The mission of the Green Mountain Global Forum is to bring knowledgeable
and thought-provoking speakers to address significant issues of our
day. We hope to deepen knowledge, foster a greater link of understanding
and compassion with the outside world, and inspire change and action.
We strive to reach a broad audience by promoting our events widely,
ensuring the events are free of charge through our fundraising efforts,
and welcoming the support and participation of the community.
Since 2002, the Green Mountain Global Forum has played a vital role
in bringing thought-provoking speakers to address key global issues
at intimate local venues in the Mad River Valley. We'd like to tell
you our story of how we began. It's a story of kitchen table activism.*
We are living in extraordinary times of complex and urgent global
issues. The events of September 11th 2001 compelled us to open our
eyes, to ask hard questions about the forces sweeping our world, to
search for understanding beyond what was presented in the mainstream
media. Sifting through layers of information came to require a tremendous
commitment of time that none of us had an abundance of.
In the fall of 2002, a small group in the Valley gathered to study
and discuss some complex issues we hoped to better understand. We
guessed there were others who had a similar desire to become more
informed. We felt a public forum would provide an opportunity for
our community to hear the perspectives of people who knew an issue
deeply — and whose authentic and unique voices would enrich
our understanding of their topics in a manner that only live presentations
can do. We hosted our first speaker event to a packed house at the
Round Barn on a snowy evening in November, 2002: "Pipeline Politics"
with authors Charlotte Dennett and Gerald Colby. The Green Mountain
Global Forum was born.
Since that evening in November, we have hosted 5 - 6 presentations
a year on a wide range of topics to a very engaged public from the
Valley and surrounding communities.
*Kitchen table activism: "Never underestimate the ability
of a small group of committed individuals to change the world. Indeed
they are the only ones who ever have." - Margaret Mead
As an organization we seek to:
- Choose topics for presentations that are timely and significant
global issues, with anticipated interest to the general public.
- Seek speakers who have a thorough knowledge of the issue, are
comfortable in front of an audience, and capable of presenting balanced
and thought-provoking perspectives.
- Inspire higher levels of public involvement by increasing awareness
of issues and fostering connections in the community. We also ask
our speakers to address ways in which audience members may be able
to get involved.
- Choose venues with a level of intimacy that encourages discussion.
- Appeal to a broad audience in our Vermont community — including
different ages, genders, cultures and socio-economic classes.
- Keep our events free and accessible to the public through fundraising
efforts.
- Promote our events widely through local newspapers, flyers, radio,
cable TV, email lists, and word of mouth.
Deb van Dyke, Marge Keough, Liz Levey, Laura Brines, Tara Hamilton,
Anne Bordonaro
Green Mountain Global Forum
P.O. Box 733
Waitsfield, VT 05673
Email
