BRATTLEBORO — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Gov. Peter Shumlin will be among dozens of speakers who will address the second annual Slow Living Summit in downtown Brattleboro May 30 through June 1.
Summit organizers have set aside registration slots with lower rates for Brattleboro area residents and students with limited means. The gathering will explore “cross-sector solutions for sustainable living and resilient communities,” according to organizers.
Those attending include interested residents; entrepreneurs; investors; educators; students; and civic, foundation, and nonprofit organization leaders. More than 50 sessions will be held on topics such as food, agriculture, spirituality, investing, energy, technology, entrepreneurship, communities, and media.
Sanders will discuss how humans can address two simultaneous crises - global warming and the unemployment and income inequality brought about by continuing sluggish economic conditions - by developing economic models that emphasize local and sustainable production. Shumlin, recipient in 2011 of the “greenest governor” award, will speak about Vermont's environmental initiatives.
Because 2012 is the United Nations-designated Year of the Co-op, the summit will have a special focus on co-operative organizations. John Restakis, executive director of the British Columbia Co-operative Association and author of “Humanizing the Economy” is scheduled to attend.
Other featured participants include James Howard Kunstler, author of “The Long Emergency;” David Orr, Oberlin College environmental professor and architect of the Obama administration's policy on global warming; Woody Tasch, founder of the organization Slow Money; Charles Eisenstein, author of “Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition;” and Chris Martenson, author of “The Crash Course.”
Summit organizers use “slow” as a metaphor for sustainability and resilience. “Slow Living,” they said, is shorthand for taking a more reflective approach to living and work. “Slow Living” implies being mindful of impacts on the environment, on Earth, and on communities; and it incorporates resilience - human beings' ability to bounce back from the consequences of climate change, resource depletion, and other changes and stresses, according to summit materials.
While the general summit registration rate is $189, organizers have added three registration levels for people with limited means:
• Student rate: $95 - limited to students enrolled in a college-level degree program, part-time or full-time; or full-time secondary school students.
• Local limited means rate: $95 - limited to people living in Brattleboro or within 25 miles who are of limited means; limited to 50 slots on first-come first-served basis.
• Stipend reservation rate: $25 - Several summit sponsors have offered support for a limited number of scholarship stipend slots.
Applications for these rates can be made at the registration page at the Strolling of the Heifers website.
The summit is scheduled to be held just before the Strolling of the Heifers weekend, followed by a Live Green Expo, on Saturday, June 2, and the Tour de Heifer farm-to-farm cycling event on Sunday, June 3.
For more information, visit www.slowlivingsummit.org/the-2012-summit.