On the final day of our Pause retreat, members of our SustainUS COP21 delegation took the time to write and then perform our visions for the future and our places within them. These are our #ZeroBy2050 stories: what does it actually look and feel like to reach a fully decarbonized global economy by 2050? We gathered the loving energies and powerful relationships that had been nurtured over days of dialogue and movement and shared our visions for a more equitable, sustainable, and just world. Below, you can find a diverse expression of these Visions for an alternative and better future.  » Read More

By 2016 ITP Grant Partner Magalie Bonneau, Founder, Dancing Without Borders

The Pause retreat we recently hosted was an invitation to explore how we could enroll those who work at the intersection of participatory art, storytelling with those campaigning for a 100% renewable future at policy levels into building a movement that's led by the power of the arts. For a few days, we explored how we could support greater grassroots engagement in shifting the cultural and political narrative around climate change by making the movement irresistible and compelling. » Read More

One of the by-products we enjoy seeing at Invoking the Pause are the unique collaborations that materialize organically when our Grant Partners meet in person, such as this past October's Grant Partner Gathering in Sonoma, and in Paris at COP21.  Maggie Kaplan has coined the term "Collateral Delights" to describe this  convergence of talents, ideas and resources from interdisciplinary backgrounds.

This year ITP is pleased to support 6 different "Collateral Delight" collaborations resulting from what can only be described as a perfect storm - the October 2015 ITP Gathering followed by COP21.  The momentum that originated in Sonoma Wine Country gained traction in the City of Light - Paris. 
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ITP Grant Partners Heidi Quante and Alicia Escott of the Bureau of Linquistical Reality just recently returned from the COP21 in Paris.  Read about their "Pause" experience:

“When I walked into the Bureau of Linguistical Reality Field Study Office it hit me. . .I didn’t realize that other people are having the same feelings as I’m having around climate change. It hit me that like many things, I had viewed language as fixed. . .but the Bureau opened my eyes that everything, including our language, is not fixed. . .participating in the Bureau salon was a shift for me.”  

~ Shana Tufail, London, UK

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Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) in Paris Update:
President Obama departs, negotiations begin and businesses continue to do their part
December 2, 2015

President Obama and other global leaders have left Paris after setting the stage for COP 21, leaving negotiators to get down to the nitty gritty of hammering out a global climate agreement.
 
As one U.S. official told me: "This is where the sausage making begins. Now through Saturday, there’s going to be a lot of people rolling up their sleeves and doing a lot of heavy diplomacy work."  » Read More

E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) in Paris Daily Update:  From the Huffington Post to the Wall Street Journal to the Eiffel Tower.

The most important climate conference in decades is officially underway in Paris – and E2 is there.  

More than a dozen E2 members and staff are in Paris or headed there now for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change that runs through Dec. 11.
 
E2 members representing our organization hail from California and Massachusetts; from Colorado and Maryland, from Iowa and Missouri, and even from Canada. Together, they’re representing our entire organization from coast to coast and all in between. And they’re echoing business voices everywhere in demanding action on climate change from global leaders, for the good of our economy and the good of our environment. » Read More

 ITP Grant Partner Mark Schapiro's article on Newsweek.com reveals the roles cities play in climate-related disruptions. 
Read the full article here.