THE POINT FESTIVAL - Green Foundation Ireland

Green European Foundation, with the support of Green Foundation Ireland, invite you to The Point Festival / Carnsore Summer School from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th August 2013.

Following the successful Point Festival of 2012, Green European Foundation, with the support of the Green Foundation Ireland, will be returning to Carnsore Point to host a stimulating weekend of fun, debate, music, film and outdoor activities.

At a time when Ireland and the world are facing a very uncertain future, we will explore how we can prepare for and build a new future to meet the challenges that lie ahead. As with last year, a major focus of this summer weekend will be on outdoor, music and social activities.

The theme of this year’s festival is Jobs, Democracy and Europe: The Failure of Politics?

PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
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FRIDAY 23 AUGUST 2013

7:00pm to 8:45pm / REGISTRATION

7:30pm to 8:45pm / EVENING MEAL

9:00pm to 10:00pm / NUCLEAR THEME: 35th Anniversary Event of Carnsore Festival
CHAIR: Nuala Ahern (Chair of Green Foundation Ireland).
SPEAKER: Seán McDonagh (author of book “Fukushima – The Death Knell for Nuclear Energy?”).
VIDEO: RTÉ’s The Late Late Show of January 1979 about the original Carnsore Festival will be shown.

10:15pm onwards / ENTERTAINMENT
Abie Philbin Bowman (Jesus: The Guantanamo Years, Eco-Friendly Jihad, RTÉ Arena) has a plan to make fighting climate change dramatic, sexy, media-friendly and attractive to US Conservatives. Join the campaign to fight Terrorist Weather.

We have totally failed to communicate the urgency of Global Warming and Climate Change – partly because we call the problem “Global Warming” and “Climate Change”. Most people like change. The biggest group of people who don’t like change are old people – and what do old people want? For everything to be a bit warmer…

We’ve succeeded in making the worst crisis facing humanity sound like a Round-the-World package holiday… “Global Warming, Climate Change! See the Whole World: Just 3 Degrees Warmer…”

Followed by: LIVE MUSIC from THE SUBMERSIBLES.
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SATURDAY 24 AUGUST 2013

7:30am to 9:45am / BREAKFAST

10:30am to 12:30pm / JOBS THEME: Why employment isn’t working?
CHAIR: Mar Garcia (member of the Green Party in Catalonia).
SPEAKERS: Dirk Holemans (Co-Ordinator of OIKOS, the Belgian Green Foundation); Jean Lambert (UK Green MEP); Eamon Ryan (Leader of the Irish Green Party); Peter Scallan (Director of Wexford Festival Opera, and Non-Executive Director of Celtic Linen and Rosslare Europort).

12:30pm to 2:00pm / LUNCH

2:00pm to 3:00pm / WORKSHOP: Jobs.
This will be a participative workshop with practical examples of worker co-operatives.
FACILITATOR: Tommy Simpson (Director of Green Foundation Ireland).
CONTRIBUTORS: Bill Kelly (Secretary of Meitheal Mid West, which was set up to promote worker co-operatives and multi-stake co-operatives as sustainable job creation engines in the mid-west region of Ireland); Mar Garcia (member of the Green Party in Catalonia); Dirk Holemans (Co-Ordinator of OIKOS, the Belgian Green Foundation).

3:00pm to 3:50pm / FILM: Mondragón Co-Operative (which is based in Spain’s Basque Country).
INTRODUCED BY: Tommy Simpson (Director of Green Foundation Ireland).

3:00pm to 5:00pm / NATURE WALK: Around Lady’s Island Pilgrimage Route
LED BY: Jim Hurley (active naturalist, with a special interest in promoting awareness of the need to protect and conserve the natural heritage resource values of the south Wexford coast).
This will include a short talk, followed by a walk and bird watching. If the weather is inclement, Jim will show a PowerPoint presentation in the Carne Holiday Centre.

3:50pm / COFFEE BREAK

4:00pm to 5:00pm / WORKSHOP: Renewable Energy for Employment.
FACILITATORS: Brian Hurley (former chair of Energy Action and founding member of Airtricity) and Dan Boyle (former Green Party Senator and TD, who last year published “Sustainable Democratic Energy for Ireland and Europe: A case for renewables and participation”).

5:00pm to 6:00pm / WORKSHOP: Using Irish Music for Campaigning.
This workshop will be bilingual (in Irish and English).
FACILITATORS: Jim Page (he wrote “Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian Roulette”, recorded by Christy Moore and Moving Hearts) and Seán Ó Donaile (Seán will bring 3 of his music students with him).

6:30pm / OUTDOOR BARBECUE, along with music from THE OCELOTS.

7:15pm to late / ENTERTAINMENT
JIM PAGE.
CÁCA MILIS CABARET (their act will consist of an eclectic mix of song, dance, music and the spoken word, and their line-up will include singers Eleanor McEvoy and Leni Morrison, along with The Motives, Kate McKenna (belly-dancer) and a short film as Gaeilge (with subtitles) “Washed Up Love”).
CORNER BOY.
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SUNDAY 25 AUGUST 2013

8:00am / GROUP SWIM

7:30am to 9:45am / BREAKFAST

10:30am to 12:30pm / EUROPE THEME: New Europe / Old Europe
CHAIR: Eamon Ryan (Leader of the Irish Green Party).
SPEAKERS: Mar Garcia (member of the Green Party in Catalonia); Vinay Gupta (UK – UCL Institute for Security and Resilience Studies); Jean Lambert (UK Green MEP).

12:45pm / WALKING TOUR: Carnsore Wind Farm
LED BY: Michael Bermingham (Green Party member working in the energy industry).

1:30pm / END OF FESTIVAL
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CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME OF EVENTS

NOTE: CHILDREN ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THEIR PARENTS/GUARDIANS AT ALL TIMES

Ball games, board games and playground available on site.
Parents are very welcome to get involved in organising games and activities during the weekend.
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FRIDAY 23 AUGUST 2013

7:30pm to 8:45pm / EVENING MEAL

8:00pm / WELCOME MEETING and getting to know each other.
Followed by: MOVIE TIME
Bring along your favourite DVD and we will vote to see which one is shown.
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SATURDAY 24 AUGUST 2013

7:30am to 9:45am / BREAKFAST

10:30am / OUTDOOR PLAY
Until lunchtime.

12:30pm to 2:00pm / LUNCH

2:30pm to 3:00pm / TALK: by Pat McCusker (Director of Green Foundation Ireland).
Pat will give a talk about his book “Planet Dancing” (which has been described as enchantingly written, evocative stories of the author’s experience of the natural world).

5:00pm to 9:00pm / RED MOON THEATRE
This will include:
Puppet Show
Face Painting
Drama Workshop

6:30pm / OUTDOOR BARBECUE, along with music from THE OCELOTS.
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SUNDAY 25 AUGUST 2013

7:30am to 9:45am / BREAKFAST

10:30am to 12:30am / BEACH SCAVENGER HUNT
Meet in the lobby of the main building before we head to the beach.

12:45pm / WALKING TOUR: Carnsore Wind Farm
LED BY: Michael Bermingham (Green Party member working in the energy industry).
NOTE: ALL CHILDREN MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A RESPONSIBLE ADULT.

1:30pm / END OF FESTIVAL

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Carnsore Point – location of the famous festivals of the late 1970s and early 1980s, which were instrumental in halting the plans of the then Government to build a nuclear power station at that site – is arguably the birthplace of the Irish environmental movement.