European Permaculture Convergence 2010

Prior to the recent francophone 'Perma-fest' we had the European permaculture convergence . Many things were discussed and initiatives launched , in particular about PmC education, standards and the syllabus .

In June 2011 in Germany there will be a meeting for all those who are teaching pmC in the European area , some of the objectives will be :-
To look at the Pmc international syllabus and to see what is not being taught/why and what has been added in in different countries.
Presentations by the various Academies of PmC and Universités populaire to examine the various diploma processes , apprenticeship schemes , and different PDC formats .
Examination of the various supplementary courses , such as teacher training courses.
How to develop PmC coordinated teaching and training in euro countries where infrastructures don't yet exist.
The creation of links of inter-dependancy , exchange and discussion.

With the watchwords 'harmonisation with diversity' we will seek to further coordinate PmC teaching/training across Europe to maintain/increase standards , develop the PDC syllabus with appropriate additional core modules. Bring the various diploma pathways into phase to further enable student exchange between systems.

The presentations given by participants revealed the extent to which PmC teaching/training is well established in Europe and how similar to each other the various systems are. There are hundreds of high quality PDC's being given, diplomas awarded, apprentices being trained and development and improvement of these systems is happening all the time.

The development of projects , the number of people attending courses and events has, across Europe, literally become exponential . The meetings and events that are being planned will be another major tool to aid this socio-ecological evolution and to help us increase the already high standard of European PmC teaching and training.

Details about the June meeting will be announced on the various European PmC websites.

Cordialement

Steve Read

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