As part of the Imagine! Festival of Ideas and Politics, the Crescent Arts centre will be hosting an an all day and evening set of events regarding the unfolding ecological crisis in the largest freshwater body in the British Isles, and how we can come together as a community to spur action. Focusing on deliberative and participatory democracy, the  events will in turn look at; the importance of Lough Neagh to communities and the natural environment, a participative unconference to surface questions and ideas and the concept of a Citizen’s Assembly for Lough Neagh. The evening features a presentation from Tommy Greene. See below for an agenda for the two events, along with their respective sign-up links.

Listening to the Lough is an all-day gathering of reflection, creativity, learning and democratic experimentation, responding to the ecological and political crisis facing Lough Neagh. Convened by Involve as part of the wider conversation about a potential Citizens’ Assembly for Lough Neagh, the day invites people to come together to listen – to each other, to the lough itself, and to what this moment demands of democracy.

• 1000-1100: The day’s activities start with Lough Neagh as teacher, a family-friendly strand led by Karin Eyben. Through play, imagination and embodied learning, this session introduces democratic and ecological thinking in ways that are accessible and joyful.
• 1100-1315: An unconference: an open, participant-led space to surface questions, ideas, tensions and lived experiences relating to Lough Neagh. After a short introduction to the unconference format, participants will shape the agenda themselves, hosting and joining self-organised conversations.
• A shared BYO lunch provides time for informal connection, rest and reflection.
• 1400-1700: In the afternoon, participants are invited to the main undertaking of the day’s session: a Lough Neagh Assembly – taster session. This is a hands-on, facilitated deliberative experience designed to give people a tangible sense of how a Citizens’ Assembly for Lough Neagh could work in practice.

Stories, struggle and democratic futures.

From 6pm onwards, an evening of conversation with Tommy Greene will be held in the Crescent Centre’s Boardroom. Tommy is an investigative journalist whose forthcoming book Troubled Waters is an account of what has driven Lough Neagh’s long term mismanagement and degradation and what its future might hold.

Tommy will be joined by civic leaders for a session exploring power, protest and participation in moments of ecological crisis. Drawing on past and present struggles, the discussion will ask what democracy demands now, and what courage looks like in the context of Lough Neagh.

A moderated dialogue with the audience will open the conversation out, before moving into a relaxed storytelling session with local Seanachaí (the Irish term for a traditional storyteller and historian) Jim Conway. We will close the day with an invitation to stay involved, a naming of next steps in the Lough Neagh Assembly conversation, and a short collective ritual of hope.

Both of these events operate under the Pay What You Can Principle, and are hosted as part of the Imagine! Festival of Ideas and Politics from 23-29 March