moving mountains

The United Nations released an alarming report recently about population, a topic that will be the focus of Mountainfilm in Telluride's 2012 Moving Mountains Symposium. According to the report, nearly 3 billion people could end up impoverished by 2050. The U.N. argues that "The current global development model is unsustainable. To achieve sustainability, a transformation of the global economy is required." Ironically, the number of people on the planet living in "absolute poverty" has reduced to 27 percent from 46 percent in 1990, but with natural resources rapidly diminishing, these numbers are predicted to head in the wrong direction in the future.

Each year, the Fund for Peace publishes a list of "failing states" that they catalog according to "their vulnerability to violent conflict and societal deterioration." They use twelve social, economic and political indicators - ranked 0-10 - so a combined score of 120 would mean a state is failing on every level. For instance, the top failed state in the world is Somalia with a score of 113.4, while Finland has the lowest score of only 19.7 (with the U.S. coming in at 34.8). What is particularly compelling, given the Mountainfilm focus on population is how much demographics impacts these scores. Almost all of the failing states have about 70% of their population under the age of thirty, compared to 35% or so for the stable countries.

Mountain Lodge Telluride is running a terrific photo competition based on the theme of Mountainfilm's 2012 Moving Mountains Symposium: "Population". Enter the photo contest for a chance to win great prizes, including lodging and passes for Mountainfilm 2012! World renowned photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum is one of the esteemed judges...

With the total population on the planet exceeding 7 Billion there have been a lot of articles on the issue, which works out well for us at Mountainfilm in Telluride since we are focusing our 2012 Moving Mountains Symposium on the subject. The NY Times produced a terrific reader-generated photo essay on population, and this website has a breakdown of some of the basic numbers such as the youngest and oldest countries on earth (Uganda's Median Age is 15, while Monaco's is 50).

Last year Dr. Rick Hodes, who works with Ethiopian children who suffer from tuberculosis of the spine and whose story is told in Making the Crooked Straight, won the Moving Mountains Prize. His medical program was awarded $5,000, and with it he was able to help a young patient named Meiraf. Meiraf attended this year's festival, and read a moving letter to a full crowd at the Palm Theatre. It's another example of what we call the Domino Effect of Mountainfilm; using inspiration to truly make positive change. For those of you that missed it, here is Meiraf's entire letter:

It's Sunday afternoon and by now you have watched some incredible films, listened to inspiring people talk and taken in powerful images. Just walking down the Main Street, it's impossible to not feel the buzz of energy, the slight unrest and the overwhelming inspiration. So, now with all of that inspiration, what will you do to create positive change? How will you turn that inspiration into action?