Sol Conference / Update

Folks:

Thanks for visiting the observatory on Sunday and discussing the Sol Conference SEED Program and our opportunites to participate. More information regarding same is being detemined and I will "post" it ASAP. You might wish to review the confernece proceedings to become more familiar with the entire offering once again. http://www.sustaincom.org

Again I will "post" additional information as soon as the leadership elements of the conference make their decisions regarding the SEED Program efforts (happening in real-time). One element of the conference will allow you to sit-in on various "World Cafe" discussions. If you reveiw the conference and find World Cafe discussion groups that interest you personally, please identify them and let me know. This will allow us to plan the various schedules necessary to address your interest's.

We can anticipate participating at the conference and hosting an evening of Astronomical Observation for the young people coming to the conference from around the world at the observatory during the conference. Let's determine "what" that might look like while we are awaiting further developments.

Please let me know what your thoughts might be.

SEED PROGRAM UPDATES

SEED’s Planted at SoL

In addition to the regular seeds sown during any sustainability conference, this forum will have extra SEED’s planted. Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Development (SEED) will present the global youth voice at the Society for Organizational Learning's (SoL) Sustainability Consortium. SEED is a Schlumberger nonprofit global community development program founded by our very own SoL supporter Simone Amber. The program was created in 1998 in response to information and communication technology needs in developing countries, to the challenges of science education around the world, and in recognition of the resources Schlumberger could provide to help address these challenges.
SEED draws upon three particular Schlumberger resources: people who are willing and motivated to share their knowledge and time, expertise in networking technology and a range of science disciplines, and a long-standing presence in over 100 countries. More than 1,000 Schlumberger volunteers are the keys to SEED’s success.
The SEED program connects underserved school children in developing countries to the Internet, shares the real world of science through a multilingual online science center, and facilitates collaborative projects among school children around the world. The program offers young people a tangible opportunity to participate in the economic and social advantages afforded by access to new knowledge and technologies. Our vision is to build a learning community that dissolves barriers and creates connections.
SEED creates these connections by providing schools the opportunity to participate in collaborative projects around the globe. This program, developed in 2002, has been connecting kids through project based learning modules that promote teamwork, innovation, and research. Because water quality is a universal concern, SEED has focused on the Water Project, which gives students the tools to examine water quality issues in their local communities. Any school anywhere in the world is eligible to participate in a collaborative project. Each of the 112 SEED schools has been encouraged to participate. To date, 22 student groups have researched water availability, condition, source and culture. With a full understanding of these issues, the groups then focus on developing a plan of action to positively impact their community through conservation, awareness and other sustainability processes. Over 20 schools have submitted their action plans in hopes of being awarded the Action Fund or the grand prize of and the opportunity to travel to the US to present their projects at the SoL Sustainability Conference this October and the Action Fund. The SEED Action Fund awards $500.00USD to assist students in SEED schools to launch their plan of action. Six schools have been awarded the grand. The winners include schools from Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico and Egypt. These projects and many more are posted on the SEED website (http://www.seed.slb.com/).

These students have guaranteed dynamic, entertaining and educational presentations and exhibits during this conference. Please make it a priority to hear the students who have come from around the world to share their sustainability issues and knowledge with the conference attendees.

Paula McCann HarrisCollaborative Projects Manager

SOL CONFERENCE SEED PROGRAM SCHEDULE
SOL Sustainability Consortium Annual Meeting
Draft Youth Strand Agenda
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9 • ARRIVAL DAY

All Day
Arrival of Students and Chaperones (Receive welcome packets at check-in)
8:00 - 12:00
"The Lounge"
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10 • STUDENT INTRODUCTORY DAY


8:00 - 9:00
Breakfast
9:00 - 10:00
Welcome and Introduction (determine if any students want to be on a panel), Discussion of Legacy Project
10:00 - 1:00
Introduction to Sustainability (facilitated by Jaimie P. Cloud)

SEED: Practice Session for Presentations
1:00 - 2:00
Lunch
2:00 - 5:00
Henry Ford Museum (30 tickets)
5:00 - 7:00
Dinner/Reflection
8:00 - 12:00
"The Lounge"

MONDAY, OCTOBER 11 • PRE-FORUM WORKSHOPS



8:00 - 9:00
Breakfast
10:00 - 4:00
Using Organizational Learning and Leadership to Shape Sustainable Enterprises: a Road-Map for Getting Started
Keys to Producing and Writing Effective Sustainability Reports
**Leveraging Sustainability for Growing Market Share
Beyond CSR Reporting: Key Performance Indicators for Developing Sustainable Products, Businesses, and Supply Chains
Systems Thinking for Sustainable Enterprise
**Native Science: An Intellectual, Experiential, and Cultural Foundation for Sustainability and Renewal
1:00 - 5:00
Women Leading Sustainability Meeting
2:15 - 5:30
Rouge Plant Tour (30 tickets)
5:30 - 7:00
Dinner, Presentations Practice for SEED students
7:00 - 9:00
Informal Welcome Reception
8:00 - 12:00
"The Lounge"
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12 • DAY 1 OF THE GENERAL FORUM


