Christian Wahl
In this coffee house chat Daniel will reflect on lessons learned from 12 years of bioregional work on Mallorca as a way to invite dialogue about landscape scale re-localization and community resilience in the ‘age of consequences’.
5) Food Sovereignty First
Main Hall, Bristol Folk House
Nelson Mudzingwa, Attila Szőcs Boruss Miklós, Arnold Padilla, Ryuhei Kawada and Margarita Barcena Lujambio
Learn from farmers and activists (and farmer-activists!) about movements around the world advancing food sovereignty – local communities taking back control of the food system from global corporate rule.
6) Nature-Based Learning Transforming UK Prisons
Music Room, Bristol Folk House
Muhammed Foulds and Monika Krol
Life-changing projects are helping prisoners experience deep nature connection, build community and heal through ecoliteracy, gardening and food production. Hear about two of these – Harmony Project in Bristol and LandWorks in Dartington.
7) Education for Eco-wisdom
Room 2/3, Bristol Folk House
Rema Kumar and Farah Khan
A new story for education, to experience connectedness and embeddedness in nature. Bhoomi College offers a reflective space to explore the real purpose of education in tune with Indic thought.
8) Local Food for Local Schools
Bristol Folk House Cafe
Barny Haughton and Fiona Carnie
Hear about how Bristol Education Partnership and Square Food Foundation are working to get local, seasonal, and sustainable food into Bristol schools and to educate young people about where their food comes from.

15:00-15:10

Break

15:10-16:00

Breakout Sessions 2:

Slide
1) Inheriting a World in Crisis (continued)
Main Hall, St George’s Bristol
Poppy Okotcha, Jack Harries, Ele Saltmarsh, Thais Mantovani and Henry Coleman
Young people face an extremely troubled future, unless systemic change is implemented. In the context of a calcified political status quo, how do young activists face up to the challenge?
2) Catalysing Community-Led Movements for Systemic Change (continued)
Apollo Room, St George's Bristol
Juan del Río, Laura Kaestele, Jason Nardi and Ruby van der Wekken
How do community-led movements address today’s polycrises and change systems? Learn from ECOLISE and RIPESS metanetworks on community climate action and social and solidarity economy, and explore how local actions and social innovations are catalysing a just and regenerative future.
3) Cutting-Edge Tools for Local Reinvestment
Garden Room, St George's Bristol
Michael Shuman and Amy Robinson
Want to invest locally in your community? Join two practitioners to learn about success stories in local banking, local crowdfunding, and local investment funds.
4) Open Space
St George's Bristol Cafe
5) Food Sovereignty First (continued)
Main Hall, Bristol Folk House
Nelson Mudzingwa, Attila Szőcs Boruss Miklós, Arnold Padilla, Ryuhei Kawada and Margarita Barcena Lujambio
Learn from farmers and activists (and farmer-activists!) about movements around the world advancing food sovereignty – local communities taking back control of the food system from global corporate rule.
6) Transformative Experience: Counterculture or Consumerism
Music Room, Bristol Folk House
Ruby Reed
How do we move beyond individualistic consumption to ensure that personal change work is truly transformative for rebuilding relationships with ourselves, others and the natural living world, and not commercialised spirituality?
7) Unlocking the Power of Food Wisdom
Room 2/3, Bristol Folk House
Priya Joshi and Srijata Sengupta
Securing the future of food by rebuilding our food aptitude - understanding the significance of what we eat and how it influences livelihoods, cultures and biodiversity.
8) Frocal: Living and Acting Locally in Forest Row, East Sussex
Bristol Folk House Cafe
Benjamin Christie, Patricia Patterson-Vanegas and Kate Taylor-Smith
Learn about Frocal, a project exploring what the village might be like – in terms of food, water, energy, livelihoods, community and wellbeing – if we all lived and acted more locally.

