A Centennial Symposium & Celebration — Rediscovering the GENIus in us all

July 14-16, 1995 San Diego, CA

• Dear Friend of Bucky
• The World Game: From Conflict to Cooperation
• Dynamic Saminar Leaders
• Bucky for Kids — Passing It On To The Next Generation
• Closing Ceremony: Commitment & Celebration
• The Global Grid is the World Game's Highest Priority
• How Can You Participate

Dear Friend of Bucky On behalf of all the sponsors and volunteers of the Buckminster Fuller Centennial Symposium and Celebration, I want to thank you for your interest and participation in this historic event. It was a great honor to host Bucky's 100th Birthday celebration. We attracted people and media from all over Spaceship Earth. Allegra Fuller Snyder, Bucky's daughter, accepting a gift at the Opening Ceremony. This newsletter is a written and pictorial summary of many of the activities during the July 14 - 16 weekend. We hope the experience of Bucky's life and work will stay with you for the rest of your life. Several delegates said that we had "too much going on" to be able to do it all. So, we are offering you all the products, books, maps and seminar tapes so you can continue your personal investigation to become, yourself, a Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Scientist. Many people asked us for a mailing list of the attendees to stay in touch with one another. We will provide this on a request basis (see order form). If you do not wish to be listed, please let us know right away. We also want to invite your personal support and commitment to the work of GENI. As you learned, the global energy grid linking renewable energy resources around the world was Bucky's highest priority objective from the World Game (see Critical Path, page 206). GENI's vision is to bring this global solution into reality. As evidence of our impact to date, the cover of the July 8th issue of the New Scientist featured, "Global Power - the Electric Hypergrid," and the BBC did an interview with me just after the Centennial Event. I invite your support and commitment to this work. Who can you contact? What expertise can you offer? Join us with your pledge to Fund the Vision of GENI. The Buckminster Fuller Centennial Event was a new launch for Bucky's ideas and universal principles. We thank you for joining us in "Rediscovering the GENIus in us all" — and we invite you to continue this important work with us. In partnership for the planet, Peter Meisen President

The World Game:
From Conflict to Cooperation

""R. Buckminster Fuller’s good friend, Margaret Mead, once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." As this quotation leaped off two 12-ft. x 12-ft. screens, the audience became captivated. Sitting, squatting, and wondering on the significance of the 70-ft. x 35-ft. world map under foot, Bucky’s World Game began.

""To mimic the population around the world, placement of the participants on the continents was strategic. Sobering quantities of resources were allocated to reflect each regions’ strengths and weaknesses. The world seemed to be in the player's hands now, and in just three 20-minute rounds it was up to us to them do what they could.

Rick Perkins as Bucky

""Confusion, negotiations, and politics began to take hold. As an example, the continent of Latin America quickly realized that its resource of "energy" was not enough to increase its literacy rate, solve environmental problems or enhance financial standing.

""Fortunately, populating this Latin America were three readers of Critical Path and Global Energy Network Institute (GENI) supporters. They recalled what R. Buckminster Fuller proposed as Spaceship Earth’s number one priority, and set out to make it so.

""An immediate solution was to harness the energy available in Latin America with solar and hydro energy plants. Then to exchange this renewable resource with other continents that required energy to decrease hunger, poverty, and increase the standard of living for everyone around the world.

World Game with Medard Gabel

""Latin America's future energy plants created interest. The first to support the venture was Japan with 10 billion American dollars. At first hesitant, China agreed to the same financial support after concluding that an investment in an environmentally sound renewable resource was a vast improvement over their recent talks of additions to their nuclear power arsenal.

""Next Latin American players set out for Europe to obtain "technology". The continent desperately needed Europe’s innovations in health care and environmental regulations to improve their standard of living. In return Europe required a share in the new renewable energy resource.

""Reasoning with the United Nations about the benefits of the newly created relations, the organization opted to void Latin America's environmental and public health citations.

""For a brief but highly concentrated two hours, te game's dymaxion map became a microcosm for Spaceship Earth and its complexities. Overall, participants were left with a poignant sense that many of the world’s problems can be solved by a simple shift in perception and a willingness to take action for positive change, regardless of the barriers.

""The game's "Big Project", as former Alaskan Governor Walter Hickle would say, was the global participation in the harnessing and exchange of renewable energy for the well being, cooperation, and harmony of Spaceship Earth.

