[Sdpg] Sacred Wheel of Water International Forum August 28-31, 2003

Sat Aug 9 00:18:52 PDT 2003

Sacred Wheel of Water International Forum August 28-31, 2003

  "The Sacred Wheel of Water: An Holistic Inquiry into the Future of Fresh 
Water," to be held from August 28-31, 2003, at the University of California 
at Santa Barbara.  The forum is designed as an interdisciplinary 
exploration of the world’s fresh water crisis, with the intention of 
developing an integrated set of proposed solutions, and a corresponding 
strategy for their implementation.

Water is the very blood of the Earth: it is the tear on the cheek of a 
child, the energy in a fuel cell, the nourishment in food, the necessary 
catalyst for the flourishing of all life. One of the greatest needs of our 
time is to recognize that immediate action is required by the rapidly 
depleting supply of fresh water, as well as develop a global constituency 
willing to take responsibility for its future preservation and wise use. An 
original and creative approach to the meeting of such a challenge is 
urgently required.

Thirty-three years after the first commemoration of Earth Day, the world’s 
environmental predicament is worse than ever. If we really wish to make 
just and sustainable living a reality, we need to make strides towards 
developing a compelling environmental vision, based upon a reverence for 
nature.
Through studying, honoring and publicizing the universally potent yet 
mysterious and enigmatic role of fresh water in the functioning of natural, 
social and symbolic systems, we are more likely to unite the intelligence, 
hearts and practical skills of all those concerned to correct the rapid 
disappearance of this vital resource.

"The Sacred Wheel of Water," will consider the fresh water problem from 
each of the twelve different perspectives outlined in the accompanying 
diagram (to view the diagram please visit our website at 
www.wheelofwater.org). To date, this approach represents the most 
comprehensive attempt to explore this topic. We intend to organize 
workshops and presentations within each of the focus areas, as well as 
panels and discussions designed to encourage participants to attempt 
innovative dialogue and applications across conventional categories of 
thought. Special attention will be given to creating a youth constituency 
for fresh water, and exploring new ideas for implementing recommendations 
that issue from the retreat.

We hope to examine some extremely controversial and difficult questions 
during our time together:

<sum> How can cultural traditions be utilized to restore a sense of 
reverence about water?
<sum> How can public education be designed to support sustainable uses of 
water?
<sum> Should water be seen as a planetary resource accessible to every being?
<sum> Can we continue to view the human use of water independently of the 
intricate ecosystem that sustains our entire planet?
<sum> Can the market play a role to ensure fresh water is provided through 
a fair and progressive system of pricing that leaves no being in need?
<sum> Who should be responsible for restoring, purifying and protecting the 
world’s fresh water from patterns of abuse that have rendered it polluted 
and scarce?
<sum> Which of the primary uses of water are wasteful and destructive to 
future generations?
<sum> Where do we draw the line between public demand, planetary necessity 
and private control?

At the conclusion of the forum, we intend to draft a comprehensive 
declaration of suggested protocols that integrates the best thinking from 
each of the focus areas we have identified. Each set of protocols will be 
accompanied with a suggested plan of action to facilitate their widespread 
dissemination, discussion and eventual adoption. The four days of 
conversation are intended to facilitate the drafting of this statement. 
Each evening, writers will attempt to put into manageable form the 
discussions that have been recorded that day.

The Walter H. Capps Invitational Forums have attracted leading thinkers, 
policy makers and agents of social change to Santa Barbara for over thirty 
years. Testimonials from past participants have demonstrated a great 
appreciation for the opportunity to join together with others who share a 
mutual interest in both probing the deepest questions of our time, and 
suggesting pathways of practical action that could improve the lives of 
future generations. We hope you will take advantage of this great 
opportunity to share in this holistic, integrated and intergenerational 
discussion for the future of fresh water and the means to secure its 
availability to the countless forms of life it supports.

