OAKLAND, CA: Move to Amend Nor-Cal! Regional Convergence

Friday, July 27, 2012 – 6:30pm to Sunday, July 29, 2012 – 12:00pm

Oakland Peace Center

111 Fairmount Ave

Oakland, CA 94611

Move to Amend is holding seven regional gatherings across the United States in 2012. These events will bring you together with Move to Amend activists and supporters from throughout your region of the country. Let’s amplify and multiply the power of all that great local organizing by building deeper organizational connections. Let’s kick it up a notch!

http://movetoamend.org/events/oakland-ca-move-amend-nor-cal-regional-convergence

Convergence Agenda

Session 1: Friday, July 27, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM (Laying the Foundation)

*The State of the Global & US Democracy Movement
This session will lay the groundwork for our weekend together. We’ll address the state of our movement(s) on a national and global scale and discuss the political climate for systemic social change in the United States.

Session Speakers:

Colin Rajah, Program Director, International Migrant Rights & Global Justice Program
Malkia Cyril, Executive Director of the Center for Media Justice
Alicia Garza, Executive Director of People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER)
Mitch Jeserich Host of “Letters & Politics” on KPFA Radio
Marc Sapir, Medicare for All

Session 2: Saturday, July 28, 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM (Organizing Skills Focus)

*Getting Involved with Move to Amend (Starting a MTA Group)
Introductory level. We’ll cover how to get started working with the Move to Amend campaign including forming a group, beginning public outreach and growing your capacity. You’ll hear from Move to Amend organizers who are leading successful local groups in the region who will share best practices and strategies that have worked in their communities.

Session Presenters/Facilitators:

Alanna Stewart, Move to Amend National Field Organizing Team
Carrie Durkee (invited), Ft Bragg Move to Amend
Daniel Lee, Move to Amend National Executive Committee

*Running a Move to Amend Community Campaign
Advanced level. You’ll hear from experienced grassroots organizers who have run political campaigns at the local level. We’ll discuss MTA’s 2012 Resolve to Amend campaign and how your community can get started running a resolution effort that maximizes public engagement and capacity building potential.

Session Presenters/Facilitators:

Margaret Koster, Ukiah Move to Amend
Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, Move to Amend National Executive Committee
Patrick O’Connell, Santa Clara Move to Amend

Session 3: Saturday, July 28, 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM (Strategy)

*Engaging Your Community on Corporate Constitutional Rights & the MTA Campaign
Introductory level. We’ll cover how to engage and educate individuals and organizations in your community about the campaign to amend the Constitution. You’ll learn best practices and talking points for reaching out to diverse constituents in your community and increase your comfort level talking about Corporate Personhood and explaining how it impacts communities and individuals.

Session Presenters/Facilitators:

George Friday, Move to Amend National Executive Committee
Nancy Price, Move to Amend National Executive Committee
Sarah Scudder, Humboldt County Move to Amend

*Imagining a New Democratic Framework for Corporations & Artificial Entities
Advanced level. We’ll cover how the Move to Amend amendment will effect corporations, unions, non-profits and other organizations. You’ll learn the ramifications of the amendment and how the US legal and political system will adjust once corporations and other artificial entities cannot claim rights under the Constitution.

Session Presenters/Facilitators:

David Cobb, Attorney and Move to Amend National Executive Committee
Lorraine Reich, Attorney
Richard Hobbs, Attorney and Santa Clara Move to Amend

12:30-1:45 PM Lunch Break

We’ll be visited by two awesome local food trucks for lunch:

Conklins Catering (Indonesian)
Pietissererie (Dessert)

Session 4: Saturday, July 28, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Strategy & Organizing Skills)

*Building a Multi-Racial Democracy Movement for Social Justice & Constitutional Renewal
This session will address why the emphasis of our movement(s) must be on confronting racism and other oppressions in order to win real democracy. The means are the ends in our struggles for social justice, and this session will provide a framework for why an anti-racism orientation is critical for our movement and how to instill that ethic and commitment within ourselves and our organizations. We will cover theory and practice.

Session Presenters/Facilitators:

Daniel Lee
David Cobb
George Friday
Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap

Social Mixer: Saturday, July 27, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM (Fun!)

Shashamane Bar and Grill (Ethiopian Restaurant and Bar)
2507 Broadway (between 25th St & 26th St), Oakland, CA 94612
Join us for a relaxed evening with your new and old Move to Amend friends. If you want to eat dinner at Shashamane, the food is excellent. Or stop by for a drink after you dine elsewhere. No set program, just hanging out and having fun and deepening our relationships. Building community is a key piece of the social change puzzle!

Session 5: Sunday, July 28, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Capacity Building/Infrastructure)

*Building Capacity for the Work to Come: Strategy Discussion for MTA Organizers
We’ll brainstorm and discuss tools and infrastructure needs to better aid MTA organizers in the Northwest region. We’ll cover networking and capacity building infrastructure needs as well as steps toward Move to Amend organizing at the state level in the region.

>>> Special Additional Session – Partnership with Pachamama Alliance and Generation Waking Up <<<

WakeUp Workshop: Sunday, July 28, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

The WakeUp Workshop is an interactive, multimedia workshop created by Generation Waking Up and the Pachamama Alliance to ignite global citizens everywhere to bring forth a thriving, just, sustainable way of life. This workshop will be adapated for use in the Move To Amend Coalition, and is being offered especially for those persons attending the Move To Amend Regional Convergence being held in Oakland the weekend of July 27-29.

The workshop explore 4 critical questions:
1. Who are We as a human generation alive in the 21st Century?
2. Where Are We with the interrelated challenges we’re facing?
3. What Has to Change in our ways of thinking to open new possibilities?
4. What Do We Do Now to create the future we want?

As we explore these questions through video, dialogue, and group activities, we will build connection & community, and explore interlinked strategies towards creating thriving self.

Session Presenters/Facilitators: