Earth week is being marked in Ireland by a festival with a serious purpose, starting tomorrow with a "food crisis" seminar at the Dublin Food Cooperative in Pearse Street.
The aim of the festival, which has been organised by the Sustainable Ireland Co-operative, is to bring together a variety of "positive ideas, projects and initiatives that promote social justice and encourage a more ecologically sustainable way of life".
The Convergence Festival will feature films, exhibitions, international keynote speakers, theatre, music and multimedia events and some 20 workshops on themes ranging from eco-design to Third World debt and globalisation.
Earth Day will be celebrated on Sunday with a short ceremony in the Iveagh Gardens.
On Monday, at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle, a one-day conference - Designers of the Future - will explore "holistic and sustainable approaches to design" for architecture, landscape and community, and waste management.
"Technology for the Common Good" is the theme of a one-day conference at the Irish Film Centre in Temple Bar on Thursday, which will be addressed by Prof Mike Cooley, author of Architect or Bee: The human price of technology.
On Friday, at the same venue, a one-day seminar on "green and sustainable building" in Ireland will include an exhibition of commercially available eco-friendly building materials. The IFC will also be the venue on Saturday for a one-day seminar on Third World debt and globalisation. Speakers will include Michael Rowbotham, author of The Grip of Death, and Richard Dowthwaite, author of The Growth Illusion.
On Thursday evening, at the Temple Bar Music Centre, the first Schumacher Lecture to be given in Ireland will be delivered by Herbert Girardet, the acclaimed author and filmmaker, on the theme of "Sustainable Community - a Millennial Challenge".
All week, an exhibition of products from around the world made from recycled or sustainable materials will run at ENFO, in St Andrew's Street, while a fair trade exhibition will be staged at the Better World Centre beside the Viking Adventure in Temple Bar.
The festival will conclude on Sunday, April 29th, with an Earth Fair in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, featuring stalls, speakers, theatre and organic food. Further information of this and other events may be obtained from Sustainable Ireland at (01) 491 2327 or alternatively the full listing of the week's events may be accessed on the Internet at www.convergence01.org