All of us at the Walter H. Capps Foundation are looking forward to sharing 
this time with you. Please RSVP to Don George at (805) 565-9062; or fax 
(805) 565-0192 or email: <don at wheelofwater.org> For further information or 
to register, visit our website at www.wheelofwater.org

Best Wishes,

ROBERT MULLER, former Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations

************************************************************

Dear All

United States Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-California) would like to thank 
you for taking time from your busy schedule to participate in The Sacred 
Wheel of Water International Forum, August 28-31, in Santa Barbara.  The 
SWW Forum has been organized by the Walter H. Capps Foundation to realize 
the dream of the late Representative Walter H. Capps to conduct holistic 
educational programs on pressing public issues of critical concern to 
local, national and global constituencies.

In terms of our model (please consult our website: www.wheelofwater.org to 
view a diagram of the model we are employing), the argument about fresh 
water has been chiefly confined to only three dimensions: business and 
economics, science and technology, and law and governance. A fourth 
dimension, community health, is claimed by all sides as the beneficiary of 
their particular resolution of the problem. The SWW Forum adds eight more 
dimensions to the perspective the Walter H. Capps Foundation believes 
should be considered when tackling the fresh water issue.

Since the collapse of the Kyoto Water Summit over the question of 
privatization of water resources, various international agencies and groups 
have been searching for a way around the impasse.  The holistic model 
around which our forum is organized is a way to reformulate the fresh water 
problem to take account of more of the factors driving the various parties 
at loggerheads over what to do about the crisis.

At least five international groups are sending participants to the forum to 
study our holistic discussion model. These include UNESCO, Columbia 
University's Earth Institute, The World Parliament of Religions, Global 
Green and Rotary International. All have forums on water planned for the 
future in which they intend to take the best ideas from this four day think 
tank and use them as points of departure for their own work.

Anticipated participants number 100.  They include distinguished water 
specialists from all the twelve areas of specialization indicated on our model.
A list of confirmed and expected participants will be posted on the 
website. They include Roberto Lenton of the Earth Institute, Ambassador 
John MacDonald, Robert Muller, Jerome Delli Priscoli, F. Batmanghelidj, 
Helen Mayer Harrison, Richard Falk, Hilal Elver, Harindapaul Kaur, William 
E Marks, Yoshitaka Ohno, Marcela Olivera, Tiahoga Ruge, Robert Wilkinson, 
Patrick Bond, Mae-Wan Ho, Oren Lyon, Henry Vaux, Guy Preston, Peter 
Warshall and many others.

We also have assembled a distinguished post-production team to disseminate 
the best ideas and practices originating from this forum through video, TV, 
radio,
internet, texts and curricular materials for adult and traditional 
education. A special focus is to use the online materials as a basis for 
curricula to be
utilized by government agencies, NGOs, and religious organizations. A 
notable example of success with the latter is Africa, where online 
education through churches and mosques has proven particularly effective.

Please make a special note that The Walter H. Capps Foundation and UC Santa 
Barbara The Walter H. Capps Center have moved the Forum’s venue location to 
La Casa de Maria, situated in the foothills of Montecito, overlooking the 
Pacific Ocean.    If you have any questions, please call us at 
805-565-9062.  You may also contact the SWW coordinators: Don George 
don at wheelofwater.org, Philip Grant phil at wheelofwater.org, or Bruce L. 
Erickson bruce at wheelofwater.org

If you haven’t yet submitted a registration form please download the 
reservation form and mail or fax to:

MAIL:
La Casa de Maria
The Sacred Wheel of Water
801 Ladera Lane
Santa Barbara, Ca. 93108

FAX:
805-565-0192

As the event draws closer, look for further correspondence updating you as 
to the latest details regarding the conference.  In the interim, feel free 
to visit our website www.wheelofwater.org, as the current agenda is posted 
there.

We look forward to sharing with you four days of inspiring and fruitful 
encounter.

All the best,

Don George, Director, The Walter H. Capps Foundation

PS Due to the change in venue, please note that there are several changes 
to the registration form.  First, for those that need accommodation, 
housing will now also be at La Casa de Maria ($230 for three nights and 9 
meals).
Second, commuters are asked to pay $130 to cover the cost of conference 
facilities and meals (lunch, coffee breaks, and dinner  6 in total).  If 
you need assistance with any of these charges, please indicate so on the 
scholarship section on the registration form.

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