ECO fair(e)

A day focused on a greener New Orleans, organized by the Alliance Française
sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana

May 14 • 2-7 pm • 1519 Jackson Ave • Free & open to all! • Scroll down to see the full program

[Faire : verb / fɛʀ / to make , to do]

Why the Eco Fair(e)?

As a cultural center and active member of the community, the Alliance Française in New Orleans is trying to promote sustainable practices internally but also within our community. To underline the importance of the French presidency of European Union, the Alliance Française is organizing a fair for ecological organizations in New Orleans to facilitate the search for volunteers, donors and to raise awareness amongst locals to adopt more environmentally conscious practices. The AFNO has invited organizations in different fields from reducing waste, to local farming, to education. Some panels will focus on urbanization and ecology in New-Orleans, how to make Mardi gras greener as well as education.

The Alliance Française also wants to launch its own green program, “Alliance verte,” to become more sustainable, to promote cycling among our students with new bike racks and to become a key place in the neighborhood for inhabitants to adopt ecological initiatives in terms of recycling waste and limiting their carbon footprint.

"Living a sustainable way of life is possible in New Orleans, but you need to find the right people, the right network, and the right places. This is what the Eco-Fair(e) is all about: spreading information about green initiatives that we can support, and connecting people who are willing to change their way of life with local, ecological organizations. The idea is also to encourage more unity between the organizations to be more visible together "

-Emilie Georget, Executive Director of the Alliance Française de La Nouvelle-Orléans

Program:

2:00 - 7:00 pm

Fair with information booths on local environmental organizations
Participate in a collaborative rain barrel painting with Green Light
Cash bar and crêpes by French Stall
Tote bag swap: Bring one or many tote bags to trade with others!

3:00 - 4:00 pm

Panel: How do we make Mardi Gras more sustainable?
- Moderator: Kevin Fitzwilliam, Eco-entrepreneur

4:00 - 5:00 pm

Panel: Empowering new generations: innovations for environmental education
- Moderator: Kelly Ory, Graduate Student at Teachers College, Columbia University

5:00 - 6:00 pm

Panel: New Orleans in 2040, towards a green and sustainable city
- Moderator: Alex Kolker, Associate professor at Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium

6:00 pm

Launch of the Alliance Verte program and new bike racks

6:00 - 7:00 pm

Live music by Villa Albertine resident Sélène Saint-Aimé

Sélène is a afro-french contrabassist, singer and composer with caribbean and west african origins. She is currently a 'composer in residence' at Tropiques Atrium National Hall of Martinique and one of the 2022 Villa Albertine laureates in New Orleans, Louisiana. Sélène has also built a non-profit alongside martinican percussionist Boris Reine-Adélaïde called Afropolis that aims to promote and develop the practice of traditional music from Martinique.