Call for Proposals

The Conference Planning Committee invites organizations and individuals (faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members) to submit proposals for workshops.

To submit a proposal, please fill out the Workshop Proposal form (in Microsoft Word format or electronically via Google Docs) and return it to the Women’s Center via email at women@umn.edu or fax at 612-625-9682 no later than January 31, 2014 (Please note that the deadline for proposals has been extended). Because of limited space, not all workshops can be selected. We will give priority to those that make direct connections to the areas of emphasis listed below.

The general guidelines for workshops are:

• Appeal to a broad audience
• Resources provided for further education, action, or activism on the issue
• 60-75 minutes in length
• Presenters are unpaid (but will have their registration fee(s) waived)
• Subject matter related to the following areas of emphasis (although we have included sample workshop topics for each area, please feel free to propose other topics based on your expertise or interest):

Community Building
(Examples: solidarity between women of color, spaces for WOC at PWIs, finding community beyond campus, influences of black and multicultural sororities)

Interpersonal Relationships
(Examples: decolonial love; interracial/intercultural dating; intergenerational conversations; family structures and dynamics; intimacy, pleasure and violence)

Intersecting Identities
(Examples: GLBTQ women of color; women of color with disabilities; multiracial identity; unpacking issues of class; the role of faith/religion/spirituality)

Leadership
(Examples: mentorship; how to build & maintain a strong community/network of WOC; WOC in student leadership; navigating leadership as a woman of color)

Social Justice
(Examples: (Im)migration narratives/reform; environmental justice; street harassment; the role of allies; how to be an ally w/o taking away advocacy)

Well-Being
(Examples: self-care, mental health, internalized oppression, WOC in the arts & telling their own stories/narrative/experiences)

Women of Color in Academia
(Examples: challenges in advancement; navigating grad school as a WOC; balancing academia/own culture)

Women of Color in Media
(Examples: beauty standards/politics; respectability politics in pop culture; WOC creation of media; using media/pop culture to talk about challenging issues)

Additional Considerations for Presenters

In order for all conference participants to gain the most knowledge and learning from the presentations and workshops, we highly encourage all presenters to consider the following suggestions:

• Make sure the presentation format and content of workshop engage all audience members to think, reflect, and share on the topic;
• Instead of talking to the audience, connect with the audience about the relevance of the topic and its impact on individual and community;
• Provide learning points, information (resources) or materials that participants can bring home with them after the presentation;
• Make sure that the presentation is accessible and inclusive of multiple learning styles;
• Provide an opportunity at the end of the presentation to engage in discussion and networking

Another wonderful video for engaging audience: