The Pachamama Alliance’s own Jon Love presented a taste of the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium at the 64th Annual United Nations Conference for Non-Governmental Organizations in Bonn, Germany in September.
More than 2,000 representatives from over 800 organizations gathered to investigate the theme of “Sustainable Societies; Responsive Citizens,” in preparation for the Rio+20 Earth Summit taking place June 2012. Pachamama was among the invitees bringing a viewpoint that up until now has been missing from these UN-sponsored conversations.
Looking Closer at Unexamined Assumptions
Jon delivered the “Unexamined Assumptions” section of the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium during one of the workshop sessions. Participants examined their own assumptions, generating the perfect learning environment for a presentation of eco-village and permaculture community projects.
In one of the plenary sessions, Jon emphasized The Pachamama Alliance’s intention to inspire and encourage citizens everywhere to express their commitment to a just, thriving, and sustainable world through creative action.
The idea that policy-oriented NGOs and agencies could form alliances with culture-creating storytellers – ensuring that key messages are actually heard - was very well received, leading to a number of potential collaborations.
Engaging People’s Hearts
Throughout the conference, it was clear that the organizations debating policy reform are recognizing that citizens must be engaged in a full-hearted reexamination of the way life is organized in the modern world.
The Pachamama Alliance, along with other organizations that provide alternative models for living and translating our highest commitments into action, such as the Global Eco-Village Network and Transition Network, was brought in to provide a perspective to the UN-sponsored conversations that has up until now been missing.
The head of the United Nations NGO Stakeholder Forum, Felix Dodds, said he was “very satisfied” with the statement of commitment drafted by conference participants as input into the official deliberations of heads of states at Rio+20.
Building Commitment: An Ongoing Role
Being invited to speak at this conference says that there is an important ongoing role for the commitment-building work of the Pachamama Alliance in preparing for the next Earth Summit. The connections we make and conversations we join now will become even more important in spreading the word after Rio!
