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PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE 12TH CONFERENCE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FORUM
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The
conference this year was a unique partnership between the International
Environment Forum and the European Baha'i Business Forum, combining
memberships and exploring common concerns about the role of business in
sustainability. It was held at the de Poort Conference Centre in the
Netherlands where EBBF traditionally holds its annual conference. From
the first day's registration to the final lunch, business people and
ecologists, young and old, shared a very rich experience.
. 
The conference was opened by Wendi Momen for EBBF and Victoria Thoresen for IEF
EBBF Secretary General Daniel Truran helped to get things started, and IEF General
Secretary Sylvia Karlsson provided an opening keynote on the conference
theme "Growth or Sustainability? Defining, Measuring and Achieving
Prosperity"
Daniel Truran 
Sylvia Karlsson
There were a variety of interactive formats to make it easier for all
the participants to get to know each other and to share their
experience and concerns
. 
Finnish television personality Aram Aflatuni interviewed some of the
presenters, including Diana Cartwright from the Canadian Department of
Environment, Lucy Symons from Australia, in charge of external affairs
at AIESEC International, and Gordon Naylor, a Canadian educational
entrepreneur.
Aflatuni & Cartwright 
Lucy Symons
Gordon Naylor
Three angles to sustainability were provided by Rebecca Mesbah, Shervin
Setareh and Yves Garenne, followed by a panel moderated by Shoghi
Emerson
Rebecca Mesbah 
Shervin Setareh
Yves Garenne 
Shoghi Emerson and the panel
Emily Firth organized a project room where projects requiring
inputs or open to discussion with conference participants could be
presented
Emily Firth 
.
In the Sustainability Islands world café session, critical issues were discussed more informally
. 
Extended mealtimes provided the opportunity for individual exchanges
and networking, always one of the most valuable parts of the conference
. 
. 
. 
Stephen Karnik of the Baha'i International Community provided a human
perspective on true prosperity, and IT entrepreneur John Patterson
provided a business perspective on favouring the future
Steve Karnik 
John Patterson
An afternoon "Walk the Talk" exercise in the forest organized by Mika
Korhonnen and Sylvia Karlsson challenged teams to show their
environmental knowledge
Mika and Sylvia 
. 
Project presentations included some from Macedonia and Spain
. 
Friday evening concert by renowned pianist Nancy Lee Harper followed by the music and sounds from Finland to the Altai mountains offered by Janne Lemettinen and Aram Aflatuni
Nancy Lee Harper 
Aram Aflatuni & Janne Lemettinen
Two
sets of workshops provided time for detailed discussion of various
themes of the conference such as indicators of sustainability, green
construction projects, moral and ethical frameworks in business, gender
balance, growth and profits, generative change leadership, renewable
energy, fighting corruption, spreading values through the media,
careers and sustainable consumption.
. 
Among the EBBF leaders present were President George Starcher, Mahmud Samandari and Daniel Truran, Secretary-General
George Starcher & Mahmud Samandari 
Daniel Truran
The "World Talk" roundtable Saturday evening led by Wendi Momen provided a dynamic exchange with many of the presenters
. 
. 
The Saturday Night Live session with Augusto Lopez Claros was one of the highlights of the conference
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Last updated 7 January 2009