Speakers: James Slezak (Purpose.com), Sam Espinosa (Director of Marketing, StickK), Emily Fisher (Online Editor, Oceana), Wayne Lin (Opower), John C. Havens (Yoxi.tv), Dan Vallejo (CEO & Co-Founder, The Mutual)

Date: Thursday, February 16th 2012, 6:00pm—11:00pm

Link to official page at socialmediaweek.org

Contributors: James Slezak (Purpose.com), Randall Krantz (head of sustainability, World Economic Forum), Toby Quantrill (head of policy, Fairtrade Foundation), Charles Roberts (CEO, Greeenstar), Craig Simmons (co-founder, Best Foot Forward)

Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Record of live discussion at Guardian.co.uk

Co-authored with: Ben Saul, Steven Sherwood, Jane McAdam, Tim Stephens

Link: Book description and publication details at Federation Press

From the publishers: Climate change is one of the most hotly debated issues of this century. Politicians have risen and fallen on its wake, elections have been fought around it, and international leaders have come under unprecedented scrutiny by civil society. As Australia is battered by hotter summers, more frequent and severe floods, devastating bushfires, water shortages in capital cities, and coastal erosion on its beaches, more and more often the question being asked is , ‘Is climate change the cause?’

This book provides a clear, balanced account of the science on climate change, how it is affecting the planet and Australia, and the policy options available to Australia and the world to deal with it.

It draws on the expertise of its authors from the disciplines of science, economics, geography and international law.

Panelists: James Slezak (Purpose.com), Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky), Edward Morris (The Canary Project), Tara DePorte (Human Impacts Institute)

Date: Saturday, March 10, 2012

Panel info from SXSW

List of all 2012 SXSW panels

Electronic musician, turntablist and author DJ Spooky (Paul D. Miller) joins Ed Morris (Canary Project), James Slezak (Purpose.com) and Tara DePorte (Human Impacts Institute) in an interactive session to explore how social entrepreneurs, artists and creative technologists are combining forces to reinvent the movement to evolve beyond fossil fuels. 20 years after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the first global pledge to stop climate change, major polluters in the United States can still emit unlimited quantities of carbon into our atmosphere at no cost. Meanwhile, a well-funded machine works 24/7 to convince Americans there’s nothing bad happening – so oil, gas and coal companies continue business as usual. Clearly the green movement needs to take it up a notch. So what is being done to apply cutting-edge social organizing technology, smart branding, product design and the creative arts to solve this problem? How can this bottom-up work support the national and global challenge? What else do we need to do?

Questions Answered

How can technology-driven social movements end the fossil fuel industry?
What is being done to apply cutting-edge product, design and branding to clean power?
What role can creative technologists, designers and artists play?
Why are there 7 times more people with hybrid cars than renewable power?
What can I do?

Moderator: Teresa Puente (Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University)

Speakers: James Slezak (Head of Business Strategy, Purpose), Richard Robbins (Director of Digital Social Innovation, MWW), Courtney Roberts (Dexis Consulting Group), Susan Tenby (TechSoup Global).

Link: Columbia Business School Social Enterprise Conference 2011

Details: Friday October 7, 2011, 5:00–6:00PM at Alfred Lerner Hall, Broadway and 115th Street, Columbia University, New York

Brands and businesses, advocacy organizations, and other social enterprises are increasingly executing multi-platform engagement channels to increase revenue and cement long-lasting awareness and loyalty. Social networking, constituency development, and content management are key. What concrete and measureable models have been developed by leading organizations in this space? How is the internet transforming communication within these communities?

Course: Industrial Ecology, graduate class
Professor: Chritoph Meinrenken

Details: Monday October 3, 2011, 7:00-8:00 PM, 516 Hamilton Hall, Columbia Morningside Campus (Broadway and 116th Street), New York

Co-author: Dan Altman (Dalberg Global Development Advisors)

Link: D. Altman, J. Slezak; Stanford Social Innovation Review (2011)

Paying taxes is one of the most basic things people can do to support the economic and social development of their countries. Tax revenue allows governments to provide the services and public goods their citizens need, reducing dependence on foreign aid and encouraging political stability while providing a lever for leaders’ accountability. Yet people whose governments serve them well don’t always return the favor by paying their fair share. Why not?

Hosts: AIGA, Galapagos, Susan Szenasy (Metropolis magazine)

Panelists: James Slezak (Purpose.com), Michael Bierut (Pentagram), DJ Spooky (Paul Miller), Ed Morris (Canary Project), Jeremy Osborn (350.org), Dmitri Siegel (Urban Outfitters)

Details: Tuesday 26 April 2011, 6:30–8:30PM at Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn

Graphic art has always played a role in social movements. But will a movement today look the same as movements of the past? Perhaps the biggest challenge facing this generation is our looming ecological crisis: climate change, waste, depleted resources and growing energy needs. Yet the green movement has a real problem on its hands: How to make a substantive emotional connection and break down ideological divides? Propaganda got a bad rap in the 20th century, but the term was originally neutral. It may be that propaganda is precisely what is needed if we are to mobilize to save the  environment as we know it. Can we create a propaganda that is honest, impactive and potentially viral all at once? Using the recent publication of Green Patriot Posters as a starting point, this panel brings together leading voices from both the design world and the green movement to dig into these questions, looking for real answers. Audience input and questions will be solicited.

External link: AIGA NY

Hosts: FastCompany, CauseShift, PepsiCo

Panelists: James Slezak (Purpose.com), Robert Murray (National Geographic) / moderated by Scott Henderson and Ann Mai Bertelsen (CauseShift)

Location: PepsiCo Plugged-In Stage at SXSW (Austin Convention Center, Meeting Room 2) // also live via webcast from FastCompany and PepsiCo

Date:  Sunday March 13, 4:30 PM CST

Video of the event

FastCompany coverage

To make sure our grandchildren’s grandchildren have a planet to enjoy, it’s time we move past the belief that awareness is the answer. It’s time for action and solutions to come from all of us – not just environmentalists. That’s why we’re asking a few innovative minds to offer their specific solutions for how individuals, small groups and global corporations drive the change needed. It’s not another panel of usual suspects talking about the past. This session will match up experts from different backgrounds to throw their big ideas on the table and work together to mash them into workable solutions.

Related: Official listing 1, Official listing 2

Full report [PDF, 2.5 Mb]