Are you looking forward to WEEC at the end of June? The programme says that there are 23 keynote speakers. "23!", I thought, "that's over 7 a day; hardly time for lunch. Who's going to eat all that herring?"
I need not have worried as only 8 of them have been given slots worthy of the term keynote, with 10 of the rest just sitting on two panels. The other 5 are in the opening plenary. Thus is language debased. I never thought there'd be keynote inflation to match the ubiquitous grade sort; that's universities for you, I suppose. Judging by how much time is allocated for all this, the audience won't have much scope to do much more than sit quietly, not fidget, and listen. Just what model of learning is on show here? Well, we know the answer to that.
In addition to the formal programme, there's a parallel one, side events, something for youth, an NGO forum, a social programme, and excursions into the lightness of the Swedish night – I'd go to Borås (again); it's where my house roof timbers come from.
I'm breathless just thinking about it all. Just as well I'm not going. A saving grace for all those who've lavished their carbon budgets on the trip, is that it will, unlike all those early WEECs that were by-words for chaos, be well organised. It is in Sweden, after all.
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