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International Affairs Conference at Star Island
Submitted by Mark McPeak on Wed, 08/03/2005 - 5:02am.
Now, picture this hotel on an island off the coast of New Hampshire, in splendid isolation, with seabirds and sun and waves. An island you can walk around in two hours, scampering across the rocks. Finally, add to this vision something very unique. You are immersed with a group of people dedicated to reflecting on and debating -- in the company of a handful of experts in the subject -- a critical issue of the times, each adding a piece of the puzzle day by day.
Star Island, one of a group of islands known as the Isles of Shoals, is just like that. Lying a few miles off the coast of New Hampshire, Star Island may as well be in another century -- and that’s a good thing!
Every year, a series of conferences takes place at Star Island on a variety of topics -- from a Young Adults Conference early in the summer through a set of Unitarian Universalist-related conferences such as Religious Education Week, Elderhostels, and Yoga week.
I was fortunate to be invited as a speaker to this year’s International Affairs Conference, which focuses annually on a particular topic of global significance. The IA Conference has taken place since 1897, in its present form since 1958. The theme for 2005 was "Food Security: Global Challenge to People, Cultures, and Nations."
A typical IA Conference day begins, bright and early, with a "polar bear swim," where the brave compete to spend the most time immersed in the chilly Atlantic waters that surround Star Island. After a morning stretch and breakfast, morning chapel takes place. We were fortunate to have, as minister of the week, a gifted storyteller and spiritual leader, Bob Thayer. His talks were moving, funny, and inspirational, all at the same time.
The centerpiece of each day is the theme-related talk from each speaker. Five speakers were invited this year: Ellen Messer, from George Washington University, gave the keynote address, surveying the global food-security situation; Sara Sievers, from the Association Francois Xavier Bagnoud, talked about the Millenium Development Goals and the relation of hunger, poverty, and HIV/AIDS; I spoke about what NGOs are doing to address food security; Brian Tokar, from the Institute for Social Ecology, talked about genetically-modified organisms; and Jim Slama, editor and founding publisher of Conscious Choice, outlined the increasing role of organic and local food production. At the end of the week, we organized a panel discussion to wrap things up.
Workshops took place in the afternoons, including art, yoga, journaling, and singing. Coming from UUSC, and being an invited speaker, however, I found every moment was spent in fascinating dialogue about issues of justice and human rights, such as food security, U.S.-sponsored torture, and a range of other topics.
A different film was shown every evening. Each focused on food security, examining the effect of globalization on food security, genetic modification of plants, animals, and humans, and even including the recent film, Supersize Me.
It’s clear to me from the workshops, films, and discussions, that our food system is in critical condition. As Amartya Sen has shown, famine never takes place in countries with governments that are accountable to the people, and where there is a free media. But in today’s globalized world, the only multinational regulator overseeing corporations such as Monsanto is the World Trade Organization, whose mandate is certainly not to eliminate hunger. And the mainstream media, with its 24-hour news cycle and short attention span, is simply not reporting the story of the 600 million people who are hungry today, in a world in which there is enough food.
Factory-farming methods are introducing massive quantities of chemicals and toxins, not to mention genetically-modified material whose safety has not been proven and whose introduction is driven by the corporate drive for profit rather than any increase in food yields or quality.
Several "Timely Topics" were included during the week. I conducted a session on UUSC's STOP (Stop Torture Permanently) Campaign. After showing a videotaped introduction by STOP Campaign Director Jennifer Harbury, I facilitated a question-and-answer session. The group also took part in a Citizen’s Indictment ceremony, gathering over 60 signatures in support of taking action against U.S.-sponsored torture.
Strong support for the STOP Campaign was evident both from the audience as well as from the world around Star Island: just before beginning the STOP session, a severe storm swept from the mainland, bringing with it some very dramatic lightning and thunder. Even the natural world seemed to be angry at our government’s sponsorship of the abhorrent practice of torture.
This year’s conference chairman, Lloyd Yanis, did a thoroughly professional job in organizing and conducting the conference, an enormous job that Lloyd made look easy.
I felt honored to be invited to speak at Star Island. It was a priceless opportunity to share insights, learn from some of this country’s foremost authorities, and to connect with a very special place and unique group of people.