""As players conceptualized a better world for everyone, they wondered as Bucky did, "If the success or failure of this planet and of human beings, depended on how I am today and what I do tomorrow; how would I be? What would I do?." Players realized that the answer is to commit today, tomorrow, and for the rest of their lives to make the vision of GENI real in the world.

Dynamic Seminar Leaders Top left to right: Harold Kroto, Wayne Morgan, Blair Singer, Amy Edmundson. Middle left to right: Jay Baldwin, Michael Jantzen, Don Richtor, Kiyoshi Kuromiya, Graeme Edwards. Bottom left to right: Eugene Ray, Peter Pearce, Greg Stock, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Randolph Craft.

Bucky for Kids —
Passing It On To The Next Generation

Kids of ages build structures at 'Bucky for Kids' in Balboa Park.

Kids of all ages spent the day in hands-on learning activities that tantalized the most curious. Googolplex, Zometools, Polydrons, the Contextualizer and the Dodecahedron, newspaper domes by the BEEP project, geo-panes, buckyballs and dowel stick domes kept hundreds of active, imaginative minds engrossed. Several dome styles were constructed, including the Fly's Eye dome by Brad Twoomey and Mareva Russo, the Omnisphere by World Shelter, the Polydome by David Bengtson and the EcoDome by J.J. Hudson. Bucky inspired toys and books were on sale in the bookstore house in th e Polydome. The best sound in the world, repeated throughout the day, was "Dad, look what I made!"

Fly's Eye Dome builders, left to right: Mareva Russo, Brad Twooney with Robert Snyder and Allegra Fuller Snyder.

Closing Ceremony: Commitment & Celebration

"What an invigorating and information afternoon I spent attending the Barbara Marx Hubbard workshop! She is a well reserached visionary who puts her global views to practical use in the world, as Bucky did. Thak you for providing such an inspiring weekend. My commitment to creating a better world has been expanded and renewed!"

Diane Loomans
Author & Presidant of Global Learning

Left to Right: Proud producers Ashley Gardner, Nanci Hartland, Peter Meisen, Patricia Stevens, Michael Head, and Beth Brummitt.

"Watching Bucky's film on Spaceship Earth, I was inspired and brought to an absolute knowing that everything is possible and that my one self can, in fact, change the course of history. And propel all of humankind to live their lives truly knowing that who they are makes a difference."

Helice Bridges
President HBC

"The Architecture, Space and Environmental Design seminar was much more than an overview of Buckminster Fuller's influence on 20th Century design. I'd best describe it as a celebration of ideas by five incredibly different and interesting individuals. Their unique perspectives gave us a whole new way to look at architecture...

Anyone who thought she'd sit back and listen to a lecture, in Synergetics: Nature's Mathematics and Structure, was quite surprised. Amy Edmondson brought tetrahedrons and other geometric building blocks to life with toothpicks, gummy bears, and marshmallows. As the designs evolved, the mathematical concepts became much clearer. What an easy way to learn!"

Russ and Sharon Hoffman,
Owners, Animated Software

Bucky closes with: "... what you can do personally, is commit yourself, to what is the truth."

"One of the most powerful experiences of the Bucky Event for me was to play the World Game.

I have been a GENI supporter for over 5 years and love what GENI offers for humanity. However, to play the World Game gave me a new depth of understanding of our world, its beauty and its challenges. It also brought home the power of fear in the form of war, etc., as against the power of love and creating the world we want.

I am, therefore, committed to playing my part in bringing the World Game to Australia and Western Australia."

John Butler
Attorney, Perth Australia

"Playing the World Game for the first time put many things into perspective. Now when I talk with people about population, food, energy technology or other global issues, I have a much better grasp of the scale of the problems, and of the opportunities for solutions. Playing with so many dedicated global thinkers and doers was a powerful, energizing, and sometimes overwhelming experience."

Roger Gilbertson
President, Mondo-Tronics

First, thank you for displaying the Dymaxion™ car — to me, a powerful demonstration of what Bucky was about. Second, I loved the films. I never appreciated how physically fit Bucky was. But there he was, (in the film) a seemingly elderly man, rowing a boat with a passenger and quietly carrying on a normal conversation. This was a "chop wood, carry water" kind of recognition for me, but profound as well.

David Winkleman

My favorite things about the conference were seeing Meddard and Amy. They're always inspirational. Re-connecting with so many old friends made the event worthwhile in itself.

Doretta Winkleman

"My experience of the Critical Path seminar was that the by-products from the military/industrial complex really have made a positive contribution to society. The Internet started out as a miliary system designed to survive a nuclear war. So, all we really need to do is make the "by-products" into the "primary products." The military/industrial complex doesn't need to be destroyed, just transformed."

