Following on from the Ethos Foundation’s August 2007 Roundtable at Parliament House in Brisbane, the Foundation, with leadership from Ken McLeod, has been developing a local climate change leaders network across south east Queensland and northern NSW as the major focus of our bioregional partnership program.

The Foundation is currently encouraging the formation of local networking hubs at the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Northern Rivers and Coffs Coast.

A number of events are being held within the Climate Change Leaders Network and these are outlined in this article.

Northern Rivers Climate Change Initiatives Consultation

On February 19 the Foundation in partnership with Southern Cross University, hosted the Northern Rivers Climate Change Initiatives Consultation. Representatives of regional organisations participated in information exchanges, a strategy roundtable and a number of featured projects were showcased at the event.

Managing the Challenge of Climate Change

On February 25 the Foundation hosted “Managing the Challenge of Climate Change” a professional development program for managers and executives of public and private sector organisations. The keynote presentation was given by Dr Brian Walker from the Resilience Alliance and CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems.

Think Global: Eat Local

On March 12, the Foundation will co-host “Think Global: Eat Local” with Kindred Magazine at the Byron Bay Community Centre. The event will screen the inspiring films The Power of Community and Think Global: Eat Local as well as facilitate a community conversation with Roberto Perez, Cuban permaculture designer and leading local food activist. To purchase tickets visit Kindred Media.

Judy Wicks: Local Living Economies Speaking Tour

Between May 19 and 29, the Ethos Foundation is thrilled to be hosting the Judy Wicks: Local Living Economies east coast speaking tour. Judy’s itinerary will include public events in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. She will be the keynote speaker at the “Going Local Convergence” in Brisbane between May 23 and 25. She will also participate in three Local Food Value Chain workshops in Lismore (26th May), Ipswich (27th May) and the Sunshine Coast (28th May).

Judy is the Founder and CEO of the White Dog Café in Philadelphia. She is also co-founder and a director of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia (SBA). She started the White Dog Café as a simple muffin shop on the first floor of her house in 1983 and grew it into a ‘Philly institution’. Best known for buying organic produce, and pastured meat and poultry from local family farmers, the Café also acts as a centre for dialogue on progressive issues with frequent speakers, storytelling, film series, and local and international tours. Click here for more information about Judy Wicks. For more details about Judy’s Australian tour please contact Ken McLeod.

Going Local: Building Sustainable, Resilient Communities

Between May 23 and 25 the Ethos Foundation will host a three-day roundtable exploring strategies for building local living economies as a response to climate change, peak oil and transitioning to sustainability. Program, venue and registration details will be available in March.

Local Food Value Chain Workshops

Invited representatives from all steps in the local food value chain will gather in Lismore, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast between May 26 and 28 with the Ethos Foundation and Food Connect to develop strategies to strengthen local food production in south east Queensland and northern NSW.

Bioneering Business – Seeding and Growing a New Economy

The Bioneering Business Courageous Conversation has been postponed till October 27 to 31 and the venue has been shifted to the Sunshine Coast following cancellation of the Foundation’s May booking at the Byron Bay Beach Resort by its owners, the Becton Property Group due to property redevelopment.

Expressions of interest in participating in this 6th Courageous Conversation will now remain open until mid year. We are looking for the most courageous green entrepreneurs and business innovators in Australia – the Steve Jobs of sustainable enterprise.

Bioneering Business will not be a conventional conference. There will be few set-piece presentations and minimalist powerpoints…

The focus is on dialogue, collective inquiry and creativity. We will workshop emerging ideas and strategies, and hear from organisations getting their projects out into the world.

If you want to be part of an exciting, challenging and hands-on experience, put your name of the list for invitations now. Numbers will be limited and folks with practical projects for ‘seeding and growing a new economy’ are particularly encouraged to register their interest.

We are pleased to announce that Ethical Investor Magazine will be partnering with the Ethos Foundation for this exciting event.

If you would like any information about any of these events, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .