The 10th International Ecocity Conference Nantes, France, September 23-27, 2013

http://www.ecocitybuilders.org/what-we-do/intl-conference-series/

The Deputy Mayor of the City was sitting next to the MoS Collective table. I overheard amongst the french words “Americans” twice. So I had to interrupt. They were wondering how many Americans would come. They asked me if Americans would come. “Well, I will be there,” I said. At the end of our short exchange, Mr. Dantec looked to his colleagues and replied that they should contact the UN for help bringing the US contingency over to the conference.

What do you think? How could they entice the Americans to attend the 10th Annual Ecocities Conference? How many of us would go? How can we involve more people?  Who do we tell? What alliances can we make with Nantes?  How can we help?

The Deputy Mayor of Nantes, Ronan Dantec, showed a rather fast-paced, MTV-esque video promotion. The video was very youth oriented, full of skateboards, drums, and the city’s interactive art installations.

Here are at least one of their alliances in the US.  They are a sister city with Seattle! Interesting.

http://www.seattle-nantes.org/
Nantes, one of France’s regional capitals, is a major seaport near the mouth of the Loire River in northwest France. The city grew around the Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne where the Edict of Nantes was signed in 1598 granting religious freedom to French Protestants.

The city is a center of the high-tech and aeronautics industries, food-processing, and fisheries. The region’s vineyards produce wines of international repute such as Muscadet and Gros Plant. The city is home to the University of Nantes, a highly ranked Ecole de Commerce, and many research institutions. Nantes is a center for horticulture with many beautiful parks and gardens. A fine arboretum, the Jardin des Plantes, contains collections of rare plants covering 18 acres. There are also many museums and lively arts and music festivals. The population of the greater metropolitan area of Nantes is over 600,000.

Throughout the year, the Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association conducts exchanges in the fields of education, art, music, athletics, and trade. These exchanges provide members with an opportunity to meet people from France and make lasting relationships, especially through hosting homestays for students and professionals. One long-standing exchange enables runners from Seattle and Nantes to participate in each city’s annual marathon event. The SNSCA also organizes participation in community events, such as Worldfest, and publishes a newsletter four times a year.

Email MoS Collective, EcoCity [ecocity at igc dot org] or Nantes [ecocity2013 at lacite-nantes dot fr] for more information.