Track Planning

The Bonner Network is assisting in the development of tracks for 2 particular social justice issues: Youth Empowerment and Refugee/Immigration Issues. This page will be the workspace for the coordinators in planning the event. Here is the summary of these tracks:

Refugee/Immigration Issues Track | coordinated by Kelly Behrend, kelly@bonner.org

This track is designed for students, administrators, or partners who have an interest or experience in working with refugee or immigrant groups. Typically, students engage with these populations through their service in schools, refugee/immigrant support agencies, English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, or health clinics. Not only does this topic cross over a wide range of social services, but it has reached national news this past year through debates over the DREAM Act and related policy, making refugee and immigrant rights one of the foremost political discussions around contemporary civil rights in the United States. This track will enable participants to share their experiences, discuss the issues, and learn about opportunities for advocacy and social action.

Co-coordinated by Giuseppe Cespedes & Cynthia Douglas

Youth Empowerment Track | coordinated by Michael Richardson, mrichardson@bonner.org

This track is designed for students, administrators, or partners who have an interest or experience in working with youth groups.  Youth empowerment entails the structural and cultural process by which young people gain the ability, understanding, authority to implement change in their own lives and in the lives of others.  Students work with youth through youth groups, youth councils and after school and mentoring programs.  This topic embodies all social services and allows the opportunity for youth to organize and voice an opinion for positive community change on issues domestic and abroad.  This track will enable participants to share their experiences, discuss the issues, and learn about opportunities for advocacy and social action.

Co-coordinated by Matt Friberg & Jerome Goings

The Goal

To design tracks that guide participants toward a deeper understanding of the particular issue, share the various outlets for advocacy and action, connect them with relevant organizations, and enable them to envision their role in a movement toward influencing change. Our vision is to take students from a basic understanding of an issue, engage them in conversations about its social and political underpinnings, and come away with some collective action options for tackling the issue head on. 

We envision facilitating each of the workshop blocks throughout the track, incorporating particular partners along the way (a national policy partner could handle the bulk of the policy-focused workshop, for example). 

Our timeline for getting this done is:

• Mon. Dec. 27: submit workshop content proposal and partner org list to IMPACT workshops committee
• Mon. Jan. 3: send out information/invitation e-mails to identified partners to attend and/or sponsor the conference, ideally participating in the track
• Fri. Jan. 14: our internal deadline for hearing back from partners (although this could be extended)
• Wed. Jan. 19: our internal deadline for submitting workshop descriptions 
• Fri. Jan. 21: workshop deadline 

The Workshop Blocks

We noticed that last year's agenda for IMPACT consisted of 6 workshop blocks. We designed the tracks with these 6 slots in mind, but we are aware that these could be pared down to fewer depending on scheduling and the IMPACT planning committee's vision. Both issues tracks will follow the "developmental path" outlined below. Each item represents the primary goal of that workshop block. These goals will be more fleshed out according to each issue area [listing specific title, content, and presenter(s)] on the issue track planning pages in the next section.

1. Connecting Personal Experiences with Public Issues

• brief issue introduction
• discussion of personal experiences with the issue
• identification of the problems/challenges for:
• the affected population
• the volunteers
• the sites/support agencies 

2. Issue Knowledge

• history of the issue
• current situation (for affected population, service sector, policy)
• services provided to alleviate this issue
• model programs/policies 

3. Policy

• the political process
• history of relevant policies
• "sides" of the issue, the contemporary debate 
• current ways of tackling the issue at the political level 
• discussion of PolicyOptions

4. Skills for Working with the Issue

• we envision each issue area having some identifiable skills that would enhance the student's service, for example ESL training and cultural competency would be useful skills for students working with refugees and immigrants
• the workshop could touch on "the 3 essential skills for working with...", providing resources to students that will help them develop those and other skills as well 

5. "The Sector": Careers, Higher Education related to the Issue

• discussion of the "sector" of working with the issue professional
• career options
• higher education (graduate programs, research opportunities) 

6. Advocacy & Collective Action

• existing advocacy groups
• models for action within that particular issue
• discussion of collective action options 

Track Planning

These pages include our notes specific to the planning of these tracks, including more detail on workshops, partners we'd like to invite, and students/staff from our network we'd like to invite to participate or assist in workshop facilitation.

Conference Call 1/7

Ari, Mike, Kelly, Lorrie, Savannah

• General Conference Details
• 105 total workshops, 15 per 7 blocks
• 700 registrants (550 last year though)
• Looking like about 33 people per workshop (most conservative estimate) 

• Format of the issue tracks or "themes"
• Three? (Up to Five) 1.5h workshops
• One 3h immersion project w/ content
• youth: ?
• ref/immigration: Plaza Comunitaria
• One general all-group session on policy/advocacy (?) 

• Inviting Relevant Partners
• Sponsorship PDF from Savannah
• Sponsors accepted through March
• Demonstrating IMPACT opportunities and Bonner Network possibilities

• Next Steps
• Savannah to get in touch with us mid-Jan about immersion project
• Contacting organizations 

Partner Outreach Letters

• Header Logo (drag to desktop to download):  
• Refugee and Immigration
• Youth Empowerment
• Attachment: IMPACT Sponsorship 2011.pdf

The primary benefits of involvement in the track (beyond traditional sponsorship benefits) are listed below.

(Refer to this when speaking on the phone with partners)

Co-Facilitation Opportunity

There will be three workshops, arranged in a developmental and sequential way, that will lead participants through a progressively deeper understanding of an issue’s history, related policy, and advocacy opportunities. These workshops will be facilitated by track coordinators, with opportunities for your organization to plug in and present on relevant topics in an all-group setting.

Immersion Project

Stetson University host students and staff are working with local partners in DeLand, Florida to plan a 3-hour direct service opportunitity for participants in this track. Although the specifics of the immersion project are to be determined, this is an opportunity to participate in direct service and reflection with a group of students who are similarly committed to this issue.

Panel Participant

A partner organization panel will give participants a chance to hear about your diverse experiences with the issue. Although the specific topic of the panel for this issue track is to be determined, it will be a great opportunity to participate in a panel discussion with other prominent organizations in the field in an all-group setting.

Table at Networking Fair

Like most conferences, the Networking Fair is a highly anticipated event for both participants and presenters. The IMPACT networking fair will enable you to connect with students from around the country engaged with the issue, as well as other prominent partner organizations.

Elective Workshop

With 7 workshop blocks and an estimated 15 workshops per block, there are 105 workshop slots available for the IMPACT Conference. You are invited to submit a workshop proposal and present information on your organization, its projects, or skill-building trainings for participants.

Issue Track Luncheon

As the Bonner Network enters into its third decade, we are positioned to begin engaging with the issues on deeper levels. We look forward to sharing our knowledge and getting insight on your work in an intentional way through an Issue Luncheon with Bonner Foundation staff and other administrators from our network. The luncheon will enable you to engage in some strategic thinking with others who are working on this issue from around the country.