inspires people to become involved in the creation of clean, green and sustainable nations, cities, villages, corporations, families, social groups and individuals.

Now that sustainability has reached the mainstream level, URBAN ECOLOGY will engage citizens from all over the world to become ECO LEADERS.

THE URBAN ECOLOGY EXPERIENCE
Participants to the projects are asked to design a sustainable future for themselves with various people of their choice. They can become a part of an online sustainability community and become actively engaged in the URBAN ECOLOGY project.

The “URBAN ECOLOGY” project offers various tools as to increase the attractiveness of participation in this sustainbility experience.

1. The interactive URBAN ECOLOGY book,
2. The “URBAN ECOLOGY” web community ( www.myurbanecology.com )
3. A weekly talkshow ( inspired by initiatives of club members)
4. A montlhy webcast ( see workshop outline attached )
5. An annual club day ( during the Sustainable Planet film festival, see poster of last film festival in Jordan, organized in June of 2007 )

LET’S DESIGN SCIENCE OUR FUTURE
The challenge right now is to help policy makers to engage (and not to impose) its citizens the path of a sustainable life and the stickyness of URBAN ECOLOGY could be a part of the solution that alters the course of change from TALK to WALK.

THE STEPS
The project is simple : participants are invited to read a couple of short stories, written by sustainability expert and environmental economist Pamela Peeters. Through this exercise, they will get training on sustainability and increase their awareness on the subject. They can then subscribe to the web community and create a club. Club members commit to create 4 sustainability projects a year ( for every season one ) and are encouraged to look at the sustainability factor in their neighborhood or their job. After identifying a potential domain for change, they can project a better situation and start building their own sustainable initiative. Throughout a list of 7 lifestyle categories: Art, Sustainable Business, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Culinary Delight, Personal Development, Tourism/Sport ….. members accept the challenge and submerge their project design with an additional layer of environmental, social and or economic tissue.

1. Read the book
2. Sustainability Crash course
3. Subscribe to Club
4. Commit to create 4 sustainability projects a year
5. Share your experience with others

KEEP THE SUSTAINABILITY MOMENTUM FLOWING
URBAN ECOLOGY is a social catalyst designed by Sustainable Development Expert Pamela Peeters that inspires citizens from all around the world to good to Mother Earth. As to put it in Buckminster Fuller’s own words : “The Spaceship Earth is a wonderful wonder but the people on board do not know how to manage it!”

As to fully engage the club members, Pamela Peeters has used some antropological foundations inherent to the nature of humanity as to keep the sustainability momentum flowing.

1. Reward Principle: The competitve spotlight moment ( club of the week ) increases the unique visibility of the endeavors of the URBAN ECOLOGISTS.
2. Curiosity Principle: The club members are able to look at other initiatives developed in other cities, therefore expanding their cultural reality and potentially their network with engaged people.
3. Belonging Principle: A national club day ( the Sustainable Planet film festival has already taken place in New York, Antwerp and Amman) will increase the social momentum even more, as people can meet each other in real life.
4. Competitiveness Principle : It is during the Sustainable Planet film festival that the most balanced club project ( within the environmental / economic / social trinity ) will obtain a spotlight moment ( club of year)
5. Mentor Principle : An online magazine ( Sustainable Styles ) has been developed as to give another outlet to both members’ and sponsors’ initiatives.

MAKE IT WORK FOR 100% for humanity
“URBAN ECOLOGY” informs and entertains an audience about Sustainable lifestyle options, while engaging more people to jump into the experience and take an active part in the transformation of our society. The members of this group are called URBAN ECOLOGISTS and respect the individual initiative while assuring that the needs of the urban ecosystems (and the future generations to come) are met.

The educators are not only experts but also your neighbors, your colleagues and your family members, as there are as many translations to sustainability as there are people. Through “URBAN ECOLOGY” we want to show how the citizens of the world are styling their knowledge into sustainable creations of business and beauty.

The 7 categories (Art, Sustainable Business, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Culinary Delight, Personal Development, Tourism/Sport.) are chosen in such a way as to make sustainability accessible to groups who have different types of interest, therefore covering all the aspect of corporate, private and social life.

THE MILESTONES
The project is easy to follow ( website ) and its success can be measured and duplicated to other major cities.

Developed upto this date :
1. The Urban Ecology book ( available in English, Dutch/Flemish)
2. The URBAN ECOLOGY website ( www.myurbanecology.com)
3. The URBAN ECOLOGY workshop ( used as the framework for the Webcast )
4. The Sustainable Planet film festival (launched in 2005, already in three cities)

In development
5. The Sustainable Styles magazine ( www.sustainablestyles.com)
6. Webcasts (from November onwards)
7. Talkshow (from December onwards )


C • Describe how you will finance your solution and make it economically viable.

Pamela Peeters – the founder and producer of the project - has worked on a pro bono level due to the urgency of the problem. She preferred to develop the URBAN ECOLOGY experience first and think of economic recovery later. The costs have therefore been kept as low as possible

The costs for the project so far are :
1. the development of the book,
2. the development of the websites,
3. the development of the online magazine
4. the development and the production of the film festival ( 4 so far in 3 cities )
5. the creation of press releases and other printing materials.

The following auto financing returns are projected:
1. the sales of books,
2. the annual membership fee for the club members,
3. some sponsorship money on the website,
4. entry fees to the film festival,
5. an annual fundraiser event.

D • Describe who will take your solution to the next stage of development (include your qualifications and/or those of your team, and any strategic partners).

SUSTAINABILITY EXPERT PAMELA PEETERS HAS DEVELOPED AND LAUNCHED THE PROJECT. SHE WILL ALSO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL:

BIO
Pamela Peeters is an expert in sustainability ( www.pamelapeeters.com ) and consults companies towards sustainable business development. She grew up in the country side of Belgium and launched her first environmental magazine – Grab the Green - at the age of 12.

Pamela obtained a first college degree in Economics in 1995 and researched on how to change consumption and production patterns towards sustainable levels. She obtained another degree in Environmental Management in 1997 and wrote a second thesis that could be used by urban policy makers in their plans towards sustainable city transitions.

In 1997 she developed a reorganization program for a management federation of the Belgian government and created strategies that would open up their business opportunities in the sustainable development market. She prepared the state visit of the Prince of Belgium to India in 1998 while identifying bilateral trade opportunities in the environmental technology sector.

In 1999, Pamela obtained a Research Fellowship from the Columbia University ( New York ) as to research on how to create a hip TV show that both educates and entertains the viewer about Sustainable Development. She produces and hosts the “OUR PLANET” lifestyle TV series since 2001 and joined the marketing team of the US partnerships for the UNESCO decade for Sustainable Development in 2005. She launched the Sustainable Planet film festival later on that year and recently released her URBAN ECOLOGy book.

SHORT
• Environmental Economist specialized in Sustainable Development
• PR training with Procter & Gamble
• Prize of the Belgian Minister of Foreign Trade
• Marketing member of the US partnership for the UNESCO decade on Sustainable Development,
• Media producer nominated for the Gazellen Award ( dreaming, daring, doing)