The write up of the workshops held at the stakeholder conference 2012 are up in case you hadn’t spotted it on the website or got an email. There is also an interesting blurb from the Steering Group highlighting the ‘recurrent themes’ that emerged throughout the course of the day. Of particular note is the call for greater transparency, action and communication. Glad to see it’s not just us that is twittering on about the importance of those things. Anyway, the cut and paste job is below. For the full write up of the workshops go to the manchesterclimate.com website.
Manchester: A Certain Future Conference 2012 – Follow Up
Dear MACF supporter,
On March 16, following more than a dozen ‘spoke’ events run by other organisations during Climate Week, more than 130 stakeholders and supporters of Manchester: A Certain Future gathered at Manchester Metropolitan University for a series of workshops and presentations centred around the theme of behavioural change and our children’s future. The notes from those workshops can now be found on the MACF website on the Conference 2012 page, or by clicking here.
A number of recurrent themes emerged throughout the course of the day and should inform the work of everyone helping to deliver Manchester’s action plan, A Certain Future. They include:
Communications: There was a widespread demand from participants for more communications across Manchester on our progress on climate change, both communications between organisations and groups as well as more communications from the Steering Group on its view of the progress being made against the plan.
Culture: The conference participants re-affirmed the target of ‘a low carbon culture’ and carbon literacy across Manchester as critical if we are to break down barriers to progress and battle entrenched opinions and resistance to change.
The basics: Themes like food, transport and energy dominated discussion. Are we doing enough to make our food consumption and production sustainable? Have we invested enough in cycling and walking? How are we doing on renewables or retrofit?
Transparency: Participants wanted to see greater transparency in how progress was being measured against our climate plan and to see a greater level of democratic accountability on climate change.
Action: A regular point made was the need for action to be taken, to deliver against our strategy and to ensure that we don’t continue to craft more plans and visions in lieu of taking real action, on the ground, against climate change.
The first and fourth points, which lie squarely with the Steering Group of A Certain Future, will be addressed directly through a new communications plan for the group, including the setting up of a LInkedIN network and the plan to open up elections, in November, for those Steering Group places coming available.
Thanks are due to a number of people and organisations who supported the 2012 conference including the facilitators and speakers mentioned on the pages that follow, Tom Burke, the keynote speaker, Groundwork, Manchester City Council, Manchester Metropolitan University, organisations running the ‘spoke events’, members of the Steering Group and, of course, the participants who generously gave of their time.
Many thanks,
MACF2012 Events Team
manchester climate monthly 