Please click on the questions below for more information

What is the purpose of this event?

The overall goal of Alberta Acts on Climate Change is to increase environmental citizenship in Alberta. This video conference is one way to get more people participating in decisions more of the time.

During this one-day multi-venue videoconference in March 2010, participants from rural Alberta will increase their capacity to take action on climate change. The event will assist participants in sustaining rural resource and remote (R3) communities through knowledge and technology transfer to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

After the conference, participants will understand the expected local impacts of climate change and will be familiar with how communities around Alberta are addressing climate change. The conference will offer exposure to a wide range of experiences and stories from other participants and speakers.

When is this event happening?

On March 12, 2010, from 9 am to 4 pm, over 30 communities from across Alberta will take part in a virtual conference to discuss climate change and how to take action

Where will the conference be held?

We currently have 30 participating sites in Alberta (and some out of province speakers).

Click here for the full list or click here for a map of all locations.

Who should plan to attend the event

We hope to attract audiences of active, informed or curious citizens including elected officials, opinion leaders, educators, entrepreneurs, municipal staff and sustainability advisory committee members.

What's the difference between a videoconference and a webcast?

A videoconference allows people to have a conversation almost as if they are in the same room, but in this case we have 30 rooms. Participants can ask questions or talk about their local experiences and everyone else can hear the question and the panelists reply instantaneously. The webcast will be available to everyone in their home, their office or on the Red Arrow coach, but with the technology we are using it will probably be delayed by about 30 seconds. There is no way for webcast viewers to ask questions. 

Who will be speaking at the conference?

We have four keynote speakers, two from universities outside Alberta, an energy company CEO and a grass roots activist. In addition our panelists and moderators will be drawn from 6 Albertan Universities and Colleges and from more than a dozen rural communities

Dave Sauchyn University of Regina Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative will introduce the session on  Climate change and rural Alberta at 9:15 am

Rick Kool , Royal Roads University School of Environment and Sustainability will introduce the session on Growing environmental citizenship at 10:30 am

Gary Holden , CEO Enmax Corporation will introduce the session on Local energy and distributed generation  at 1:00 pm

Michael Walters , Greater Edmonton Alliance will introduce the session on    Local energy and local organization at 2:30 pm

Click here for full details of the day's program.

How can I ask to speak or ask a question?

In each session there is time for Just-a-minute presentations, where you can take a minute to express a viewpoint or tell a local story. We also have slots for questions to each of our keynote speakers and panels. We will ask you to keep your question to 100 words at most! Please use the registration email to indicate that you want to ask a question or book a Just-a-minute slot or email.

On the day of the conference you can also tell your local host that you have a question and they will let the moderator know through our instant messaging.

What will be happening at lunchtime?

We will be providing refreshments and showing excerpts from the video "In Transition: From oil dependence to local resilience" developed by TransitionTown.org in the UK

How much does it cost to register?

The event is free and refreshments will be provided.

How can I register for the videoconference?

Please Click here for the full list or click here for a map of all locations and select a convenient location. Here you will find the address of the venue and in many cases contact information for our local host. We would like you to register using a system-generated email by clicking on the link on the local page. The event is free and refreshments will be provided.

Do I need to register for the webcast?

You should register for either the videoconference or the webcast. We are asking people to register for the webcast as we would like to track how many people are making use of this facility and we also are concerned that we might overwhelm the server providing the webcast. Please click here to register.

Can I make a donation in lieu of the registration fee?

Of course! Please give generously to your local grass-roots organization!

How can I contact my local organizer

Please check on the local listing as some of our community champions have agreed to post their contact details there. If not please email our central information desk or call Lesley at 403 220 6073 during business hours and she will forward your request. 

Can I use my own videoconference equipment?

We know its technologically possible for many of you to connect from you home, your office or even your condo in Maui but we feel that with 30 sites we are already pushing the envelop so unless there is a special reason or a large group of interested individuals we are not willing to further extend our network.

When will a recording of the event be available?.

We expect that our friends at NAIT will make the raw recording available immediately after the event but it will take us a bit longer to slice and dice it into podcasts and post them to YouTube.

Who can I contact for more information?

Please email our central information desk or call Lesley at 403 220 6073 during business hours.

What happens next?

The interest created by this event will be harnessed by the recently-approved 6-year duration SSHRC-funded Community-University Research Alliance "Alberta Climate Dialogue". The principals of Alberta Acts are co-applicants with David Kahane of the University of Alberta on this larger project. (See http://www.sshrc.ca/site/winning-recherche_subventionnee/results-resultats/2010/cura-aruc_eng.pdf (Page 19) for details).