James Joyce Tower in Sandycove, Dublin. Image via http://jamesjoycetower.com/
It is gatherings galore in Dublin this week. As well as a meeting of Europe’s digital clusters in the Irish capital tomorrow, representatives from the IT, environmental and community space are descending upon Dublin today to start a three-day workshop about how to go about pursuing a low-carbon, digital economy.
More than 100 participants, including the former climate change adviser to the UK government, John Ashton, will be in Dublin for the workshop series, dubbed the Climate Gathering.
The Greens/European Free Alliance group from the European Parliament is co-hosting the three-day event along with the Climate Gathering group. The event is running to coincide with the Digital Agenda Assembly that’s also taking place in Dublin this week.
‘Plan C’
The goal of the Climate Gathering will be to pursue what the event’s organisers are calling ‘plan C’ – a plan for a new, low-carbon, digital economy.
Representatives from the likes of Google, Intel, IBM, Facebook, Twitter and Siemens will be pooling ideas along with Ashton and Green MEPs Rebecca Harms and Claude Turmes, community groups, educational institutes and second-level students.
“We have participants from leading ICT industries joining our gathering because Dublin is just the place to find out how this new economy might work,” said Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, who is co-convening the event.
The Dublin gathering is taking place in the wake of an initial climate gathering that took place in the Burren, Co Clare, in February.
Ryan said one of the lessons the organisers learned from the first climate gathering is that representatives from all areas of the community need to be involved in such a meeting of minds.
“Getting Plan C right makes the perspective of an adolescent just as important as that of the long-time climate expert,” he explained.
Workshops will be running in inventive locations across the city, such as the James Joyce Tower in Sandycove, the Baily Lighthouse on Howth Head and community centres in Terenure.
On Wednesday evening, there will be a free public event in the Mansion House to launch the new Plan C.
Speakers will include Lord David Puttnam, Ireland’s digital champion, and Martin Curley, director of Intel Labs Europe.