7:00 - 8:00
Breakfast
8:00 - 8:15
Welcome Address
8:15 - 9:15
Plenary Conversation - Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainability from a Learning Perspective
9:15 - 11:15
World Café on Questions Presented by Panel
11:15 - 11:45
Panel Wrap-Up
11:45 - 12:15 (now 11:30)
Plenary Presentations - Youth, Water, and Action: Creative Solutions from the Next Generation
12:15 - 1:30
Lunch
1:30 - 3:30
Plenary Workshops - Reducing Unsustainability Does Not Create Sustainability: Using the Shifting-the-Burden Archetype to Examine Alternatives to Sustainability Strategies
3:45 - 5:15
Cross-Sector Partnerships for Sustainable Food Supply Chains
Steps toward the Hydrogen Economy
Growing Customer Demand for More Sustainable Products: From Marketing Manipulation to Education for Change
Status of the Triple Bottom Line
Sustainable Water
Ours
5:30 - 6:30
Plenary Conversation - Biomimicry: Learning How to Apply Life's Best Practices to Create Smarter Products
7:00 - 9:00
Reception
8:00 - 12:00
"The Lounge"
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13 • DAY 2 OF THE GENERAL FORUM


7:00 - 8:00
Breakfast
8:00 - 8:15
Good Morning Address
8:15 - 9:30
Plenary Conversation - How Can We Build Commitment for Creative Sustainability (as well as Reducing Unsustainability)?
9:30 - 10:45
World Café
11:00 - 12:30
Women Leading Sustainability
"Zero to Landfill" Product Design and Manufacturing
What are the Opportunities and Risks of Sustainability and Transparency
Emerging Energy Technologies: Solar, Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Wind
Total Corporate Responsibility: Making CSR and SRI Sustainable
Internal Measurements that Matter for Managers
12:30 - 1:45
Lunch
1:45 - 5:15
-
5:15 - 6:30
Plenary Conversation - Champions of Sustainability: Tales from the Front in Leading Change in the Current Business Environment
7:00 - 9:00
Dinner Groups and Blue Vinyl Screening
8:00 - 12:00
"The Lounge"
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14 • DAY 3 OF THE GENERAL FORUM


7:30 - 8:30
Breakfast
8:45 - 10:15
Plenary Conversation - Global Leadership: Symbols and High Leverage Action
10:30 - 12:30
World Café Wrap-Up: Next Steps and Action Items
12:30 - 2:00
Closure/Reflection
2:00 - 12:00
Departure of students and chaperones
Note: All panels are open to both students and adult participants
Questions to Address:
Will SEED students sit on water panel?
Schedule times for reflection or have more informal?
Which meals not included?
Are all other panels willing to accept student participants?
Lenth of SEED presentation?
Legacy Project?
To Do:
Give Martha room, AV, food/beverage requirements


SOL CONFERENCE SEED PROGRAM / GRANT INITIATIVE

SoL Sustainability Consortium
Submitted by Martha Brown on behalf of the SoL Sustainability Consortium
617-484-7703


September 9, 2004

Oran Hesterman
W.K. Kellogg FoundationOne Michigan Avenue EastBattle Creek, Michigan49017-4012

Dear Oran,
We greatly appreciate your consideration of our request for funding to support the Youth Leadership Program for the SoL Forum on Business Innovation for Sustainability: Leadership, Learning and Collaboration for a Living Economy to be held this October in Dearborn, MI. Based upon our discussion last month, we believe the following grant request answers many of the questions you had at the time. If you should need more information to assist in your decision-making, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Who We Are
SoL, the Society for Organizational Learning, is an intentional learning community composed of organizations, individuals, and local SoL communities around the world. We are a not-for-profit, member-governed corporation.
SoL was created to connect corporations and organizations, researchers and consultants to generate knowledge about and capacity for fundamental innovation and change by engaging in collaborative action inquiry projects. While bringing together "specialists", our goal is more than simple collaboration -- we strive to develop the researcher, capacity builder and practitioner in each of us. As an action learning community, we generate real business and social system results, new intellectual capital and on-going personal and professional networks. Our purpose is to discover (research), integrate (capacity development) and implement (practice) theories and practices of organizational learning for the interdependent development of people and their institutions and communities such that we continue to increase our capacity to collectively realize our highest aspirations and productively resolve our differences. With this intention, organizations are truly worthy of the commitment of their employees and communities.
The SoL Sustainability Consortium is a "learning community" of companies committed to accelerating the learning needed to achieve a truly sustainable economy. The purpose of the consortium is to nurture and grow the desire and capacity within institutions to build knowledge for achieving economic, ecological and social sustainability.
The Consortium meets as a body semi-annually, usually in the spring and fall. Between plenary meeting member companies actively network and collaborate on innovative projects to address issues such as an intelligent use of materials, fostering market pull for better products, initiating culture change and internal engagement around sustainability, providing clean energy, addressing multi-stakeholder engagement and more.
The SoL Forum on Business Innovation for Sustainability will be the first public meeting of this group.

