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Scott Chamberlain, Bri Stockley, Kaitlin Sampson, Grace
Findlen-Golden and Kyle Coumas at the Halki Summit on Environmental
Sustainability held outside Istanbul, Turkey (courtesy photo)
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By SYDNEY JARRARD
Staff Columnist
MANCHESTER - From June 18 through June 20, Southern New
Hampshire University co-sponsored the Halki Summit, a forum on global
environmental responsibility and sustainability, which took place outside of
Istanbul, Turkey.
The symposium aimed to highlight the ways values and belief
systems can influence conserving the earth’s resources and proactively
reversing climate change, with the intent of having participants leave with new
ethics and principles to implement toward environmental sustainability in daily
life. The items on the agenda covered biodiversity and conservation, energy and
climate change, and corporate responsibility and sustainability.
Southern New Hampshire University is not new to the idea of
environmental responsibility. As the first carbon-neutral campus in the state,
the college’s initiatives have extended into daily life for students and
faculty. Programs include the “One Earth. One Bottle.” campaign, which gives
students a free stainless-steel SNHU bottle in exchange for committing to no
longer buying bottled water. A community garden has been developed for those
who don’t have easy access to yard space, a bike sign-out program for students
is available, and the school has made a fifty-year commitment to using wind and
water energy. For SNHU President Paul LeBlanc, the summit was a clear next step
for the college.
More than a year in the making, the forum was an
invitation-only event, gathering seventy world-renowned theologists,
journalists, scientists, educators, business people, and attendees on a small
island in the Sea of Marmara. “It was meant to be in intimate conversation.
That’s what made it special,” said LeBlanc.
Four students accompanied the college’s president and
several staff to the Holy Theological School of Halki and Halki Palace Hotel on
the island of Heybeliada to facilitate and attend the conference. Students
Scott Chamberlain, Kyle Coumas, Kaitlin Sampson, and Bri Stockley were
accompanied by Provost Patricia Lynott, professor Michele Goldsmith, and
President Paul LeBlanc, as well as LeBlanc’s wife Pat Finland, daughter Hannah,
and niece Grace.
The four students chosen to attend come from the student
ambassador program at SNHU, an elite group of just 12 students who attend
school events, alumni events, and act as the face of the school. LeBlanc knew
that they would be an asset to the conference, both in organizing and executing
it, but also by learning what they could from the speakers and bringing that
knowledge and insight back to SNHU.
In Turkey, the summit was co-sponsored by Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew, who is the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox
Church, and has been labeled “The Green Patriarch” for incorporating
environmental concerns and ethics into his spiritual views. The nickname was
made permanent by Time Magazine in 2008, when they declared him one of the
world’s most influential people for joining environmental concerns with
spirituality. Over the past two decades, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has
facilitated more than ten educational events, and was eager to work with SNHU
for the Halki Summit. LeBlanc was introduced to the Patriarchate through local
contacts and began the process of organizing the summit fourteen months ago.
In addition to the presence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,
several important keynote speakers and panelists attended the conference,
including primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall, journalist and
environmentalist Bill McKibben, chairman and co-founder of Stonyfield Farm Gary
Hirshberg, and Jim Hansen from the NASA institute for Climate change. The
speakers were very involved with attendees at the summit, with Jane Goodall
even having breakfast with two of the (somewhat star-struck) SNHU students. “These
luminaries sought out our students,” said LeBlanc.
The students weren't just there to enjoy the conference, but
were deemed the “live coverage team” and sent to work, taking photos, blogging,
Tweeting, videotaping, and doing interviews throughout the sessions. Prior to
the start of the conference, two of the students, Chamberlain and Coumas, were
sent to the airport to help welcome attendees and get them to the ferry to the
island, and Sampson and Stockley were checking guests in to the conference and
setting things up.
At the conclusion of the summit, the SNHU team spent three
days exploring Istanbul, visiting the big sights – Hagia Sophia, the Blue
Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, and the Grand Bazaar – and finding family in a
place so far from home. Having put four of their children through college at
SNHU, the Alagoz family welcomed the ten New Hampshirites into their home for
an evening of food and celebration. “It gave the students a window into Turkish
life that tourists wouldn’t get,” said LeBlanc.
The response to the summit, from both attendees and
presenters, speaks toward its effectiveness.
Student Kaitlin Sampson was already interested in
environmental sustainability, but the opportunity to see new parts of the world
has influenced her course. Majoring in hospitality and tourism, she hopes to
focus more on the environmental hazards that tourism has on our valuable earth.
Bill McKibben’s comments especially struck home with Sampson. “The world can’t
put all of the responsibilities on the youth, but at the same time, we need to
start educating the youth,” she said.
LeBlanc was thrilled with the progress made at the summit.
“It exceeded our expectations,” he explained. “The richness of the cross
segment of conversation and the presence of our young people made it very
special.”
LeBlanc is hopeful to coordinate another version of this
symposium within the next couple of years. In the meantime, SNHU continues with
its green initiatives, including installing a 4.5-acre solar field for the
school’s use. Based on conversations with Jane Goodall, the students and
LeBlanc are actively working to get the Roots and Shoots program started on
campus, which teaches young people about environmental responsibility.
And the conversation from the Halki
Summit isn’t quite over. Videos and photos are becoming available on the Halki
Summit website, as well as SNHU’s site. With the Summit having been broadcast
online, comments are still rolling in. Finally, from the articles and feedback
from the panelists and attendees, a publication will be printed to document
this important step in the conservation effort.
