In American colleges, being part of “Greek” culture means that you’re part of a fraternity or sorority (and, by extension, that you usually engage in lots of drinking and debauchery). In Israel, this has been lost in translation. Like, really lost.
As of Friday, November 28 being part of “Greek” culture in Israel will mean participating in a Green Geek Unconference. There may be debauchery, but it’s sure to be environmentally friendly.
The unconference will be held at the Bank Hapoalim Training Center at the Shefayim Hotel in central Israel. It is being sponsored by “Greek” – a grass roots cleantech for the people who know what is needed and the people who know how it’s done. Greeks aims are to expose and inspire creative minds to thinking about environmental solutions, serve as a meeting place for people of various disciplines who share the same philosophy, allow for new ideas to evolve, enable people to mingle and network, and, of course, to have fun.
The unconference will have lots of different interactions going on:
Discussions: During the short 10 minute discussions, participants will have the opportunity to present ideas in an open forum. Topics that will be discussed include gray water systems, energy efficiency, energy from hot asphalt, environmental calculators, smart polyculture, energy scavenging, and Ecologation (a civilization-type game demonstrating sustainable processes).
Talks: Longer 30 minute talks will be a chance for people to present or teach something that they are involved with. Talk topics include Greek startups, green strategies, waste degradation solutions, cooperatives, car sharing, and energy independence.
Workshops: During the workshops participants will be able to teach others a tangible, environmentally friendly skill such as composting or building your own wind turbine.
Movies: A movie room will be screening environmental films all day, for those who are tired of discussing, talking, and workshoping. A movie about Car2Go – Tel Aviv’s car sharing service – will be one of them.
Cooking: On the flip side, if you’re tired of discussing, talking, and workshoping you can also choose to lead or participate a cooking project and make something that is delicious, healthy, and green.
Projects: Lastly, if there are any projects you would like to create, such as building a solar oven or a paper recycler, participants can let the Greek organizers ahead of time so that they can get the equipment and tools ready.
If you think this conference sounds cool, check out other interesting conferences we’ve featured recently on Green Prophet
Environmental Conference for Imams Challenges Israeli Muslims to Go Green
Jordanian Ministry of the Environment Launches Eco-Cities of the Mediterranean Forum 2008
Conference on Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility in Tel Aviv
FoEME to Hold Conference on Shared Mountain Aquifer
Ernst & Young Holding GreenEconomy Conference in Tel Aviv
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
