Conference Targets Communication Gaps

A one-day conference will focus on how warring special-interest groups can keep their lines of communication open.

The “Sustaining Dialogue in Times of Controversy” conference today is intended to show how groups and communities with competing interests can work together to solve shared problems, using real-world examples.

The conference, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., is sponsored by the Sustainability Council of Ventura County, a recently formed group whose mission is to promote conserving natural resources, agricultural land and other county assets. The event will be held in the Ventura County Government Center’s Hall of Administration, 800 S. Victoria Ave., Ventura.

Speakers will include representatives from Urban Ecology in Oakland, the Foundation for Community Design in San Luis Obispo County, the Gildea Resource Center in Santa Barbara, and the Calleguas Creek Watershed Management Plan in Ventura County.

Participants working in small groups will be challenged to devise viable proposals to promote a continuing dialogue among various interests at odds in Ventura County.

A video presentation will also show how government, businesses and environmentalists in the Netherlands have worked together to resolve issues regarding resources and regulations.

Cost of the conference, co-sponsored by members of the county Board of Supervisors, the Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center and the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station, is $5.

For more information, call council representative Todd Collart at 644-2923.