summer camp

So last summer I attended the Eco Summer Camp whose goal...well I'll let it speak for itself. From the website:

The Eco Summer Camp is an interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and cross-generational summer school dedicated to exploring sustainability. Together with leading experts, participants will engage in discussions on pressing global ecological and socio-economic challenges. The program will delve into sustainable strategies for addressing these issues, as well as practical ways to transform our own habits for a more sustainable future.

Which says everything and nothing, right? It breaks down like this:

• interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary: anything under the broad umbrella of sustainability is fair game, from psychology to charity work to engineering solutions to corporate greenness
• cross-generational: it costs a lot to put this on, so it's good to have some people in the mix who can pay a bit more than your average university student
• summer school: the model here (I didn't understand this until later) is the university summer course - there's a whole website of these - and particularly the kind where [grad] students and professors board together so there's time for interaction outside the classroom
• leading experts: friends and contacts of the guy whose brainchild this was (and who has many,  many friends and contacts, though the ones considered "experts" skew noticeably white and male)
• engage in discussions: listen to lectures, mostly, though there are conversations at mealtimes
• delve into sustainable strategies: not so much delving as you'd hope...generally there are two lecturers a day, so things don't go much deeper each person's research overview / sales pitch
• practical ways to transform our habits: the food is vegan
• note also: in English. A huge plus for me, a necessary inconvenience for most of the other participants.

No mention is made of the Jesuits, who organize and offer the Summer Camp, presumably to maintain an academic focus and not scare anyone off with religion. Which is understandable except that in the course of the week I learned that many if not most of the participants had some connection to the Jesuits, not to mention that the whole thing took place in a Jesuit retreat center with more crosses than clocks. To me this elephant-in-the-room approach to religion felt awkward and vaguely dishonest, though I suppose that's the pot calling the kettle black, or perhaps pure projection. Q: how do *I* reconcile my religious practice with my belief in inclusivity? A: awkwardly and vaguely dishonestly...

Do I regret going? Not at all. It was so, so nice to be able to speak English in public without guilt. I met some lovely people with whom I'll (with some luck) stay in touch and (with a lot of luck) maybe work in the future. I didn't have to cook for a whole week. I got to feel like an adult, even at times a like productive member of society. The lectures and activities were...well a bit like the weather in England, occasionally muddy but if you didn't like one you just needed to wait an hour.

But I do wish they'd put me in charge. Ha. That's not even true, but I absolutely wish they'd let me help. Normally I'm perfectly content to snark from the sidelines but this has so much potential! And I have so many ideas! 

• Transdisplinary? Sure, but with a different focus every year so that depth and cross-pollenation has a chance to happen (and people have a reason to come back). 
• Intergenerational? Absolutely, and lots more participatory work so that the participants have a chance to learn from each other, not just from the people at the front of the room. 
• Experts? More diverse voices, fewer lectures, more time for rest and reflection. PowerPoint strongly discouraged. 
• Summer school? I don't see the point in forcing an academic model. Let's look honestly at the strengths of the sponsors and the organizers and play to those instead. 
• That means: looking at religion and spirituality? YES. Even though it's fraught, maybe even risky. The leadership team may well protest: but we offered three (3) parallel meditation sessions every morning before breakfast! Something for everyone! What do you want from us?! I want to know what inclusive spiritual practice looks and feels like, because I think it is an essential element of the sustainable future we want to create. And if this isn't the place to work on this, where is it going to happen? (A: quit complaining and get to work, Rev. Dr. Black Pot 🙄)

more like this please