On Saturday, October 27th, Transition US will host our first-ever national online summit, bringing together Transition US community members and organizers from across the country for a day of education, inspiration, and celebration. Both groups and individuals are invited to join in the fun!

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

We will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Transition Movement in the US with an inspiring full-day program, including:

– Keynote sessions featuring international Transition Movement founder Rob Hopkins and world-renowned author, educator, and activist Margaret J. Wheatley.

– Engaging panel discussions focused on sharing some of the greatest success stories from our national network and deepening connections with the wider movement for community resilience.

– A live, interactive session with a talk by Transition US staff about the state of our movement and the presentation of several awards nominated by you, the community.

Scroll down for schedule and program details, and additional information on how to participate! Tickets available here.

HOW TO REGISTER

Registration is now available here, with flexible pricing options available for groups and individuals.

We encourage Transition groups to use this Online Summit as the basis for hosting local gatherings. Click here to download a PDF guide for how to host a local watch party for your Transition or other community resilience-building group.

Please email info@transitionus.org for more information or if you’d like to join our planning team.

Here’s to another decade of building thriving, resilient community for all!

DETAILED SCHEDULE

Below are approximate times for our livestream of this event, which requires online registration and will take place via our Zoom video-conferencing platform. Please note that if you’re planning to host a watch party in your community, all of these times (except for our live, interactive session) are flexible. Suggested schedules for organizing an event in all four North and South American time zones are included in our downloadable “How to Host a Watch Party” guide.

– Arrival and welcome: 12:45-1:00pm Eastern Time (9:45-10:00am Pacific)
– Rob Hopkins keynote: 1:00-1:45pm Eastern Time (10:00-10:45am Pacific)
– Replicable examples panel: 1:45-2:30pm Eastern Time (10:45-11:30am Pacific)
– Margaret Wheatley keynote: 2:30-3:15pm Eastern Time (11:30am-12:15pm Pacific)
– Wider movement panel: 3:15-4:00pm Eastern Time (12:15-1:00pm Pacific)
– Live, interactive session: 4:00-5:15pm Eastern Time (1:00-2:15pm Pacific)
– Visioning, discussion, and closing: 5:15-6:00pm Eastern Time (2:15-3:00pm Pacific)

PROGRAM DETAILS

Below is a list of session titles, descriptions, and presenter bios. More information will be posted here as it becomes available.

KEYNOTE 1

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON “THE TRANSITION MOVEMENT: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE”

In this lively keynote session, Transition Movement Co-Founder Rob Hopkins, Sarah McAdam, Delivery Director for Transition Network, and Don Hall, Co-Director of Transition US will explore a wide variety of themes that have emerged from the practice of Transition internationally and here in the US since its inception over a decade ago. In addition to pointing out successful strategies and common challenges, we’ll also look forward from this reflective moment to consider how the movement might continue to broaden, deepen, and scale-up its reach and positive impact over time.

Rob Hopkins: I’m a co-founder of both Transition Town Totnes and Transition Network. I’m also a serial blogger, author of The Power of Just Doing Stuff and 21 Stories of Transition, and I tweet as @robintransition. I previously wrote The Transition Handbook and The Transition Companion, and was awarded a PhD by the University of Plymouth – and more recently – Honorary Doctorates by the University of the West of England and the University of Namur. In 2012, I was voted one of the Independent’s top 100 environmentalists and one of “Britain’s 50 New Radicals.” I have appeared on BBC Radio 4’s “Four Thought” and “A Good Read,” appear in the French film phenomenon “Demain” (“Tomorrow”), have spoken at TED Global once, and at three TEDx events. I am an Ashoka Fellow, a keen gardener, one of the founders of New Lion Brewery in Totnes, and a Director of the Totnes Community Development Society, the group behind Atmos Totnes, a very ambitious community-led development project. If you’re wondering why I’m now writing a book about imagination, you can find out here.

Sarah McAdam: I play a coordinating role for Transition Network, paying attention to the overall health and strategic direction of our organisation. I’m currently working with people across the international network of Transition Hubs to design and implement innovative governance models and projects which support the sharing of power, resources, and learning across and beyond the Transition movement. I’m also a Council member for ECOLISE, the European network for community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability.

Don Hall: I have had the good fortune to participate in the Transition Movement in a variety of capacities over the past decade. Initially serving for two years as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Transition Colorado, I went on to found and direct Transition Sarasota from 2010 to 2016. A certified Transition Trainer and experienced facilitator, I was named Co-Director of Transition US in 2017. I hold a Master’s degree in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University and currently live in Sarasota, Florida.

KEYNOTE 2

INTERVIEW ON “CREATING ISLANDS OF SANITY: LEADING WELL IN THIS TIME OF INCREASING TURBULENCE”

Margaret (Meg) Wheatley is dedicated to awakening us to be leaders for this time of profound disruption, to reclaim leadership as a noble profession that creates possibility and humaneness in the midst of increasing fear and turmoil. She summons us to use our influence and power to create Islands of Sanity, to commit ourselves to engaging with compassion and insight amidst the increasing turbulence of our world.

Meg is especially interested in bringing the concept of Islands of Sanity to Transition Towns. Building on the strong identity of community that’s been established, sane leadership is the necessary next step. Sane leadership is the unshakable confidence that people can be generous, creative and kind. At this time when fear and polarization predominate, and people find it increasingly difficult to work well together, how do we create the conditions for people’s best qualities to manifest within the community on behalf of the issues we most care about?

Since 1966, Margaret Wheatley has worked globally in many different roles: a speaker, teacher, community worker, consultant, advisor, formal leader. From these deep and varied experiences, she has developed the unshakable conviction that leaders must learn how to evoke people’s inherent generosity, creativity, and need for community. As this world tears us apart, sane leadership on behalf of the human spirit is the only way forward. She is a best-selling author of nine books, from the classic Leadership and the New Science in 1992 to her newest book (June 2017) Who Do We Choose To Be? Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity.

COST

To cover the costs of producing this event while ensuring that no-one is turned away for lack of funds, we are offering a variety of different registration options for individuals and groups. Please click here to register as soon as you’re ready.

For Individuals: $15 covers our cost per person to produce this event, $5 is our minimum suggested donation, and $30 covers our cost per person while helping another person to attend on scholarship. Those who are unable to afford the $5 minimum donation are welcome to attend for free.

For Groups: We are offering a sliding scale from $20 to $200. If your group is well-resourced or you have a member who can afford to pay $200, we’d greatly appreciate it! If not, consider taking up a collection at your next meeting – just four people contributing $5 each will provide a basic level of support and you should be able to easily make this back (and then some) by turning your local event into a fundraiser for your initiative!

WATCH PARTY HOSTING GUIDE

We strongly encourage Transition groups of all sizes to use this historic summit as an opportunity to host local gatherings and watch parties. We’ve prepared this PDF guide to support you in facilitating a live event with your local community resilience-building group to celebrate 10 years of Transition in the US.

In the weeks leading up to the event, we’ll publish a listing of local Online Summit Watch Parties and other live events here on our website. If you’re planning something, let us know!

If you have any questions, or if you’d like us to list your local watch party here on our website, please email info@transitionus.org.

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD!

This movement is fully organic and 100% people-powered. Please help us make it irresistible by sharing this excellent opportunitywith your local and extended network of change-makers and resilience-builders.

Please RSVP and Share our FB event page here. 

Thanks!

~The Transition US Team