The 2023 Camden Conference, scheduled for Feb. 17-19, is titled Global Trade & Politics: Managing Turbulence, and will take place at the Camden Opera House, 29 Elm St.

Topics will highlight the importance of global commerce and how it impacts everyday lives. Speakers will explore alternative ways in which the interdependence of commerce, global politics, and national security could be successfully managed for both competition and cooperation, according to a news release from Donna Wallace at Auburn Public Library.

The library is scheduled to participate as one of the hosting libraries. Leading up to this year’s conference, the library will host three sessions online via Zoom.

First, the conference and library will offer a book discussion series on Naomi Klein’s “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate” at 4 p.m. online via Zoom.

● Jan. 19 – Session 1: Globalization, free trade, and climate change (read pp. 64-160 – 96 pages)
● Feb. 2 – Session 2: Extractivism, environmentalists and corporations, climate fixes (read pp. 161-187; 191-229; 256-280 – 88 pages)
● Feb. 16 – Session 3: Blockadia – Local impact and resistance (read pp. 293-336; 367-387) – 63 pages.

To register, call the reference desk at 207-333-6640, ext. 4. Books will be available on or after Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Because of funding provided by the Camden Conference, the library has purchased a limited number of copies of this book for participants to keep. When registering, provide an email address. Participants will be emailed the Zoom link for the discussions on the day of the first discussion Jan. 19. The link will be the same for all three sessions.

Second, “Maine’s Energy Scene: Local Aspirations Clash with Global Markets” will be presented 4-5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, by Tux Turkel via Zoom.

Turkel is an award-winning journalist who has spent most of his career as a staff writer for the Portland Press Herald and the Maine Sunday Telegram. A graduate of Emerson College in Boston, he is Maine’s leading writer on energy and utility issues.

Third, a film screening and discussion on “Flow: The Global Water Crisis” documentary will be shown from 3-5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, in person in the Androscoggin Community Room at the Auburn library, 49 Spring St.

This film asks to look deeply at the world’s dwindling fresh water supply, a topic many experts label as the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century. Viewers will also get a look at some practical solutions to the water crisis, along with emerging new technologies.

For more details, visit camdenconference.org.

Check out other upcoming area events!