Skypecast Trials: Particpant notes and Agenda

Zero CO2 conferences: Participant notes and Agenda

Participation notes for New Mobility Zero CO2 conferences

These free audio conferences are open to all comers, but we ask you kindly to review this agenda and background materials before taking active part.

Summary:
You are invited to join the first of what we hope will become a regular weekly series of public conversations on key issues and strategies to support to the huge CO2 reduction target set by the Clinton Climate Initiative and the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group - with specific reference to how we can help people to get around better in all respects in our cities. This is of course the stuff of the New Mobility Agenda, complete with its dogged insistence on the importance of our concentrating on the 2-4 year period directly ahead. (We leave the rest to the others more competent in these longer range matters.) This takes the form of a Skypecast, and which if these first trials work we intend possibly to organize on a regular weekly basis and specific topics of concern. They cost nothing and if we get together to put our collective brains on this, we should get some very useful results. Read on if this strikes a spark:
What is a Skypecast?
A new group communications tool just announced by Skype which I think we can put to work for our good cause. Read all about it at http://www.skype.com/help/guides/skypecasts.html .
- Here in their words is the rundown: "Skypecasts are large, hosted calls on Skype. Let your opinion be heard on subjects close to your heart in groups of up to 100 people participating from anywhere in the world."
- We rough trialed it last week and found it a platform which we think we all can build on and put to work to advance our joint concerns.
- If this gives satisfaction we propose to organize an open weekly group conversation in which we can not only get together to air the issues and our ideas for how to do better. Our focus in this first cycle of meetings will be our eventual contributions to the in support of Clinton Climate Initiative and Large Cities Climate Leadership Group and their important efforts to curb greenhouse gases by very significant amounts and in the near term future (i.e., the next few years).
- Make sure that you check the guidelines for participation, just to be sure that it is a comfortable experience for you and the others.
Participation Guidelines:
Sign in to get a Skype account at www.skype.com -- takes less than five minutes, costs nothing and is secure and easy to use. But you will need broadband to be comfortable. And make sure you get their latest version, 3.0, which is necessary for the conference.
- When you sign in to Skype the first time, please be so kind as to tailor your "Profile" and add your name, city, country, and if possible put in a small photo (you will see what this is important once we start to meet together on this.) (I also tend to put in my regular phone numbers in my profile just in case I am not on line with Skype so that you can call me directly if useful.)
- Once you have it installed and have checked it out, you can then call me via newmobility (ericbritton also works just fine) and we can test and tune your link.
- You will then automatically the periodic notices announcing future New Mobility World Conversations - and the time and topic interests you, sign in and participate.
Before you take the floor:
When you are ready to speak, you are asked to do three things as you come on the air so that we can ensure best use of time: (a) first, introduce yourself in a chat link to me indicating your name, organization if any, city, and country. Also (b) please assure us in a word that you have consulted this agenda and the main program site. Then off you go.
- Interventions will be limited to 3-5 minutes max, and we thank you in advance for being concise.
- On the other hand, you may wish to make a longer presentation to the group. No problem, in that case we would ask you to get in touch in advance and give us an idea of the topic or issues you wish to address, and how much time you think you will need. If needed, we can fine tune this together.
- In the second half of this session, we invite comments and suggestions on the present Skypecast meeting, with a view to seeing if we can refine its organization so as to make it into a more useful way of getting together to exchange views, ideas and suggestions.
Some words in closing
The meeting is being moderated by Eric Britton. If you have any questions or suggestions, you are invited to contact him with through Skype (address: ericbritton) or email: eric.britton@newmobility.org.
Language: For these first sessions, we will be using English, but this des not stop us from organizing World Conversations in other languages. But a caution here for English language mother tongue speakers. Many of our colleagues have English as a second, third or more language, and it is important that we show our respect for them by: speaking slowly, articulating clearly, avoiding the use of jargon, and yes please! we really need to avoid that might appear to native speakers as humor or even irony. What may be funny to your culture may be incomprehensible or even offensive to others. And as to politics, we do not address specific political personalities in these conversation and certainly not in a derogatory manner. So if you wan to blow off steam about Bush, Chirac or your other least favorite leader of the day, please to it elsewhere.
In the early sessions, w would ask you to be patient and cheerfully experimental in your attitude. There will be glitches and occasional strangeness, of that we can be sure. But with your good attitude and support we really should be able to do something useful with all this - even from the very beginning. So call it up on your computer, go make yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee, get comfortable, lean back and join the action. Don't be shy when you have something to add, just ask for the mike and for sure I will hand it to you. (That said succinctness is a great courtesy, as always in meetings of any kind).
Have an idea for a session or would you like to make a presentation in one of the Conversations (five minute max please)? - get in touch via email and we can work it out together.
And always, please do not hesitate to let me know what needs to be fixed or somehow adjusted to make this a better and more creative experience all around. Thanks in advance for that. Finally, it would be kind if, once the meeting is over, you might send an email or chat message to the moderator with your reflections and suggestions for future sessions.