Imagine traveling back to the late 19th century and visiting one of those old resort hotels, without television or e-mail, where showers are only available on Tuesdays and Fridays, and there’s always somebody playing sing-along tunes on the piano in the lobby. All generations are present, from children attending art classes to grandparents remembering those art classes 40 years back. (photo by Charlie Behrens)
Now, picture this hotel on an island off the coast of New Hampshire, in splendid isolation, with seabirds and sun and waves. An island you can walk around in two hours, scampering across the rocks. Finally, add to this vision something very unique. You are immersed with a group of people dedicated to reflecting on and debating -- in the company of a handful of experts in the subject -- a critical issue of the times, each adding a piece of the puzzle day by day.
Star Island, one of a group of islands known as the Isles of Shoals, is just like that. Lying a few miles off the coast of New Hampshire, Star Island may as well be in another century -- and that’s a good thing!
Every year, a series of conferences takes place at Star Island on a variety of topics -- from a Young Adults Conference early in the summer through a set of Unitarian Universalist-related conferences such as Religious Education Week, Elderhostels, and Yoga week.
I was fortunate to be invited as a speaker to this year’s International Affairs Conference, which focuses annually on a particular topic of global significance. The IA Conference has taken place since 1897, in its present form since 1958. The theme for 2005 was "Food Security: Global Challenge to People, Cultures, and Nations."
A typical IA Conference day begins, bright and early, with a "polar bear swim," where the brave compete to spend the most time immersed in the chilly Atlantic waters that surround Star Island. After a morning stretch and breakfast, morning chapel takes place. We were fortunate to have, as minister of the week, a gifted storyteller and spiritual leader, Bob Thayer. His talks were moving, funny, and inspirational, all at the same time.
The centerpiece of each day is the theme-related talk from each speaker. Five speakers were invited this year: Ellen Messer, from George Washington University, gave the keynote address, surveying the global food-security situation; Sara Sievers, from the Association Francois Xavier Bagnoud, talked about the Millenium Development Goals and the relation of hunger, poverty, and HIV/AIDS; I spoke about what NGOs are doing to address food security; Brian Tokar, from the Institute for Social Ecology, talked about genetically-modified organisms; and Jim Slama, editor and founding publisher of Conscious Choice, outlined the increasing role of organic and local food production. At the end of the week, we organized a panel discussion to wrap things up.
Workshops took place in the afternoons, including art, yoga, journaling, and singing. Coming from UUSC, and being an invited speaker, however, I found every moment was spent in fascinating dialogue about issues of justice and human rights, such as food security, U.S.-sponsored torture, and a range of other topics.
A different film was shown every evening. Each focused on food security, examining the effect of globalization on food security, genetic modification of plants, animals, and humans, and even including the recent film, Supersize Me.
It’s clear to me from the workshops, films, and discussions, that our food system is in critical condition. As Amartya Sen has shown, famine never takes place in countries with governments that are accountable to the people, and where there is a free media. But in today’s globalized world, the only multinational regulator overseeing corporations such as Monsanto is the World Trade Organization, whose mandate is certainly not to eliminate hunger. And the mainstream media, with its 24-hour news cycle and short attention span, is simply not reporting the story of the 600 million people who are hungry today, in a world in which there is enough food.
Factory-farming methods are introducing massive quantities of chemicals and toxins, not to mention genetically-modified material whose safety has not been proven and whose introduction is driven by the corporate drive for profit rather than any increase in food yields or quality.
Several "Timely Topics" were included during the week. I conducted a session on UUSC's STOP (Stop Torture Permanently) Campaign. After showing a videotaped introduction by STOP Campaign Director Jennifer Harbury, I facilitated a question-and-answer session. The group also took part in a Citizen’s Indictment ceremony, gathering over 60 signatures in support of taking action against U.S.-sponsored torture.
Strong support for the STOP Campaign was evident both from the audience as well as from the world around Star Island: just before beginning the STOP session, a severe storm swept from the mainland, bringing with it some very dramatic lightning and thunder. Even the natural world seemed to be angry at our government’s sponsorship of the abhorrent practice of torture.
This year’s conference chairman, Lloyd Yanis, did a thoroughly professional job in organizing and conducting the conference, an enormous job that Lloyd made look easy.
I felt honored to be invited to speak at Star Island. It was a priceless opportunity to share insights, learn from some of this country’s foremost authorities, and to connect with a very special place and unique group of people.
