This is the video of the GTEC Crisis and Hope Town Hall event at Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Monday, November 18, 7 – 9 pm. We had a good turn out and a very successful event. There were guest speakers, a Delphi process, and each small group talked about their action solutions about things we can all do to ameliorate the climate crisis.
We are amateur videographers but the video captures the spirit of the event. I believe you’ll enjoy it.
(1 hr 15 mins 12 secs)
Click to download a PDF file of the Crisis & Hope Town Hall Activity Statements Below
Crisis and Hope Town Hall – Delphi Activity Overall Action Statements
I. Hold events to meet and engage with members of the community:
- E.g. Community climate cookout, potlucks, planting trees, family car shares, citywide car free days
II. Advocate for change:
- Lobby politicians for greener and sustainable practices
- Vote and hold politicians accountable
- Put pressure on corporations that continue using unsustainable practices
III. Lead by example. Become a social role model by:
- Reduce reliance on fossil fuel use:
- g. Invest in reusable energy, decrease consumption of meat, reduce plastic, find alternative modes of transportation
- Change practices and make ethical choices in your daily life to reduce your carbon footprint
IV. Promote education:
- Reach out to people or groups who disagree with you
- Talk and inform neighbours about the climate crisis
- Identify and promote businesses that have green initiatives or sustainable practices
- Invest more resources in communicating the science, different methods of learning and tools in measuring our ecological footprint
- Engage with youth to discuss about potential solutions and immediate action required
V. Stand up for what you believe in:
- Bring together communities to hold general strikes, demonstration and protests
VI. Support ourselves and each other:
- Collaborate, spend time and build trust with others
- Listen to people who are or have been involved in civil disobedience
- Create a platform or provide support groups or gatherings for coaching, spiritual connectivity, grieving, and reclaiming a sense of hope
VII. Acknowledge and determine the needs of your community:
- Conduct resilience training for adapting to the possible outcomes of the future
- Find the priorities and goals of your area
- What ways can we measure success in relation to climate action?
Crisis and Hope Town Hall – Delphi Activity Action Statements by Group
Group 1
On an individual and/or community level:
- Practices
- Move away from fossil fuels
- E.g. Driving fuel-burning cars, decreasing consumption of meat, reducing plastic, using reusable energy
- Education
- Have a conversation with someone who doesn’t agree with you
- Advocate for change! Lobby politicians for greener and sustainable practices
- Disrupting
- Close the Water Plant near Hope
- Have a general strike
- Develop resistance
- Take Fred Bass’ workshop
- Move away from fossil fuels
Group 2
On an individual and/or community level
- Make ethical investments to reduce your ecological footprint
- g. Walking, recycling, biking, decreasing consumption
- Engage with others in the neighbourhood
- In your apartment, triplex, neighbours – talk and inform people about the climate crisis
- Have everyone contribute to make a difference
- All generations need to work together to discuss and make plans
- Put pressure on corporations that are involved in unsustainable practices
- Write letters
- Inform family and friends
- Vote and challenge politicians to be accountable
- Identify and promote corporations complying with sustainable practices
- Especially business in Vancouver
- Lobby to have all plastics banned
- Lead by example
- Bring your containers to the store
- Family car shares with your neighbors
- If possible, with electric vehicles
- Car free days – citywide
Group 3
- Change the conversation
- Have an action-solution focus conversation with young individuals to help them understand there are solutions to these problems
- Non-violent civil disobedience
- Getting engaged and putting ourselves on the line
- Direct democracy
- Participate in democratic activities to reshape the capacity to problem-solve and generate solutions
- Community events
- Host climate cook-outs, workshops for resilient communities
- Engage in outreach and increasing awareness, reaching out to those suffering and feeling helpless
- Spiritual gatherings
- Connect with the world spiritually, recognize the grieving process and showing gratitude for what we have
- Recognize our values. Look for the root cause of the problems that impact our values
- Finding a platform for expression
- Speaking publicly, having demonstrations, sharing perceptions of the crisis
Group 4
- Take individual action
- Contact your MPs. Talk and listen to your family and friends
- Connect with young individuals by supporting and listening to their concerns and ideas
- Attend protests and share information about them
- Recognize the need to be with others through support and collaboration
- Listen to the first hand experiences of those taking action on the sidelines or involved in civil disobedience
- Build support for ourselves, and each other with trust and no agenda
- Be respectful of different opinions, give a voice to others, provide support groups to build hope and encouragement
- Get practical
- Find the top priorities and goals in your region
- What is most important in your neighbourhood and how do we create steps to achieve those goals?
- How do you measure the success of those actions?
- How can we persevere?
- What is most important in your neighbourhood and how do we create steps to achieve those goals?
- Find the top priorities and goals in your region
Group 5
- Educate across the big divide from other groups
- Rather than speaking among ourselves, we must reach out and bridge polarization
- Investing in resources for education
- Get the science right, provide tools for measuring our ecological footprint, give people resources to learn more
- Community planting and food activities
- Having potlucks, planting trees, ways to reduce our carbon footprint
- Walk the talk
- We must take individual action in order to be role models
- Advocate for change
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