We appreciate your participation and hope you find this a good way to grow your knowledge and contacts on this most important subejct.

Eric Britton

- - - > Zero CO2 events being organized to support program

9 February: Zero CO2 Conference 1:

Theme: Supporting the Clinton/Large Cities Initiative
First full Skypecast conference to discuss and comment the New Mobility support program in general terms, and at the same time looking into how we can refine this set of free conferencing tools to better support that and other New Mobility initiative. Click here for agenda and quick background information on this open, virtual and still experimental moderated voice conference that will be looking into CO2 strategies in our chosen area of responsibility. (So just before 14:00 GMT on 9 Feb. fire up Skype 3.0 on your broadband connection, get comfortable, check in, and think of all the CO2 you are not farting into the atmosphere today.)

13 February Zero CO2 Conference 2:

Theme: Supporting the Clinton/Large Cities Initiative
Same basic agenda as above, but this round timed and aimed to bring in colleagues from the Sustran Global South Network, most of whom are in the Asia/Pacific area which brings in its own scheduling constraints which we will as always solve together. (Opens in own window.)

February: Zero CO2 Conference 3: (Date to be set by group))

Road Pricing/Congestion Charging: Best choice for your city?

Click here for initial program announcement and first details. You can also usefully consult the Road Pricing sessions (left menu link) under the forthcoming New Mobility Dialogues (see below)

Sustainable Cities/New Mobility Policy Dialogues, 29-31 March

29-31 March. Sustainable Cities/New Mobility Policy Dialogues This time there is a bit of CO2 that to be spewed as the second Sustainable Cities/New Mobility Policy Dialogues are convened in Monaco in the last days of March. But the Clinton/Large Cities Initiative will be at the heart of the proceedings, so if we work hard and smart enough we should be able to justify this infrequent (for us all I hope) physical get-together in support of our great common cause.

It is our firm position here at the New Mobility Agenda -- and it is that of President Clinton who is leading the charge on this at a critical time-- that there can be no more dallying and that it is the cities of the world that detain both the bulk of the challenge and the greater possibilities of doing something about the CO2 build-up and al l that it is leading to. But this is not just a matter of rearranging the old furniture. It is a massive emergency challenge, which now has to be put on the top line of public policy considerations and action. Anything else is cowardice, hypocrisy, or both.

With this in view the decision has been taken today (29 Jan. 2007) to consecrate the third and final day of the forthcoming "Sustainable Cities/New Mobility Policy Dialogues" conference, which is to take place in Monaco from 29 March - 1 April in Monaco, to support as best we can in this European public forum the Clinton Climate/Cities Initiative. The goal is to open up discussions of the potential role of European cities, both as a source of information and examples of good practices specifically in the context of the Clinton Initiative, but also how it is now necessary to accelerate this ongoing transformation in pour cities here in Europe. There is huge room for progress, as you will quickly see in the Sustainable Cities Ladder discussions under the Thinking Exercise here.

(And bear in mind that on the bottom line all the cities of the world, even the leaders, are for now continuing to fail the C02 test. Yours included. So it is time for all of us to really get down to work on this. Come to Monaco in March and become part fo the solution.)

First background information to help orient you on this:

Click here for details on the Monaco "Sustainable Cities/New Mobility Policy" program.
And here for the Sustainable Cities Ladder discussions under the Thinking Exercise.

Your comments and suggestions are going to be most welcome to help in this wide open challenge. Click here to send them on.