Fritjof Capra
Dr. Fritjof Capra
Designing For Life:
Sustainability, Stewardship And Society
A Public Lecture and Discussion at Victoria Hall, Santa Barbara, October 15,
2004
Presented by a Santa Barbara collaborative of higher learning institutions,
corporate, and nonprofit organizations under the leadership of The Sustainability
Project
Santa Barbara, CA, August 18, 2004 – The Sustainability Project (TSP), marking
its tenth anniversary in Santa Barbara, announces an historic public event in
collaboration with regional corporate, academic, and nonprofit organizations.
In addition to having gained the sponsorship of different constituencies, this
event marks the first time ever the major South Coast institutions of higher
learning have joined together in a collaborative effort. The emphasis of the
event address the issues and choices the Central Coast is facing in terms of
sustainability, to help in making individual decisions as well as in implementing
collective solutions.
On Friday evening October 15th, 7:00 – 9:00PM, Dr. Fritjof Capra, internationally
renowned physicist, author and global thinker will present a lecture entitled, “Designing
for Life: Sustainability, Stewardship and Society” at Victoria Hall. Prior
to the lecture, starting at 5:00PM there will be an exhibition by event sponsors
representing the finest in our local green building industry and educational
programs. At 6:00PM The Sustainability Project will present the first annual
Green Building Awards celebrating the best of the 2004 Parade of Green Building.
This is a free public event. On Saturday October 16th there will be a panel
discussion by invitation only, at a local college campus. The distinguished
panel will include Dr. Capra and local representatives from the collaborative
sectors and local governmental agencies. The purpose of this forum is to plant
seeds for practical implementation for the sustainable future of our region.
Local Public Access Television, Channel 18, will tape the events for subsequent
broadcast, and a DVD will be made available.
As Dr. Capra states, “The great challenge of our time is to create sustainable
communities, designed in such a manner that their way of life, business, economy,
physical structure, and technology does not interfere with nature’s inherent
ability to sustain life.” He emphasizes “The transition to a sustainable
future is no longer a technical nor a conceptual problem. It is a problem of
values and political will." Dr. Capra is a founding director of the Center
for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley. He is the author of several international bestsellers,
including The Tao of Physics, The Web of Life, and most recently The Hidden
Connections: A Science for Sustainable Living. In 2002, he was selected as the
first subject of the BBC’s documentary series "Beautiful Minds.”
The Sustainability Project (TSP) is a consortium of, architects, builders,
and interested citizens whose purpose is set forth in the mission statement: ”To
inspire change in the building environment of our region that will improve quality
of life, in harmony with nature, for this and future generations.”
Dr. Fritjof Capra Event
by Magdalena E. Corvin
The idea of the Fritjof Capra Event was conceived during the second annual
conference organized by the Institute of Reverential Ecology last May at Zacca
Lake, CA. The weekend-long conference generated energy, enthusiasm, and created
the opportunity for many sustainable concepts to take root in our community’s
daily life.
Inspired by the high quality of discussion, expanding beyond local issues,
global thinking and the eagerness of all present to set positive examples, TSP
unanimously agreed to undertake the sponsorship of a special event to honor
Dr. Fritjof Capra in Santa Barbara as the guest speaker for an exciting public
presentation followed by a question and answer session.
As Dr. Capra points us toward new ways of relating with our environment to
achieve fresh results, he encourages us to create opportunities for collaborative
experiences. The coordination of this event demonstrates an example of the type
of partnership that the main community players can undertake together.
The South Coast is richly endowed with a number of excellent academic campuses,
businesses and nonprofit organizations that address issues by employing all-inclusive
sustainable practices. One of the primary goals of TSP is to facilitate collaboration
among organizations and institutions like these to create livable communities
for our future.
The presented Capra Event promotes cooperation versus competition, the new
paradigm of XXI Century. Since all invited participants respect the same principles,
this project allows those who promote sustainability through architecture, resource
management, well-being, economics and community interaction to support the teachings
and practices by showing a united approach to the undertaking that clearly indicates
how to implement the desired conduct.
As Dr. Capra says: “the transition to a sustainable future is no longer
a technical nor a conceptual problem. It is a problem of values and political
will." Our program will offer the full probing of this statement during
the panel discussion on Saturday, October 16th.
The major and associate level sponsors have the opportunity to display educational
exhibits highlighting the programs and products that demonstrate sustainability.
We invite the public to participate in this exhibition.
We are proud and delighted to be working together with our Partners and Sponsors
for this event. We are grateful for their contributions and sharing in our enthusiasm,
eagerness and efforts to make this event happen
We want to extend special thanks to all our Committee and Advisory Group members
for their tireless voluntary work that made this event a reality.