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For the next two weeks, Yikes! is being given over entirely to providing information, articles and opinion pieces in support of this very important workshop. After all, here we have one of the major world players in the transport world ready to commit real resources to the sustainability agenda. The least we can do is to chip in and help make sure that they get the important jobs and priorities in their sights. (And as we know, it's not all that easy.) International team work in support of sustainabilty and social justice!
Make your voice heard The Virtual Conference: How it works
On June 8th, the Shell Foundation is organizing an international expert group meeting here in Paris on sustainable transportation . The Foundation is establishing a "Centre for Sustainable Transportation, Energy, and Environment", the announced goal of which is acceleration of implementation of policies and technologies that make transportation more environmentally sustainable, improved analysis of present trends as a means towards this goal, and assistance for capacity building of analytical capabilities, principally in developing regions of the World. A core grant of between USD 750K and USD 1500K for a minimum period of five years has been committed and a Centre leader identified. A good part of these resources will flow to partner cities and projects, primarily in Developing countries.
The 8 June Workshop has been convened to discuss key elements of the proposed activities of the Centre, allowing interested persons and institutions to comment on the thoughts underlying the creation of this Centre and its directions. The Paris Workshop will build on the results of a previous Washington DC workshop, whose summary will be distributed and made available on the Shell Foundation Web site. After the workshop, a dialogue will be opened up on the Foundation's Website.
You can get the whole story on that by clicking on Agenda and >Background Paper right here. Further details on the >Shell Foundation can be found at Shellfoundation.org and through contacting Kurt Hoffman, Deputy Director, Shell Foundation, Shell Centre, London SE1; Tel: +44 207 934 4992. For details on the workshop, contact Lee Schipper at ljschipper@lbl.gov, phone +33 1 40576714.
Make Your Voice Heard: The @New Mobility Virtual Conference
Based on our first read of these documents, it strikes us as important that the points of view of the members of our informal world "group" be somehow communicated to the meeting. In all their diversity, and with the not-inconsiderable authority that they command. It's fair to say, if you check through the various discussion fora, that we bring to these matters a very wide range of backgrounds and experience. And while most of us are sensitive to the energy/transport interface as an important one, we also in many cases have repeatedly made the point that the energy vector needs to be kept in its rightful place. There are other priorities and perhaps what we as a group can contribute is to use our collective voice to make sure that these points and values do not get lost in the shuffle .
But if you can't make it to Paris to attend this expert group meeting on June 8th, you can nonetheless make your voice heard. Here is how this might work. One or two members of The Commons with a lifetime interest and involvement with sustainable transportation issues (which as you doubtless know we always qualify with that additional important phrase, social justice, as a consistent high priority) will be attending the Workshop -- and we propose that we find a way to work as 'ambassadors' to represent the views, suggestions and counsel of the couple of thousand people around the world with in-depth experience in our topic who drop in from time to time to the @New Mobility Forum, including those who read and contribute to the Journal of World Transport Policy and Practice.
To make a point, we here at The Commons consistently try to take a rather 'economical' position as far as physical conferences and travel are concerned. Which means that when we find ourselves involved in such get-togethers we try to get as much "policy and practice" bang per pound of CO2 as we can. In this case since we have been invited (and since we can walk over there in about 30 minutes max), it occurred to us that it might be a terrific opportunity if we show up bringing not only with our views, prejudices and experience, but also armed with the thoughts and suggestions of all of you out there who think about and work for more sustainable transport and social justice 365 days a year.
Back to topThe Virtual Conference: How it works
The short story on this is the set of links that you will see under the Conference heading on the menu just to your left. To explain briefly:
- The Agenda
- One might be simply to draw the organizers attention to the Discussion Forum itself.
- Or perhaps one or more of us might try to make some sort of synthesis with selected sections and points fashioned into a group position paper.
- Or alternatively, you might prefer to contact the organizers yourselves individually.
We look forward with very real interest to seeing how this works out. And if you have any ideas that can help us do better, this is the place to let us know.
Postmaster@newMobility.org
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Have you comments, corrections or suggestions on any of the Today pieces available here. Suggestions for additional topics? An idea for a joint article or one that you would like to prepare yourself? Other media ideas? An op-ed piece. cartoon? A song? A play? An web opera? This is the place to let us know. Diversity rules!
Last updated 29 May 2001. © 1994-2001 EcoPlan , Paris.
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