September 11, 2013
Interest from afar
A quick glance down the delegates’ list at the recent DTAS conference tells you this is an organisation with a strong focus on its members. Hardly any suits on show. As usual the programme showcased powerful stories of what communities are doing to empower themselves. Now Scotland’s reputation in this field is beginning to resonate in far flung places. A message read out to the conference from the Global Ecovillage Network suggests that DTAS may be about to develop an international dimension to its work.
11/09/13
A message to the annual conference of DTA Scotland
All over the world, there are villages, municipalities, and communities coming together in order to design a genuinely sustainable future.
The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) works with networks of communities in transition all over the world. In Senegal the government is running a program to enable 14,000 traditional villages to become ecovillages. GEN have also just signed a MOU with the government of Chiang Mai, one of the northern provinces of Thailand, about the transitioning of municipalities there. The Norwegian government is starting a similar process. All of these government-supported programs have grown out of grass roots initiatives.
The examples of Scottish communities and islands empowering themselves through, for example, land buyouts and renewable energy projects is inspirational and GEN would love to showcase the stories of Scottish communities on a global level, to inspire others who are dreaming of taking a similar route.
In the future, this might lead to mutual visits and exchanges with leaders and youth leaders from other such initiatives worldwide. If you would like to discuss further, please get in touch with me.
Best wishes
Kosha Joubert
President of GEN-International and Managing Director of GEN-Europe