EVENTS

Our annual Summit in October, is our principal annual event. This is the moment when communities throughout the globe present a major program to familiarize our friends and neighbors about the work of the Earth Charter.

Last year's 2008 SUMMIT

An Earth Charter “Summit” is a yearly event run by local Earth Charter communities around the world to powerfully bring before the public an awareness of the Charter. This year, 2008, the common international focus will be Global Climate Change. Throughout the world, Community Summits are being held on Saturday, October 11, 2008 in conjunction with the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth. The Earth Charter serves as the ethical framework for Global Climate Change endeavors everywhere.

This year our ECCoLoV event will be held at Nathan Hale-Ray High School in Moodus and will run from noon until 5pm. Our Summit will feature a presentation by Dr. Gary Wynn Yohe, co-winner with V.P. Al Gore of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, Wesleyan economics professor and world expert on the economics of climate change.  Dr. Yohe will address us on ‘Responding to Climate Change Risks and Sustainable Development’ and will also moderate a panel discussion hosted by East Haddam first Selectman, Mark Walter, and consisting of area selectpersons and mayors. In general, their discussion will cover what their towns are doing in the area of climate change preparations, including related environmental, social, economic, and civil/justice changes.

A groundbreaking feature of this year’s event will be an unprecedented Live Webcast when Dr. Mark Walter will link our Connecticut community to fellow earth-conscious people everywhere, effectively launching the virtual global community for a sustainable future. Additionally, while allowing worldwide participants to connect on Summit Day, they will also be able to reconnect on a regular basis thereafter to maintain momentum, share experiences and exchange information. The entire program will also be recorded and archived on the national Earth Charter website, and other connected sites, where our event can continue to be viewed on demand.

Connecticut’s 2008 Summit will be a family ‘Climate Change Fair’ of many interesting events. Our community will offer a variety of activities designed to highlight the Earth Charter as a guiding principle in living with the effects of climate change. There will be workshops, green lifestyle booths, Excellence Awards to local pioneers, a silent auction, the launch of Earth Scouts, live music and a selection of refreshments. The Summit will receive extensive publicity and we expect a large attendance on this Columbus Day weekend.

In early 2008 we sponsored one of the Al Gore Climate Change public programs based upon the widely viewed film, the $49 million grossing (4th highest ever grossing documentary):  ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ ...and here is an objective endorsement for the documentary from National Geographic.