We offer a variety of community classes in all aspects of sustainability. To see more, visit www.ecoversity.org

The annual series of Schumacher Lectures, held in Bristol every year since 1980, has become synonymous with the kind of deep and radical thinking on issues of sustainable and human-scale development, and its relationship to social, cultural and spiritual issues, that was pioneered by Fritz Schumacher, author of 'Small Is Beautiful', and that is vitally needed if we are to meet the huge challenges of our contemporary situation.  Schumacher Lectures have also been held for the last 9 years in Manchester, but the torch has now passed again to Leeds after a gap of 10 years; it is our intention to make this an annual event from now on.
 
The Leeds Schumacher Lectures 2006 will focus on turning the deep ideas of sustainable urban development that have emerged over the years from the Schumacher community into practice. This involves connecting the everyday lives of people with strategic decisions and vice versa. In order to achieve this, it has been decided to link the lectures to a series of follow-up weekend workshops that engage real-life issues in Leeds; the intention is to bring those directly involved with these issues into direct contact with radical, leading-edge thinking from around the world.
 
Help is requested from anyone who is able to assist with distributing publicity for the lectures and courses, either through EMail networks, via mailings, newsletters, etc, or is willing to distribute leaflets by hand.  Other volunteer help will be needed nearer the time and at the events - please contact David Midgley at david@ecodata.co.uk or by phone on 0113 262 7914 if you are able to help in any of these ways
 
The programme for the lectures and courses is as follows:
 
Susan Roaf:             Solar Cities
Lecture Sept. 15, weekend course Sept. 15-16
Susan Roaf, former professor of architecture at Oxford Brookes University, was convenor of the recent ground-breaking Solar Cities Conference. For the last ten years she has researched the relationship between energy, the environment and buildings. Not content with a merely academic approach, she built her own ground-breaking solar electric house in Oxford, the first in Britain. She publishes widely on many topics, including the traditional building technologies of developing countries, and is co-founder of the International Organisation for Teachers of Architecture.
 
Herbert Girardet:            Cities of the Future
Lecture Oct. 27, weekend course Oct. 28-29
Herbert Girardet is President of the Schumacher Society and is internationally recognised as one of the world's leading thinkers on sustainable urban development.  His long record of intensive research and practical involvement in the issues uniquely qualifies him to address the deep strategic problems of creating an authentically sustainable and humane urban environment.  As Research Director of the World Future Council, he is also uniquely qualified to comment on the crucial issue of the need for a new level of political vision and leadership in tackling the momentous issues we are now confronting.
 
Ezio Manzini:             The Sustainable Everyday
Lecture Nov. 3, weekend course Nov. 4-5
Ezio Manzini is Director of the Interdepartmental Centre for Research on Innovation for Sustainability, Milan, and is perhaps the world's leading expert on sustainable design, with a focus on solutions that encompass both environmental and social quality.  His concept of the 'Sustainable Everyday' - sharing of local initiatives that enhance quality of life and build community solidarity while contributing to environmental sustainability - has won widespread recognition as a key element in the emerging new strategies of sustainable development.
 
Peter Harper:            Building Sustainable Communities
Lecture Dec 8, weekend course Dec. 9-10
Peter Harper is Head of Research and Innovation at the Centre for Alternative Technology, Wales, where he has been involved in a unique experiment to create a sustainable community for over 25 years.  A biologist, horticulturalist and author of the Natural Garden Book, he coined the term ‘alternative technology’ in 1972 and has been a leading force in the movement since.

Times, Venues, Bookings, Costs:

Schumacher Lectures: 7.30 p.m. Fridays at Leeds Metropolitan University
Gaia Co-op Weekend courses: 10 a.m. Saturday - 2 p.m. Sunday at The Epicentre, Meanwood Valley Urban Farm
Individual lectures £7.50 (concessions £5) - all 4 lectures £25.
Weekend courses £75, (concessions £50) - entire programme £250
For further information and bookings please call 0113 262 7914  or Email info@sustainablefuturesleeds.co.uk