Last change - practical solutions competition

Have you got a practical solution to climate change? Take part in a competition for organizations in the Baltic Sea Region and the Nordic countries! The competition deadline is 30 September 2010, so you still have some more days to it.

So far several organizations have taken up the competition and send in their proposals. It has been great to see that the issue of climate change has been looked upon different view points. In many cases, proposals easily exist, but have not been evaluated from the climate change perspective in order to see how meaningful they really are. The competition offers a good opportunity for this!

The competition winners are going to be awarded at the Solutions local, together conference. They also have an opportunity to take part in the Market of Solutions during the conference. Therefore the PR and marketing are in place for the solutions to be spread around the Baltic Sea Region - take a moment to rethink what you have and benefit from the opportunity!

Rewarding work

Promoting a conference is hard work. Let’s say that you book a stand at a fair that is aimed at the right target group. You know you have a good message that would benefit many. But how do you get that message across when you are surrounded by fellow promoters who think that also their message is beneficial to many? How do you get people to stop at your stand and listen to what you have to say? And can you do all that sustainably?

All kind of free material from bags, pens, different sized leaflets (even catalogues), drinks and bits to eat is offered to be taken home. Many visitors take at least a brochure and sweeties (individually wrapped-up, of course). Hands up - how many of you have actually read the leaflets? Or did they end up in a bin on the way to a cloakroom or did you just leave them laying somewhere on a bench? What a waste in many ways.

How about the stand itself? How sustainably can you make it? There are manufactures that make stand frames of wood but they are not many. Most use aluminum. Most of the paper posters are recyclable providing they are not shrink-wrapped. The frames of aluminum roll-ups and walls can be reused but the posters themselves not.

Proving you have managed to make the stand as sustainable as it is possible today is it still also attractive and inviting so that people come and have a closer look? Is it the wooden poster frame or is it the colorful whole wall that attracts people? Or is it your smile that does the trick? Well, that at least is sustainable and reusable.

Yes, promoting a conference is hard work - but also so very rewarding when you see and feel that the person is listening, asks questions, and promises to come to the conference. Then you know all the hard work was worth it.

Small actions turning into big impacts!

Lucas had an intensive discussion with his friends about what each and every one of us can do to make a difference. It is easy to make promises, like politicians, but what if we would just do things instead of talking. How much could we influence in the end?

Lucas and his friends decided to take part in a campaign organized in the South-West of Finland. They had ran into the campaign through newspaper adds and thought that it would be quite interesting to take part in. Through campaign everyone is able to look into their water consumption and electricity in houses, food choices at shops, transportation modes and the amount of waste created. The campaign website (in Finnish) gives practical indicators on each action made and through them it is easy to see how the actions can make a difference.

As the first easy action, Lucas reduced the temperature at his house one degree and no one complaint or noticed this change! And this reduced the heating costs by 5 %. Amazing. After that Lucas started to use a cup while washing his teeth and that made a saving of 56 cents per week and saved nearly 170 liters of water. It was much more easier and fun than he thought. Why didn't he think of it before?

Programme available!

Finally we have reached a moment, when the Solutions local, together Conference programme is launched and the registration has started! From now on it becomes easier to explain what the conference is all about, as all the side events, praxis and the entire concept of a sustainable conference becomes a reality.

It is amazing to see the enthusiasm surrounding the topic of sustainable development at the moment. Everyone we have approached recently, has been exceptionally positive and wanted to be engaged in the process.The sustainable spirit in Turku is growing. Still there is a change to include your bit into the process or programme - so just contact us or write a comment on the blog.

Do not miss the change of being part of the conference, as places are limited! The early bird prices for individuals and groups are available when registering by the end of October 2010. All ready now several groups are being formed..

What spoils the conference for you?

Preparations for the launch of the conference programme are on the way and soon you are able to see what has been planned for participants and get registered before all the places are booked.
Meanwhile we have thought of possible things that can ruin the conference spirit, so that we could avoid them. Here is the start of the list, hope you can add more to it:

damaged heating conditions on the place

too tight schedule

bad interpreter - reading directly from the documents

presentations do not have any red line, only formalities

speaker is too fast or too loud

speaker not answering to the questions from the audience

during the conference, you do not see anything of the host city

participant list not up to date

no professional use of computers

photographer blocking the view

...

Turn damages into benefits

Lucas owns some hectares of forest. Lucas went to check if his forest had suffered any damages of a recent storm. It was obvious from the very first moment he reached his part of the forest, that this was the case. He was faced with hundreds of broken birch trees on the ground. After clarifying the situation, it was clear that the amount was too little to get anyone to buy it (app. 50 trees) or it would only be bought sometime next year. Lucas therefore considered what he could do with it. Surely he did not want it to rotten in the forest - it rather be used as soon as possible for something good.

He found out that several school yards looked very dull and needed some benches for kids. He contacted the rectors and made a deal with them, that they could get the junks for free from his forest, if only they would use it for the yards and some for handcrafting during the school year. This way 10 junks were used. He also offered the trees for nearby cottage owners, who willingly made some logs of it. It this was worth of 5 trees. 15 or so junks, went to the theater for decorations and benches and a good number of them were used by a cottage builder close to his forest. After all this effort, Lucas was left with 5 trees and with those he decided to do some wood crafting for his garden.

All the setbacks of the storm were turned into a goodwill after active offering of the junks. This resulted in nice thank you letters, great fun while cutting the junks and in a big smile every time he passed the school yard with great new wooden benches.

What to get from a conference

From time to time, it is good to stop and reflect when it is worth while to take part in a conference. One can question what can events in their best give to the participants. Here are some of the things listed:

• new solutions and ideas
• contacts - new and old
• innovative discussions during and between sessions
  
• motivation and inspiration, especially if more than one from the same organization is attending
• ideas on how to become more efficient and sustainable
• ideas on how to involve more stakeholders in your work
• great food and company
• getting to know something about the city where the conference is held (other than just the venue and hotel)
  
• good atmosphere
• fun!

This is what we are aiming to deliver - soon you are able to judge if our plans are able to meet your own expectations or not. The conference programme is launched on 1st of September and after that you are welcome to register with early bird prizes.