The organizers of the International Environment Forum’s 11th annual conference on “Responding to Climate Change: Scientific Realities, Spiritual Imperatives” recently announced a complementary event taking place during the conference on Saturday evening, October 13th, 2007 in the nation’s capital.
Co-organized by the Bahá’í Community of Ottawa and Faith and the Common Good - Ottawa, a special artistic program and interfaith celebration on the environment will be held from 7:30 – 9:00 pm at the Bronson Community Centre in Ottawa, 211 Bronson Avenue, Ottawa, Canada.
The program will include a brief keynote presentation, music and the annual Green Sacred Space Awards ceremony organized by Faith and the Common Good – Ottawa, which recognizes advances made by religious communities to create more energy efficient places of worship and to educate members of the community about ecological issues.
Another program highlight includes a unique auditory and sensory presentation entitled “The Climate Symphony” developed by scientists at the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New Hampshire and Marty Quinn, a computer scientist / gifted composer and percussionist. ‘The Climate Symphony’ is a uniquely entertaining and enlightening presentation of 110,000 years of earth’s climate history.
‘The Climate Symphony’ integrates the art of music with the science of glaciology, chemistry, and climatology. The audience is introduced to the new science and art of sonification: the transformation of data into music and sound. Marty Quinn, as creator of the software used to produce ‘The Climate Symphony’, explores the frontier of sonification using patterns of music and drumming and opens the mind to new approaches to perceiving scientific knowledge. His singular performance as actor, master percussionist, software engineer, and host combine to produce a memorable and enjoyable experience.
The Saturday evening program will also include a performance by The Otesha Project, integrating theatre, multimedia, and storytelling to engage the audience in a lively examination of how our daily choices can have a positive effect on living sustainably, conserving resources, and changing the world.
Admission is free and open to the public on a first come first seated basis. Voluntary contributions to defray expenses are welcome.