Transition Culture

An Evolving Exploration into the Head, Heart and Hands of Energy Descent

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14 Sep 2007

Peak Oil, Transition Towns and Resilience Building. My Talk to the IFG Teach In.

My presentation to the IFG Teach In runs for 15 minutes and is divided into 3 sections. You can see them below. I think we ought to do a lot more sending DVDs of talks to conferences and staying at home. Perhaps we should see conferences as being more like the Oscars, a talk, a filmed greeting, some music, another film and another talk. Keep the media changing. Anyway, this is my attempt. If you were at the conference, did it work? Many thanks to Malcolm Baldwin for doing the filming, to Alex Munslow for putting it on YouTube and to Jerry Mander for being open to this experiment…

**Part One.**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B0zQ1pJAaY


**Part Two.**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhyIl_YBQz0

**Part Three.**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wimiLJHRe6s

Comments are now closed on this site, please visit Rob Hopkins' blog at Transition Network to read new posts and take part in discussions.

11 Comments

Davie
14 Sep 11:28pm

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant

Thank you Rob for not going to the IFG Teach In and posting your talk for us all to see. This is definitely the way forward for conferences in this day in age.

Davie

Holmes
16 Sep 4:04pm

The experiement was a success! Not only was your message effectively delivered to a very attentive audience, the mode of delivery earned an applause in its own right.

Living in the same town as the conference is a luxury, so I am glad to attend – but I have missed so many brilliant speakers at other conferences because I simply cannot justify the expense and carbon debt associated with the travel just to hear them.

I think all of our professional “circuit riders” who are racking up a huge carbon debt to save us all could consider this YouTube delivery as a better way to reach an even larger audience with a lower impact all around.

If we are concerned about losing the “high touch” of personal attendence, I think that the very concept of Transition Towns and the open space practices proves to us that in any town there is a productive conversation waiting to be catalyzed – with or without the presence of our well-traveled author friends.

Thank you again for taking an affirmative step to demonstrate how – and why – we should reconsider the methods of mobilizations for climate justice.

holmes

Ben Brangwyn
16 Sep 4:57pm

I just heard from Jim Barton, from Asheville, NC (possibly will become the first official US Transtition Town) who’s at the IFG conference and he said your talk went down well. When it was mentioned that you wouldn’t fly, the audience erupted into clapping!!!

Inspirational stuff.

Elizabeth Nollner
17 Sep 2:11am

I was at the conference, which just ended a few hours ago. Your presentation was wonderful Rob. Everyone in the audience loved your message and the commitment you displayed to your message in its presentation by not flying cross-continent. For me, it was one of the most inspiring parts of the whole conference, as you really showed that some solutions are right in front of us, within our grasp, and that they can really improve our lives while at the same time helping to prevent catastrophic global consequences. It really inspired me to think about what I can do in my own community, so thanks for your work and for sharing it with us at the conference and online.

Josef Davies-Coates
19 Sep 12:45pm

Great to see such a great response to this 🙂

Just to say, it’d be good it all these great films on YouTube that are split into different parts were also uploaded onto Google Video in full.

(also did you know you can create and embed playlists of videos on YouTube, e.g. you could create one that includes all three of the videos above and then just embed that, rather than all three)

Best,

Josef.

Sharon Astyk
19 Sep 1:26pm

Rob, let me just add to the voices saying that I think that this was an important and honorable choice. Nice presentation, too.

Sharon

Darragh Flynn
23 Sep 11:10pm

Rob,
I really enjoyed this talk – I thought it was fantastic and it really inspired me to get off my ass n start implementing things in my own town and start to think about what changes can happen here. So thank you very much

Darragh

Stephen Watson
25 Sep 8:36pm

Yey – you done us all proud Rob 🙂

Stephen

William Lucas
26 Sep 12:00am

Hi Rob, I’ve been overdosing on Peak Oil for about 6 months now, ever since stumbling onto a site while searching for material about velomobiles. I think I’ve suffered through all the stages: horror, denial, panic, survival and so forth. I must have read two dozen books – quite needless repetition. Lately I’ve realised that a rational, practical and holistic response is called for, but what? Do I form or join a tribe (Daniel Quinn); do I build a lifeboat (Richard Heinberg, Dmitry Orlov); do I run off into the woods and practice permaculture (David Holmgren)? I think I’ll stick with your site for a time, at least until my shattered nerves repair. I like your tone, your manner, and the content of what you have to have to say. What is more, I think I’ll try to pass the message on (here in New Zealand). It may be premature of me to say, but I think you’ve saved my sanity . . . by a whisker!

joan
25 Jul 11:47am

the whole idea wold not be productive and therefor lower living standards

joan
25 Jul 11:48am

would be unproductive thus lowering living standards