CONFEST
AND THE NEXT 250 YEARS
Past and Future
Possibilities
A Collection commenced from Jan. 1991 gathering writings from the 1960s and 1970s onwards. Updated Oct. 2014.
Adapted Collection of writings from the
1960s onwards. Latest Update Oct. 2014
This Section contains
a set of papers and monographs on ConFest, an alternative living camp-out
conference festival that commenced in S.E. Australia in 1976 and continues to this
day.
ConFest
by Night
Its community
processes explore how to work together well.
Typically between 3,000 and 5,000 people of all ages attend. Up to 870 workshops and many happenings and events occur over the 5 or 7 days. Adult tickets are Aus$100 plus two hours contribution and $1 for children 15 years and under. All events, workshops, and other happenings are put on free by volunteers.
A core group linked
to the Down To Earth Cooperative ensure that a site is available, with cleaning
drinking and showering water, pit toilets, paths and roads and a market.
This non-profit
Conference Festival always runs on a considerable surplus and the energy
collective is financially robust.
Happenings during
ConFest are not preplanned. It is an emergent self-organising process.
Twilight
at ConFest
The above two photos
are from the ConFest Internet Site.
One theme is
‘exploring alternative ways of living well together with each other and mother
earth’.
ConFest is viewed by
many as an exemplary global model of
a grassroots volunteer mutual-help festival.
ConFest is a vibrant generator of possibilities for
thriving global futures
CONTENTS
Beginnings
Pre-ConFest Speech by Dr Jim
Cairns
Manifesto from the First
ConFest – Cotter River 1976
Founding History of Social Transforming Action
The Evolving of the First
ConFest
ConFest Precursors
Wellbeing Action Using
Festivals, Gatherings and Other Happenings
Festival One - Watsons Bay
Festival
Festival Two – Paddington
Festival
Festival Three - Centennial
Park Festival
Festival Four - Campbelltown
Festival
Festival Five – The Aquarius
Festival
The Evolving of the First
ConFest
Introducing ConFest
Energising Conferencing at
ConFest
On All Coffee Break Conferencing
All Coffee Break
Conferencing at ConFest
ConFest and Global
Futures
The Total Care Foundation’s
Role in the Early Festivals
Surviving Well in a Dominant
World - Gatherings in North East NSW 1971-1973
Fraser House as
Precursor to ConFest
Fraser House as Precursor to
ConFest
The Take-Off Point for
the Next Cultural Synthesis
The Take-Off Point for the
Next Cultural Synthesis
Evolving Transforming
Relational Networks
Some additional material is in the PDF
version