October 2009
Continental Bioregional Congress

Interested in discussing issues facing your bioregion with a broader community? Looking for a non-hierarchical forum in which to share the challenges and opportunities of transition? Excited by learning more about reinhabiting the land where you live and networking with others in the ceremonial village of the bioregional congress?

The 10th annual Bioregional Congress, being held from October 3rd to 11th at The Farm in Summertown, Tennesee, promises to be a landmark event with far-reaching information, networking, tools and inspiration.

Over three hundred people are expected to attend the congress, which is held every two to three years. Come ready to participate and create the dialogues you want to have! Early Registration discounts end July 15th so, if you’re planning on attending, follow this link to register now! For more information on the framework and details of the congress, read on .

The Continental Bioregional Congress is organized to allow for as much breadth and depth of conversation as possible. Greg Landua, one of the main organizers for the event, stresses the importance of the distinction between a congress and a conference. In the congress format, the emphasis is on participation, dialogue and decision-making involving all those present at the event, and on creating and modeling the kind of ecologically conscious future we seek.

A proposed agenda (which you can view online here , including exciting workshops, gatherings, and celebrations, will be affirmed and revised by the congress participants themselves at the start of the congress, allowing participants to build into their congress experience the kind of interactions, information and inspiration they seek. There will be plenty of times allotted for both plenary sessions and smaller talking circles, as well as “open spaces,” where participants can organize and present workshops.

Each day of the congress features whole group plenary sessions to map out the future of the bioregional movement, hands-on workshops, regional and committee meetings, cultural sharing and celebrations, and a new bioregional curriculum. Participants who attend the bioregional curriculum sessions can learn about and experience place-based practices and tools on such areas as reinhabitory right livelihood, arts and education, bioregional organization, community building, and living in place. There will also be lots of opportunities for artistic collaborations, performances and cultural exchanges with people from Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central America.

The unfolding of the congress will be founded on organized and well-facilitated consensus decision-making processes that draws on a pool of experienced facilitators and on the highest wisdom of the group.

Some of the major themes that have emerged in the past, and which will most likely be present again in this year's congress, include watershed issues, bioregional mapping, community self-governance, water rights, organic farming, ecovillage development, all species educational events and ecopoetics. A Transition Training will be taking place in conjunction with the Congress this year.
Gaia University Associates Ian Nigh and Skye will also be attending the congress to share some of their projects and initiatives around indigenous rights and the recognition of traditional knowledge. You can read a brief article on Ian’s work in Northern Australia in the April issue of our newsletter here .

Gaia U content programs will be running throughout the congress. Associates and advisors will be offering various open space workshops and engaging in discussions in addition to “cross-pollinations” with the many other bioregional delegates present, perhaps including you!

Greg Landua describes this event as “The first iteration of the Gaia U Circus.” This speaks to the desire for Gaia U to become a group that can “plug in” to large events being organized by other groups and allow for more depth and insight than would have been possible without the Gaia U element present. To put another way, this entails organized “interveners” for intensified social change, without having the task of event coordination. This facet of Gaia U is still at its birthing stage, but keep your ears open for developments.

In the meantime, let this upcoming week-long rendezvous be a catalyst for conversations in and about your own bioregion, and to change your community and your life toward greater ecological consciousness.