Sharing Stories, Sharing One World

International delegates put their heads together to envision a sustainable future

Inspiring things can happen when community leaders from around the world are brought together to talk about sustainability. On June 13, Falls Brook Centre hosted a Human Development Gallery event for the New Brunswick public. It showcased a range of humanitarian work that is being carried out by partner organizations associated with Falls Brook Centre and the Institute of Cultural Affairs International (ICA-I). Present were representatives of human development and environmental organizations from Cameroon, Bangladesh, Mexico, Costa Rica, Egypt, Peru, Chile and Honduras. They have spent the past two weeks taking part in the international Tools for Change: Sustainability in Practice conference in Knowlesville, and there seems to be no limit of things to talk about.
The fact that they come from countries scattered all across the globe has not prevented participants from finding common ground in their work and learning from each others’ experience. Despite different cultural and political contexts, these community leaders have made many connections with one another. As Assem Kamal, the Director of ICA Middle East and North Africa, puts it, the meeting has been “an excellent opportunity to gather with many different people working in development all over the world. Everybody is sharing their stories… and this helps us to learn and better understand [our own work].”
Giselle Buchan, from the Mexican Organic Markets Network, agrees that hearing stories from other project leaders has been beneficial. “I’ve been able to find out how sustainability is integrated into existing projects and organizations, and gotten some ideas of how to get people more involved and committed to change [in my own country].”

This group of leaders boasts a formidable collection of projects and accomplishments: restoration of communities affected by natural disasters in Bangladesh and Peru, the development of a network of organic markets in Mexico, forest biodiversity restoration in Costa Rica and Cameroon, sustainable waste management systems in urban Honduras, integration of physically disabled youth into mainstream society in Chile, and income-generation training projects in Bangladesh, to name a few.  

These and other achievements, however, do not come without challenges. Benoit Ndameu, of ICA Cameroon, explains that being a community organizer and leader in sub-Saharan Africa is not always easy. Efforts at improving the wellbeing of communities tend to be undermined by corrupt politics, social apathy and a lack of financial resources. ICA-Cameroon’s project, which addresses the underlying causes of forest loss in this west African country, will seek to empower forest-dependent communities to make sustainable use of their resources, and also to push for more just forest policies.

Ndameu’s community is not alone in its mission to sustain its forest ecosystems. After meeting Milo Bekins, a Costa Rica-based analog forester, Ndameu learned about the International Analog Forestry Network (IAFN), which Bekins co-founded in 1996 as an answer to restoring degraded landscapes. The two men hope to collaborate in future projects and are exploring the possibility of linking ICA-Cameroon to the IAFN.

Newly-formed partnerships like this one are only the beginning of what conference participants will bring home with them. Education, one could say, lies at the heart of all of these initiatives; education for children, for technicians, for leaders and the underprivileged alike will continue to drive community development efforts forward. Says Laura Matamala of ICA Chile, “We are learning every day. When I get home I’m hoping to prepare a program for youth that will integrate both disabled and able youth into a program about sustainability and community development.”

Coming out of two weeks of facilitated conversations, participants will all be returning to their communities with an array of new tools for envisioning a cooperative future, inviting dialogue between community members, and training new leaders. Their stay at Falls Brook Centre, a sustainable living demonstration site, was also an eye-opener for some. Aziz Rahman of Bangladesh was impressed by the use of solar and wind energy on site. “I am now more conscious of renewable energy and sustainability. Before I didn’t think about how much water I was using in my shower, but now, yes!” Rahman took part in an Energy Empowerment workshop and learned how to install photovoltaic panels.

The bottom line? Sustainability is about finding a balance between the needs of the people and the needs of the environment. The group of delegates have produced, with the combined experiences of their communities, a Global-Local Sustainability Platform, which encompasses the following seven points:

1. Responsible and equitable resource management
2. Strategic Participatory Planning
3. Accountable Local Governance
4. Valued Cultures and Shared Learning
5. Participatory Leadership
6. Autonomous Locally-Driven Development
7. Ecologically Viable Livelihoods

“If your vision is for one year, plant wheat. If your vision is for three years, plant trees. If your vision is for a lifetime, teach people.”