TRAVEL 2008
I try to lighten my ecological footprint by traveling by air only when
necessary, and to combine trips where possible, but there is still no
complete replacement for direct contact and informal exchange when
educating young people or trying to inspire people to become more
ethical and sustainable. A personal presence is also important for my
grandchildren and young nieces and nephews. However more of my effort
is going into teaching at a distance and putting materials on the
Internet. Photographs from the 12th Annual Conference of the
International Environment Forum, which this year was co-organized with
the European Baha'i Business Forum in de Poort, the Netherlands on
17-21 September, are available on the IEF web site.
TALLINN, ESTONIA
In early May, I traveled to Tallinn, Estonia, to participate in the Fifth International Conference of the Consumer Citizenship Network, of which the International Environment Forum
is a member. On the way, I stopped overnight in Helsinki, where I spoke
for an AIESEC group at the university, joined the Baha'i community
for a Ridvan (holy day) celebration, and had a late evening discussion
with some of the youth. At the CCN conference, I gave a keynote on "Assessing information at
multiple scales - taking some burden off the consumer" (as a last-minute replacement). I also
participated in a symposium on "Indicators for sustainable
consumption", and gave a workshop paper on "The ethical challenges of global change as a motivator for consumer citizenship".
This was my first visit to Estonia, and since some of my ancestors were
Estonian, I enjoyed visiting the old city centre of Tallinn, which is
listed by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage.
View of the modern city with the Baltic Sea in the background
Dating from the 13th century, the Old Town of Tallinn was one of the
most fortified in northern Europe, and 20 of the original 46 towers in
the walls survive. The high part of the town on Toompea Hill includes
Toompea Castle, seat of the Estonian Parliament, and the Alexander
Nevsky Cathedral across Castle Square, built from 1894-1900 on the
orders of Tsar Alexander III.
Wall and Toompea Castle 
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral 
The Dome Church (Toomkirik) was founded by the Danes in 1219. Its Gothic exterior dates from the 14th century
. 
Dome Church 
Toompea Hill includes the comfortable homes of the gentry 
View of the city from the walls of Toompea Hill
Kiek in de Kök (Peep into the Kitchen) tower (1475-1481) 
. 
The lower town (Reval) was a separate entity and member of the
Hanseatic League from the end of the 13th century. Its narrow streets
are lined with the Gothic houses of merchants who traded in Town Hall
Square
Rooftops of Lower Town 
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Niguliste Church - Museum
This 13th century church was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt in Soviet times
City walls and towers
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Gothic panels, St. Olaf's Church
The spire of St. Olaf's Church (Oleviste Kirik) is 124 m tall
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Gothic merchants' houses
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Town Hall Square with the medieval Town Hall of 1404
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Raeapteeek pharmacy 
The Town Hall Pharmacy has been running continuously since before 1422
I
wish I knew more about my Estonian ancestors, the Smittens, where
they lived and what they did. They were elevated to the Swedish
nobility in 1684, and our branch of the family emigrated to England and
then Barbados before 1700.
QUEBEC, CANADA
At the end of June 2008, I stopped for a few days in Quebec, Canada, on
my way to an International Coral Reef Symposium in Florida. This
allowed me to visit my son Alexander, his wife Mahalia, and
Jérémie, Benjamin and my newest grandchild Alie
born in
January 2008. My wife Martine was also there for the first few days. I
helped to reorganize the garage and built new gates for the deck to
increase security for small children. I also gave a public talk in
Portneuf on the ethics of sustainable development, and had another
meeting with the local Bahá'ís.
No,
Mahalia is
not shooting Alex
My new
granddaughter Alie and Mahalia
The
childrens' pool was a favorite place to be in summer
Martine
and Benjamin
Alie and Benjamin in the pool
Jérémie
cuts the lawn
Alie is a quiet, smiling baby
Benjamin
already knows that cameras take pictures, but at which end?
In
December 2008 I returned to Quebec after attending the Baha'i
Conference on Social and Economic Development in the Americas, in
Orlando, Florida, and spent another week with the Gagnon-Dahl family,
including a holiday family gathering of the Gagnons in a rural village,
and a Baha'i community meeting in Quebec City. Since the temperature
was mostly below freezing and the weather not good (see the view from
my window to the right), I spent most of my time at home with my
grandchildren and worked on remodelling the basement of Alex's house.
Alex 
Mahalia and Benjamin
Benjamin 
Alie
PORTUGAL
In early August I was invited to speak at the Baha'i Summer School in
Santarém, Portugal, in an agricultural school on the edge of a
village. It was a lovely gathering of well over one hundred of all ages
and many backgrounds.
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On the last evening there were artistic performances by talented musicians and the youth of a dance workshop.
Musicians 
Dance workshop 
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PADOVA, ITALY
On 23-25 October I took the train to Padova (Padua), Italy, for a conference on
Ethics and Climate Change, where I gave a paper describing what the
Baha'i community and the International Environment Forum are doing in
this area. I also had a chance to walk around the old centre of the
city and to see some of the monuments to its long and distinguished
past. The University of Padua is the second oldest in Italy, founded in
1222.
. 
Just across from
my hotel was the Arena Park alongside a river, with winding paths and
the remains of the old Roman Amphitheatre (the Arena), within which the former Eremitani monastery
houses the civic art museum, and the adjacent Scrovegni Chapel is entirely covered inside by
remarkable frescoes painted by Giotto in 1303-1305 marking an important transition from
Medieval to Renaissance art. There were no crowds, so it was a perfect
time to wander and appreciate the art from many periods.
The Arena wall 
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Scrovegni Chapel with remarkable Giotto frescoes
Throughout the city are interesting old buildings and monuments
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(Right) Palazzo del Capitanio
(1599-1605) with Torre dell'Orologio (1344)
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Altinate Gate in the medieval city wall
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In a square by the university, the students were demonstrating. University and Café Pedrocchi (1831)
Glimpses of ancient monuments through the park
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The Palazzo della Ragione, built in 1218, has an enormous hall
the full length of the building
on the upper floor (81 m long, 27 m wide) with frescoes of religious
and astrological subjects dating from 1425-1440, that used to be the
tribunal, while
municipal offices and a market occupied the lower floors.
MILOČER, MONTENEGRO
The next week I went to Miločer, on the coast of Montenegro to a conference on National and Inter-ethnic Reconciliation, Religious Tolerance and Human Security in the Balkans,
organized by the European Center for Peace and Development, associated
with the
University for Peace established by the United Nations (with which I
collaborate closely in our Environmental Diplomacy programme). There
were distinguished political and religious leaders, including the Prime
Minister of Montenegro, as well as academics from across all the Balkan
countries, all united in their search for peace and reconciliation in
their region. The Baha'i International Community has collaborated with
these conferences since the beginning. I was asked to speak on the
environment as a factor for peace. Since most of the time was taken by
the conference, there was no time for sightseeing. We did go the
Monastery of Cetinje to visit the Metropolitain of the Orthodox Church
for Montenegro (who had attended the conference), but at night when
pictures were not possible. I did snap the view from my hotel room in
the early morning sun.
Speaking at the ECPD Conference
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The view from my hotel room
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