16:00-16:10

Break

16:10-17:15

Breakout Sessions 3:

Slide
1) Political Hope
Main Hall, St George’s Bristol
Charles Eisenstein
What will it take to change established systems of power?
2) Critical Reflections on the Green New Deal
Apollo Room, St George's Bristol
Andrew Simms and Ruth Potts
Andrew Simms and Ruth Potts spell out the characteristics of a Green New Deal founded in genuine democracy, sustainability, and justice.
3) Localisation on the Ground (part 2)
Garden Room, St George's Bristol
Laura Corfield, Kim Brooks, Jon Goodman, Chris Sunderland
Permaculture, local resilience, education for action, box schemes, small independent shops and more – hear from local grassroots community practitioners putting these and other elements of localisation into action.
4) Reimagining Education
St George's Bristol Cafe
Manish Jain, Franco Augusto, Ruby Reed, Ben Rawlence, Fiona Carnie, Farah Kahn
Mainstream education is reproducing the corporate extractivist economy. Join a panel of practitioners from the Ecoversities Alliance and more who are radically transforming education to instead foster the cooperative, ecological, and just world we need.
5) Strategies to Localise Governance
Main Hall, Bristol Folk House
Matthew Brown, Patricia Patterson-Vanegas, Diego Isabel La Moneda
This session explores the critical role of and challenges faced by local governments in building community wealth, localising the economy, and protecting the commons, protecting communities and municipalities from corporate plunder.
6) Lessons from a Small Country: Wales
Music Room, Bristol Folk House
Angie Polkey, Adam Alexander and Alicia Miller
What opportunities and challenges face small countries / regions who lack complete autonomy? We discuss what can and is being done in Wales in food and farming, and climate change action.
7) Italy Going Local
Room 2/3, Bristol Folk House
Tiziana Alterio and Gloria Germani
There is a new awakening happening in Italy with local communities strengthening local ecological economies, based on grassroots media and free information.
8) Global to Local Movement-Building
Bristol Folk House Cafe
Patricia Moguel Viveros, Keibo Oiwa, Debra Efroymson and Anja Lyngbaek
Hear about global to local movement building – efforts to bring a cross-section of groups and networks together around a transformative localization agenda – in Japan, Mexico, and Bangladesh.

17:15-19:00

Supper break

Saturday evening plenary

Location: St George's Bristol - Main Hall

19:00-19:07

Visions of the Future: A Short Play in Two Acts

Nathalie Kelley and Aubrey Yee

19:07-19:45

Understanding a World Gone Mad

Iain McGilchrist and Helena Norberg-Hodge in conversation

19:45-20:25

Rethinking Everything

Charles Eisenstein, Bayo Akomolafe and Manish Jain. Moderated by Camila Moreno

20:25-21:00

Rapid Fire Presentations

Activists from across the world. Jack Harries, Nelson Mudzingwa, Thais Mantovani, Juan del Río, Ruth Potts, Christian Jochnick, Keri Hopeward, Attila Szocs B. Miklós. Moderated by Jack Harries

21:00-21:30

Community-Driven Music

Jurgis Didžiulis (aka Jurgis DID)

Go to Fri 29 Sept
Go to Sat 30 Sept

Sunday, 1 October 2023

Morning plenary

Location: Tobacco Factory Theatres

08:45-09:30

Registration

09:30-09:40

Welcome and Opening

with George Ferguson

09:40-11:10

Conversations for Change

Four conversations moderated by Manish Jain

Rethinking Education - Ben Rawlence and Manish Jain
Making Local Economies Work - Michael Shuman and Molly Scott Cato
Small Farm Revolution - Attila Szőcs Boruss Miklós and Ele Saltmarsh
Community and Connection - Lucy Jones and Alnoor Ladha

11:10-11:30

Break

11:30-13:00

Movement Building

Rob Hopkins, Debra Efroymson and Juan del Río, with input from diverse voices from people's movements from around the world. Moderated by Anja Lyngbaek

13:00-14:00

Lunch break

Sunday afternoon breakout sessions

Location: Tobacco Factory Theatres

14:00-16:30

People's Assembly

Seven thematic working groups

16:30-16:50

Land and Spirit

Lyla June Johnston

16:50-17:20

Final words: Localisation Globally

With Keibo Oiwa, Camila Moreno, Manish Jain, Bayo Akomolafe, Charles Eisenstein, Michael Shuman, Nathalie Kelley, and Aubrey Yee

17:20-17:30

Closing

with Helena Norberg-Hodge

17:30 onwards

The Tobacco Factory Theatre Bar will be open for socialising and celebrating!

Please note, this programme is subject to change at any time.