Rotaract Club of Richmond

Local Project Feburary 17, 2007 - 2010: Greenlympic Legacy Conference

Conference Date: Saturday Feb 17th, 2007

Thank you to all who attended the Greenlympic Legacy Conference! We hoped you enjoyed your time and gained valuable experiences there! Congrulations to all winners in the 5 Minuties to Fame event. We are looking forward to see the progress and results from your ideas.

Special thanks to all sponsors and guest speakers who made the conference a success!

Conference Overview

Event Photos

Power Point Overview

Vancouver Sun (Mar 26, 07)

Pamphlet and Quick Information Sheet

Pamphlet (Detail information on the Greenlympic conference)
Quick Information Sheet (contains conference time table and guest speaker information)

About Greenlympic

Our International Service Organizing Committee is currently organizing the 2nd annual educational workshop and this year, the theme will be based on environmental awareness. The workshop, which will take place at Kwantlen University College, is planned from 8:45am to 5:00pm on Saturday, Feburary 17th, 2007.

The goal for this workshop is to gain students' awareness in environmental issues and empower them to solve international problems with a critical mind. The first half of the workshop will be focused on interactive presentations by organizations such as Environmental Canada, Oxfam Canada, Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project, and City of Richmond. Students will then utilize their knowledge in environmental awareness to conduct a 5 minutes presentation in a case competition that will be held in the afternoon.

The application deadline for this workshop is on Friday, Jan 26th, 2007. Please see the Application on top of this page for more details. Shall you have any questions related to the conference, please feel free to contact us by email at eiston@richmondrotaract.com. If you have any questions regarding this website, please contact us at webmaster@richmondrotaract.com.

Co-Host: Richmond Youth Foundation

The Richmond Youth Foundation is a group of highly motivated young individuals and young professionals that aim to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Richmond. Through our own fundraising efforts and prudent steward ship of donated capital, we will distribute income of our endowment fund by means of grants to young people associated with other organizations whose interests are in benefiting and improving the Richmond community. Our grant offering processes will be guided by local needs, and decided upon by an 8-10 member Board of Directors. We also intend to initiate youth action through the announcement of leadership opportunities with young leaders in Richmond. The Richmond Youth Foundation is an ancillary program of the Richmond Community Foundation, which has been serving the community for 16 years, providing over $400, 000 in grants and managing eight funds totaling over $1, 000, 000.

Guest Speakers

Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project (Website)

Arzeena Hamir
Arzeena Hamir is the Outreach Coordinator for the Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project. She grew up in Richmond and obtained her BSc. in Agriculture from the University of Guelph and her MSc. from the University of London, England. Arzeena has worked on a number of rural development projects in countries such as Thailand, India & Bangladesh. She is pleased to be back in Richmond where she can raise her 2 girls as well as participate in a unique urban agriculture initiative.

City of Richmond (Website)

The City of Richmond will build a world class multi-use community facility, which will host the long track speed skating competition for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The City will develop a showcase multi-purpose facility on a prominent waterfront site on River Road. Post-Games, the multi-use facility will provide an active venue that harmoniously brings together summer and winter sports, recreation, culture, business and environment in one pristine location.

Environment Canada

Chiara Barazzuol & Wendy Avis
Chiara works in the Sustainability Division at Environment Canada. Our office has been set up specifically to support sustainable Olympics and to try to ensure that the Olympics have sustainable legacies for Canadians. Wendy is the Manager of the Climate Change Section for Environment Canada’s Pacific and Yukon Region. With a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies from Brock University and a Masters in Geography from UBC, Wendy started working for Environment Canada in 1997. She has conducted research on the impacts of climate change, worked on numerous public education and outreach projects on both climate change and clean air, and was the Vice-Chair of the 2002 UNEP International Children’s Conference on the Environment.

Oxfam (Website)

Michael Zelmer
Michael Zelmer is the Co-Chair and Oxfam Canada Representative to the Vancouver Fair Trade Coffee Network (VFTCN), an alliance of individuals, churches, businesses, NGOs, and unions, that have been working to increase the demand for Fair Trade coffee since 1997 through public education and institutional engagement. Through his five-year involvement with the VFTCN, he has worked on several Ethical Purchasing initiatives, including the City of Vancouver’s Ethical Purchasing Policy, and has given dozens of workshops and presentations on Fair Trade. In December 2005, Michael published his master’s thesis on the significance of the Fair Trade and organic markets to the protection of forested ecosystems on Nicaraguan coffee farms, and he currently works for the BC Cooperative Association.

5 Minutes to Fame

This year we are hosting a special event for our participants. After listening to our notable speakers’ presentations, it is your turn to shine. You and your school team will be given 45 minutes to discuss ways of making Richmond a “better place”. Richmond’s vision is to become the “most appealing, livable, and well-managed community in Canada.” We want you to generate ideas about making improvements to Richmond and ways to accomplish those improvements. We’ll announce the specific topic during lunch, and in the afternoon, you will be given 5 minutes to present your best idea to our panel of judges. The winning team will receive a good sum of money to kick-off their projects. May the “best idea” win!

Got Questions?

Please contact Eiston Lo at eiston@richmondrotaract.com