Steve Brant
Quantum Management Systems

The Global Energy Grid is the World Game's Highest Priority

Graphs of each of the world's 150 nations showing their twentieth-century histories of inanimate energy production per capita of their respective populations together with graphs of those countries' birthrates show without exception that the birthrates decrease at exactly the same rate that the per capita consumption of inanimate electrical energy increases. The world's population will stop increasing when and if the integrated world electrical energy grid is realized. This grid is the World Game's highest priority objective.

Critical Path, 1981, Fuller and Kuromiya

When Buckminster Fuller was asked by a 12 year old boy, How would you suggest solving international problems without violence? he answered: I always try to solve problems by some artifact, some tool or invention that makes what people are doing obsolete, so that it makes this particular kind of problem no longer relevant. My answer would be to develop a world energy grid, an electric grid where everybody is on the same grid.

All of a sudden there would be no problems any more, no international troubles. Our new economic basis wouldn't be gold or dollars; it would be kilowatt hours.

Fuller's Earth, 1983, Richard Brenneman

I have summarized my discovery of the option of humanity to become omnieconomically and sustainably successful on our planet while phasing out forever all use of fossil fuels and atomic energy generation other than the Sun. I have presented my plan for using our increasing technical ability to construct high-voltage, superconductive transmission lines and implement an around-the-world electrical energy grid integrating the daytime and nighttime hemispheres, thus swiftly increasing the operating capacity of the world's electrical energy system and, concomitantly, living standard in an unprecedented feat of international cooperation.

Cosmosgraphy, 1993, Fuller and Kuromiya

Copyright 1938, Buckminster Fuller Institute, Los Angeles. All rights reserved. The word Dymaxion and Dymaxion(TM) Map design are trademarks of the Buckminster Fuller Institute.

How Can You Participate? Global and local activity is needed to accelerate the attainment of the vision of GENI. Your participation can take many forms — be it your time, expertise, talents, financial donations, contacts and influence. Please contact Patricia Stevens at the GENI office for more information on getting involved. GENI Newsletter: Writers and mailing teams are needed to publish GENI's newsletter on a quarterly basis, providing information for both public supporters and policy making/technical communities. Writing Projects: Researchers, writers and editors are needed to develop articles for magazines and journals and to publish White Papers and a bi–monthly information package for Politicians, Press and People of Influence (3 Ps). Presentation Booth: The donation or development of folding, graphics and multi-media presentation booths are needed for international and local "on–the–road" displays. Introduction Video: Funding and production assistance are needed to create one of the highest forms of leverage for GENI — an 8-10 minute video to be given to anyone interested. GENI now has one called "What If?" that needs to be updated or replaced. Contribution Evenings: Hosts and organizers are needed to produce contribution evening. Currently, GENI's sole source on income is by individual donation. Contribution evenings can inform your friends and associates about GENI, Bucky's #1 priority from the World Game, and help use Fund the Vision.

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The Buckminster Fuller Institute owns all rights to the Dymaxion™ Map design. The word Dymaxion™ and the Dymaxion™ Map design are trademarks of the Buckminster Fuller Institute. The Map is copyrighted by the Buckminster Fuller Institute, 1938, and is used here by permission.

Dymaxion™ Map Beautiful four color poster printed on heavy-gauge paper. Promises to generate discussions in your home and office. GENI Mission — to accelerate the attainment of optimal, ecologically sustainable energy solutions in the shortest possible time for the peace, health and prosperity of all. GENI is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation registered in the State of California.

Two decades ago, the late R. Buckminster Fuller proposed interconnecting regional power systems into a single continuous global electrical energy grid. • While this vision is still years away, tech- nological advances have made the linking of international and inter regional energy networks practicable today. • Transmission lines allow utilities to level the peaks and valleys of demand. This is accomplished between East-West time zones, as well as North-South seasonal variations in demand. • The origin of the energy grid initiative emerged as the highest priority of the World Game™. Its stated purpose is “to make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological damage or the disadvantage of anyone.” Research reveals that these major benefits will result from expanding electrical networks. • Increase in everyone’s stan- dard of living • Reduction of fossil fuel demand and the resultant pollu- tion • Relief of the population explosion • Reduction of world hunger • Enhancement of world trade • Promotion of international cooperation and peace • The purpose of GENI, Global Energy Network Institute, is to educate all people, especially world leaders, to the potential benefits of this global solution. •

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How can I support GENI?

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