What will the next 100 years bring? For CSES, for Chelmsford and Essex, for the world in general?

As the Essex 2020 Autumn programme and Future City festival get underway, the focus is on sustainability. And CSES is very much looking to its future because on 13 October 2020, it turns 100 years old!

Please join us for a virtual Conversazione evening to celebrate this significant milestone. We will look back over the story from 1920 to now, explore a selection of exciting work that is taking place NOW to secure a more sustainable future for Essex, and discuss this increasingly important issue in our everyday lives.

In collaboration with Chelmsford City Council, Anglia Ruskin University, Essex Steamettes, Love Your Chelmsford, Essex Book Festival and others, a panel of diverse and expert speakers, including scientists, engineers and artists, will be tackling some of the really big sustainability topics relevant to science and technology, including urban design and planning, plastic pollution and food security. Yes, we will even be talking about viruses.

There will be plenty of opportunity to get involved with the conversation through Q&A and a panel session with the speakers.

In many ways, this is back to the future. Conversazione is a 100-year old CSES tradition (although hasn't been called that for a long time!), and our future plans include many more events like this as part of our My Smarter Essex series. This is just the beginning...

Guest contributors and topics:

• Hosts – David Humber and Adam Wood, CSES President and Vice President
• With – Cllr Stephen Robinson, Leader of Chelmsford City Council
• Panel chair – Cllr Rose Moore, Cabinet Member for Greener & Safer Chelmsford
• The CSES Story – Anthony McQuiggan, Amy Knight and Chris Neale, CSES Trustees
• Planning for Chelmsford's Future – Jeremy Potter, Spatial Planning Services Manager, Chelmsford City Council
• Urban Resilience through Sustainable Drainage Systems – Dr Maryam Imani, Senior Lecturer in Water Systems Engineering, Anglia Ruskin University
• Our Plastic Pandemic: Impacts and Solutions – Dr Dannielle Green (Senior Lecturer) and Dr Bas Boots (Lecturer), School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University
• Silencing the Virus / She Heals – Lily Hunter Green, Artist
• Girls Love Being Creative with Science and Engineering – Essex Steamettes / Andy Melder, Director, Southend Tech
• Dr Saruhan Mosler, Senior Lecturer, School of Sustainable Environments and Design, Writtle University College
• Sam Warren, Love Your Chelmsford Officer

This event will be delivered via Zoom. Link to be advised after booking.