Breakout Workshops
Mountains, Trees, & Stars - Nature is full of inspiring symbols and images. Mountains are seemingly immovable, large, and ever-present, but they are also always shifting. The weather at the top of the mountain might be turbulent and angry while at the bottom it is calm, tranquil, and full of joy. Trees are diverse, adapting to the challenges of their local environment, rooting down into a network of underground communication and reaching their branches outward and upward toward shared connections and infinite possibilities. Stars, early tools of navigation, are faraway objects that are made of the same stuff that we are—they can be beacons of hope for a better path forward.
In this experiential session, embodied social justice theory and practice shape our exploration of anger and joy as well as purpose, values, ideas, and vision. Together, we will build deeply rooted self-trust and collective power through yoga and conscious dance, inspired by the intersectional feminist wisdom of Susan Raffo, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ursula LeGuin, Audre Lorde, and Abigail Rose Clark.
Come as you are. Move as you are able. No yoga or dance experience is needed to participate. Accessible to all minds/ bodies. Take-away tools, practices, and resources will be provided.
Presented by Sarah Hentges, founder of Spiral Goddess Collective & Spiral Studio
Embodied Movement For Envisioning Shared Power
This workshop will offer a brief overview of current threats to foundational data sets, including the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), and why these threats matter. Attendees will be invited to actively participate in considering the types of data and information that are needed to drive change and advance a more equitable future for Maine women and girls – and all Maine residents. This workshop will help inform the development of a new MePCSW data dashboard on the status of Maine women and girls.
Presented by Elinor Higgins, executive director of the Maine Permanent Commission on the Status of Women
Leveraging Data to Drive Change: Understanding Threats and Building Tools for the Future
Every election, Maine voters are presented with a range of local and statewide referendum questions, all looking to receive majority support from voters in order to become law. This workshop will feature an overview of the 2 statewide ballot questions on this November's ballot, and then give a deeper dive into why and how ballot measures are an important tool of our state legislative process. Participants will gain a greater understanding of the ballot measure process, how it can be an effective advocacy tool, and learn how to educate themselves on current and future referendum questions.
Presented by Lily James, advocacy coordinator at the Maine Women’s Lobby / MWLEF and Lisa Haberzettl, communications director at Maine Votes / Maine Voices Network
Ballot Initiatives: How they work, and what to know
Understand the role of relationship building, storytelling, empathy, & joy in organizing - AKA “connecting with purpose.” Explore how to bring people together into collective work and community, and an organizing model that empowers people to get directly involved transforming the unjust conditions they face. This is an interactive workshop that will also include space for personal reflection and opportunities for group discussion.