Apply to Present at the 19th Annual Chicago Food Justice Summit
The Chicago Food Policy Action Council would like to invite all to submit their proposal to present at the 19th Annual Chicago Food Justice Summit to be held virtually on March 6-8, 2024. The Summit will empower attendees to share meaningful knowledge, build strong relationships, and join in conversations to envision our food future together.
The theme of this year’s Summit is Climate Resilience: Collective Action in the Face of Climate Chaos
There is no food justice without environmental justice
As our rapidly changing climate threatens the way all our ecosystems are functioning, the way we grow our food is concurrently being impacted. In the last several decades, farmers have been cornered into prioritizing efficiency and productivity over environmental sustainability. ‘Conventional farming’ was not designed to be climate friendly - but instead designed to make lots of food and commodities quickly. We know that it’s possible to shift agricultural practices to be more in harmony with surrounding ecosystems, but this requires significant shifts in government investments, consumer habits, and of course, the growing methods farmers use.
There is no environmental justice without food justice
Our food system is a paradox in many ways: conventional growing, confinement animal production, transportation, energy usage and food waste are aggressively fueling the climate crisis, putting both farmers and many environmental justice communities on the front lines of those most affected by droughts, heatwaves, and irregular weather patterns. Communities most frequently subjected to environmental injustices are more likely to be food apartheid communities. They are less likely to be able to grow their own food due to contaminated water ways, heavy metals and other toxins in soil, and particulate matter.
Our food system and our environment don’t have to remain this way. These two movements are intrinsically tied to each other and are both stronger when building intentional bridges between the two.
We are looking for panels, workshops, and engaging sessions that fit this year’s theme, as well as embody our mission and vision statements. Each day will explore the ways that we can strengthen and scale our food system while planning and preparing for the many economic, social, and environmental challenges that lay ahead.
What will it take to build a system:
that allows folks equitable access to the food that excites and nourishes them
that empowers growers and food workers for economic success
that honors the Earth and her inhabitants
that centers community and intergenerational stewardship
while being scalable to our food needs, resilient to future disasters and disruptions, and vibrant for many generations to come?
Para leer en español haga clic aquí
All proposals are due by November 15th, 2023 at 11:59PM. Speaker stipends are available.
This event is organized in partnership with Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events (DCASE) and the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH).
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We are generally looking for 75-minute lectures, panel discussions, or interactive workshops, but are open to hearing other structures and time frames. Some in-depth sessions may need to be longer than 75 minutes to allow for audience participation and development.
We are also actively looking for artists, creatives, growers, and healers to host hands-on activities that may be shorter than 75 minutes. Additionally, we welcome presentations that break the norm of virtual presentation as long as they adhere to the spirit of collective care.
Por lo general, buscamos presentaciónes de 75 minutos, paneles de discusión o talleres interactivos, pero estamos abiertos a otras estructuras y marcos de tiempo. Algunas sesiones en profundidad pueden necesitar más de 75 minutos para permitir la participación y el desarrollo de la audiencia.
También buscamos artistas, creativos, cultivadores y curanderos para realizar actividades dinámicas que pueden durar menos de 75 minutos. Además, damos la bienvenida a presentaciones que rompan la norma de presentación virtual siempre que se adhieran al espíritu de “apoyo colectivo”.
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Our volunteer Summit Leadership team will blind score the proposals using a rubric that evaluates relevancy to the Chicagoland food system; understanding of the theme of Collective Care; commitment to racial equity, social justice, and food sovereignty; and presentation in an engaging, interactive, or unique manner.
El proceso de selección se realizará de forma aleatoria por nuestro equipo de líderes voluntarios. La rúbrica evalúa las presentaciones que son relevantes al sistema alimentario de Chicagoland, comprensión de la temática, compromiso a la equidad racial, justicia social, soberanía alimentaria y presentación en una manera dinámica e interesante.
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Our review committee will see roughly 50 proposals, so we ask folks to keep their answers to 350 words or less. But again, this isn't strict by any means, and people's evaluations are not impacted by the length or brevity of their proposal.
Nuestro comité de revisión verá aproximadamente 50 propuestas, por lo que le pedimos a la gente que mantenga sus respuestas en 350 palabras o menos. Pero nuevamente, esto no es estricto de ninguna manera, y las evaluaciones de las personas no se ven afectadas por la extensión o brevedad de su propuesta.
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While we are working to make the summit accessible to everyone, this is only our 2nd year doing the summit virtually, so we have learned a lot in the past two years about how to offer an equitable virtual conference to all attendees. Below is a quick overview of what we have in the works currently, but we would love and appreciate any of your thoughts or feedback.
Our summit leadership team is composed of four working groups, one of them being "Strategies for Accessibility." This is led by two individuals whose main focus in organizing the summit is to research and implement ways that we can make our virtual summit as accessible as possible. When registration is open, there will be a question asking if anyone needs any services or features to be included in our virtual platform, and our team will follow up with that person directly to make sure we have everything covered. (The reason I say "as accessible as possible" is because the main barrier for us is funding. We are a small nonprofit and the summit is free for all to attend) .
We are doing direct outreach to disability advocates and food justice leaders with disabilities to make sure that we have diverse presenters of varying abilities sharing the work they do in the food justice world. Last year, we had a session led by Washieka Torres on Creating an Accessible Food Sovereignty Guide for the Chicagoland Area for People with Disabilities .
We are coordinating live Spanish and American Sign Language interpretation at all our live sessions, along with captioning.
Estamos trabajando para que la cumbre sea accesible para todes. Este es nuestro segundo año haciendo la cumbre de manera virtual, por lo que hemos aprendido mucho en los últimos dos años sobre cómo ofrecer una conferencia virtual equitativa a todos les asistentes. A continuación se muestra una descripción general rápida de lo que tenemos en proceso actualmente, pero nos encantaría y apreciaríamos sus comentarios o comentarios.
Nuestro equipo de liderazgo de la cumbre está compuesto por cuatro grupos de trabajo, uno de los cuales es "Estrategias para la accesibilidad". Esto está dirigido por dos personas cuyo objetivo principal en la organización de la cumbre es investigar e implementar formas en que podamos hacer que nuestra cumbre virtual sea lo más accesible posible. Cuando el registro esté abierto, habrá una pregunta que preguntará si alguien necesita que se incluyan servicios o funciones en nuestra plataforma virtual, y nuestro equipo hará un seguimiento con esa persona directamente para asegurarse de que tengamos todo cubierto. (La razón por la que digo "lo más accesible posible" es porque la principal barrera para nosotros es la financiación. Somos una pequeña organización sin fines de lucro y la cumbre es gratuita para que todos asistan)
Estamos haciendo un acercamiento directo a les defensores de la discapacidad y los líderes de la justicia alimentaria con discapacidades para asegurarnos de que tengamos presentadores diversos de diferentes habilidades que compartan el trabajo que realizan en el mundo de la justicia alimentaria. El año pasado, tuvimos una sesión dirigida por Washieka Torres sobre la creación de una guía de soberanía alimentaria accesible para el área de Chicago para personas con discapacidades.
Estamos coordinando la interpretación en vivo del español y el lenguaje de señas estadounidense en todas nuestras sesiones en vivo, junto con los subtítulos.
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Speakers will be provided with a $50 stipend for their presentation.
Les oradores recibirán un remuneración de $50 por su presentación.
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For additional questions or support, please email summit(at)chicagofoodpolicy.com.
Para preguntas o asistencia adicionales, envía un correo electrónico a summit@ hicagofoodpolicy.com.