A village of engagement for healthy body, home, family and community June 21& 22, 9am-7pm, 2008 Sharon Meadow, Golden Gate Park next to the Children’s Playground and Carousel The Big ONE “village of engagement” is a gathering of people from Bay Area neighborhoods, schools, coops, nonprofits, foundations, businesses, and municipal agencies. Participants will design, envision, collaborate, and dialog with new friends about the future of their neighborhoods and communities. Prepare for the challenging times ahead; come, be heard, and engage. You can set up a table or an interactive exhibit to collaborate and share information and/or do a workshop, presentation, forum, art project, or hands-on demonstration of sustainable skills. We provide the space — a large grassy area with open-air tents, a media tent, and a stage for music encircling a larger gathering tent for food and socializing. Fill the space with your dreams.

This is a 100% noncommercial event; nothing will be for sale. Bring picnic food and drink, plates, cups, and utensils for an enormous zero-waste potluck. We will have storytellers and games, and an eclectic mix of live music will be performed throughout each day. The Big ONE movement represents a tectonic shift in thinking toward sustainability awareness and action, civic engagement, and localization of culture, economy, and decision-making. Based on respect for all life and the planet that sustains us, the gathering provides opportunities to build community through dialogue, committed engagement, and trust. We are using the Wiser Earth platform to organize, plan, and co-create the event. http://www.beautifulcommunities.org

Who we are: We are Bay Area residents from diverse social and ethnic backgrounds. The seeds of inspiration for this movement were planted in 2005 during the week-long celebration of World Environment Day in San Francisco, which coincided with the 60th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. A small group of people who felt the need to move beyond a celebration, continued the dialogue about how to develop awareness around sustainability issues. In 2006 we started gathering every three weeks to discuss community and sustainability. We decided to host an annual convergence that would bring together people from all walks of life. In order to reach the full spectrum of the diverse community that inhabits the Bay Area, we focused our vision on the elements needed by all life. We all need clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and healthy soil to grow food. We all want inspiring education, decent housing, meaningful relationships, and a culture in which all life is respected and all voices are heard. Over the past three years 110 people have flowed in and out of our gatherings. No one person owns this vision. The Big ONE is a collaborative, democratic embodiment of what we, as engaged members of our communities can create. It belongs to all of us. Come experience and participate. “The New Me is We.”

Partners: * Architects, Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility * Ecology Center of San Francisco * Global Exchange * Peace Every Day * Permaculture Guild * San Francisco Department of the Environment * Urban Alliance for Sustainability * World Savvy * Wiser Earth * 350.org * People’s Grocery