Southern Minnesota Nurses is passing along this information for the benefit of its members but does not endorse and is not associated with the event or its presenters.
Dear friends and fellow changemakers,
In 2019 the Southern Minnesota Rural Equity Summit was held in partnership with the Greater Mankato Diversity Council, the Region Nine Development Commission, the St. Peter Community Education, and the University of Minnesota Extension – Center for Community Vitality. I was fortunate to be part of the team. The event was primarily funded through an event sponsorship with the Bush Foundation and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. We hoped that 80 people would attend. We had over 150 join us! The event was filled with inspiring stories of communities taking action to make their town more welcoming for all. Key stakeholders gave great feedback and saw the importance and need for bringing such a great resource to greater Minnesota that centered on equity instead of creating a token program. There was also a long-term ripple effect. Participants went back to their rural communities and made changes. They realized they weren’t alone in this work, and across the state, many communities were also coming together to make a change in creative ways. Below are a few quotes on the impact of the day:
“I appreciated the breadth of disciplines represented at the event.”
“Gained more resources.”
“Great connections to current and local events.”
“Very well done for a first-year event.”
“Hold another one next year. I’ll be back!”
Back by Popular Demand! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the planning team was unsure if the event would be held in 2020. But, because of the racial tension taking place across our land, we have been determined to find a way to move forward with a virtual event. There is an urgency during these trying times.
November 16 and 17, from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. This year’s theme is Building Equity by Becoming Anti-Racist. We expect the virtual event to grow as it reaches all corners of the state in areas like Moorhead, Worthington, Rochester, and Duluth. The virtual conference will also provide access to community members and stakeholders with limited budgets by eliminating hours of travel time and hotel expenses. We also are hoping to have scholarships available to ensure all can attend.
Sneak Peek! We are working hard on scheduling relevant sessions that include opening keynote speakers Bukata Hayes and Stacy Wells, co-founders of Love and Struggle, a consulting company that works with organizations and communities on issues of race, inclusion, and equity. They will talk about WRITE on RACE, a two-year curriculum, and process designed to raise community awareness of racism. Other topics in the works are Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Education with Non-profit Boards; Robust Public Policy Work with the 2020 Census; and Racialized Trauma and Stress. We also have an engaging art teacher who will share stories of artists of color and their work at the end of the first day. Registrants will be invited to create their own collage on racial justice and have the opportunity to show and discuss their work with others in a breakout session on the second day.
We plan to use an online app called SCHED (https://sched.com). The app allows the registrant to scroll through and read all the session topics, speaker bios, and simply click to register for that specific session. We plan to send a “swag bag/mailer” to the first 150 registrants, that will include the WRITE on RACE journal, materials for the interactive art project, and other materials.
Register Today! Attached you will find the event flyer with more information. Get in on the Early Bird Special by registering before October 16, for only $40. Feel free to forward this to others that might be interested in attending.
Let me know if you have any questions. I can be reached at 507.469.4552 or at Juliehawker@gmail.com.
I hope to see you there,
Julie Hawker
Post expires at 8:00 PM on Tuesday, November 17th, 2020.