Our Request
SoL holds the belief that young leaders are a critical part of a successful global sustainability movement. Well-informed young leaders have the capacity to move the needle on market needs and market demands for future generations. We believe the collaborative environment the SoL Sustainability Forum will create this October will provide an opportunity for young leadership to emerge and support this important movement.

With that in mind, we have selected between 30-40 young leaders coming from a wide range of backgrounds rich with diversity. These young leaders will be coming from areas such as Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, Egypt, Boston, Idaho, Detroit and New Jersey.

Though, this Forum is only 4 days, our goal is to take the Youth Leadership Program far beyond the October gathering by building an interactive website and beginning to include the youth in all future events.

What we are seeking from the Kellogg Foundation is funding to help support the travel and other incidentals to bring these young leaders to the forum. We are seeking $40,000 in total and request a gift of $20,000 or more from your organization. Please see attached budget.


Project Objectives

The Objectives of the Forum are to:

Raise Awareness
Increase Action
Decrease the environmental footprint of today’s business

At this event, world-leading practitioners from business, NGOs, and academia will address sustainable business challenges. Participants will be engaged in real-time problem solving dialogues where they will analyze complex business cases that deal with global sustainability issues. To achieve this goal and navigate through the intricacies of these problems, the Forum will introduce the group to organizational learning methodologies and provide them with practical tools.

The Young Leaders who attend this program will take an active role in the Forum’s dialogues, presentations, and poster sessions. The Young Leaders will provide mutual inter-generational learning, help to establish the first youth sustainability-mentoring program and become the creators of The Youth Leadership for Sustainability [YLS] Program.


Project Design

Youth Program

The program will span 5 days (Oct. 10-13) in conjunction with The SoL Forum on Business Innovation for Sustainability in Dearborn, MI. The program has been designed to allow for maximum interaction with the general forum audience, as well as provide a unique learning opportunity for young people committed for sustainability. Specifically, they will have the opportunity to:

· Participate in a learning community of more than 200 people from business, academia, government and non-governmental organizations
· Present their ideas and work during forum sessions
· Learn from leading thinkers and practitioners
· Build a community of young people (from around the world) who will be given the means to collaborate on future projects
· Participate in a workshop entitled, “Native Science: An Intellectual, Experiential, and Cultural Foundation for Sustainability and Renewal”
· Participate in an “Introduction to Sustainability” workshop
· Tour the Ford Rouge Plant and Henry Ford Museum

See attached agenda

Selection of Youth Representatives

In order to reach a critical mass that has impact on the overall tone of The Forum, it is critical for us to have at least 20-30 youth participants. Taking the lead given to us by the Food Project, we learned that a minimum of 10% of the overall population needs to be comprised of the youth leaders, but a strong goal should be for 20%.

We have already identified and will remain open to be introduced to youth and youth organizations that meet some or all of the following criteria:
have implemented project(s) in sustainability or environmental activism that engage multiple stakeholders, such as business sector, community, government, education;
have a proven track record, measurable results, demonstrated an impact on policy and/or business practices in their home country or region;
have a compelling story to tell about progress towards the above;
ability to report/present the story, the lessons learned and the successful strategies for engagement that supported their effort and contributed to its results; and,
are open and eager to collaborate with the Fall Forum business community going forward and are candidates for the Youth Leadership in Sustainability initiative.

In addition to these selected youth, SoL would like to extend an invitation to Students from the Food Project. Beginning discussions for future collaboration are underway. We recently spoke with Pat Grey at the Food Project who was quite interested in participating. Pat shared that she would like to select between 3-4 Food Project students who would also need to be accompanied by a chaperone.


Project Budget – see attached Excel file


Project Partners and Sponsors

Ford Motor Company
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Native Sciences Academy
Plug Power
Pop Sustainability
Sustainability Education Center
SEED (The Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Development program)
Earth Watch


Measures of Success

Achieving our follow-up goals will be a great measure of our success this October. Things we plan to do in follow up:

Establishment of ongoing SOL Youth Engagement Steering Committee comprised of youth representatives as well as adults

· Establishment of Youth Leaders in Sustainability development program in partnership with the USPDESD [US Partnership for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development) ideally co-sponsored by and linked into other existing Youth Leadership programs

· Initiation of mentoring relationships between youth and adult forum attendees for the majority of youth participants who may not already be in a 1:1 mentoring relationship to support their development in this arena

Development of mechanism and support structures to reinforce and sustain the learnings and project related contact and coordination among the members of the youth delegation. [Ex. Seed website, coordination with Kellogg program on-line vehicles for youth participants etc]

Identification of business internship opportunities available globally for youth interested in careers with SoL member companies


SoL’s Tax Identification Number

52 2013 044

All of us from the planning committee for this program thank those at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for the consideration to help to make this possible.

With great appreciation,
Martha Brown