|
What
is a strand?
A strand is a group
of workshops related to a theme and developed to be sequential, building
knowledge for the participants on the topic, while developing a community
of learners who can continue to support each other after the conference.
There is one coordinator for each strand who puts the strand together,
but multiple presenters. Each workshop is from 9 a.m. to 12 noon Monday
through Friday.
Why
strands?
Each year women tell
us that the conference is meaningful for them, supporting their leadership
and learning. This year, we wanted to “connect the dots” even
more. The strands give women a chance to learn about a topic in-depth
and in the community of other interested women.
Who can participate in a strand? Is there a selection process?
Under each strand there is a section describing who should consider attending.
Each strand will have between 20 and 30 women and we are looking for diversity
of participants from a variety of backgrounds. The Women Navigating Different
Cultures in the US is geared toward social workers, teachers and other
professionals. The Director of Community Connections along with the coordinator
will select the participants. There will be a rolling acceptance process,
so get your application in as soon as possible.
Who
can participate in a strand? Is there a selection process?
Under each strand
there is a section describing who should consider attending. Each strand
will have between 20 and 30 women and we are looking for diversity of
participants from a variety of backgrounds. The Women Navigating Different
Cultures in the US is geared toward social workers, teachers and other
professionals. The Director of Community Connections along with the coordinator
will select the participants. There will be a rolling acceptance process,
so get your application in as soon as possible.
What
are my commitments to being part of a strand?
Strand members must
commit to actively participating in all five workshops. There will
also be a mandatory preparation meeting and two follow-up meetings. Each
participant will develop a plan for what they personally want to achieve
for themselves. Strand members commit to building positive community and
conversation with the other members of their strand.
Can
I attend afternoon workshops as well?
Absolutely! The afternoon
workshops are open to anyone.
Can
I stay on campus?
Yes, only women who
are strand participants are eligible for housing. It is on a first come
basis. Most housing is not air conditioned.
How
do I apply?
Just
download and complete the registration form --information about downloading
the registration form.
If
you are participating in any strands, please answer these additional questions:
Why do you want to
participate in this strand? What do you hope to gain?
How can you imagine
applying this experience in your life after the conference?
Are there any obstacles
to your full participation every day?
You can type
or carefully handwrite your responses. They do not need to be long.
IMPORTANT:
Please make sure your name and contact information
is on your answer sheet.
How
many strands are there?
There are seven strands
and they are loisted below.Click on the link to learn more about each
strand.
Women
as Entrepreneurs: What it Takes to Get Started
Women’s
Lives, Women’s Legacies
Women
in the Political Process for Community Change
Women
Navigating Different Cultures in the US (for professionals)
Women
in the Arts: Developing Your Creative Talents
Women
Exploring Spirituality in Our Lives
Study
Circle on Race
Women
as Entrepreneurs:
What It Takes to Get Started
What we will
accomplish:
Many of us dream of owning our own business, but we don’t know what
it takes to get started and stay on track. These workshops will give you
the nuts and bolt information along with the inspiration to get started.
Each workshop is led by experts in the field.
Who should
attend:
Women who are interested in starting their own business, and women business
owners who are in 12 months or less.
Coordinator:
Sheila Smith is a consultant focused on business counseling and
technical assistance to minorities and women in business or who are aspiring
entrepreneurs.
Day 1: You
Need a Plan
We will look at the importance of a business plan, how do avoid some business
pitfalls and create an image of what your business could look like.
Day 2: Goal
Setting and Your support Team
Goal setting is important for the success of a business. You will write
your goals and develop strategies to keep you going for what to do when
you feel rejected and you want to throw in the towel.
Day 3: Financing
Your Business and Pricing Your Service or Product
We will start to work on the core elements of financing your business,
finding out what your customers are willing to pay for your product or
service, and developing a budget that will ensure create a cash flow.
Day 4: Marketing
and Advertising
We will take a look at the differences and similarities of marketing and
advertising. We will learn how to use your marketing dollars and identify
who is your competition
Day 5: Protecting
Your Business
We will discuss with an attorney the various forms of business and how
to protect yours. We’ll be summing up the week and finalizing a
successful business plan.
Women’s
Lives, Women’s Legacies™
This may be the most important writing you will ever do
What
we will accomplish:
We will tell our life stories with the goal of preparing our
unique spiritual-ethical will. The process begins with linking women to
their past through discovering the legacies of feminine ancestors. We
will move into the present to define who we really are and accept our
unique gifts. Finally, we will gather the past and present with a focus
on linking to future generations through the preparation of our spiritual-ethical
will.
Who
should attend:
Women of every age, background and life experience – mothers and
daughters, sisters, friends; women in transition, women aging.
Coordinator:
Dona Billey-Weiler is a national facilitator for the Women’s Legacy
Foundation and is a trained autobiographer who consults and facilitates
classes, courses and workshops in memoir writing, autobiography, and guided
life review.
Day
One: The Significance – Why Me? Why Now?
We begin with the background for legacy writing, considering world views
of patriarchy, the traditional ethical will, and the more personal spiritual-ethical
will. We will explore multi-cultural traditions of oral history and story-telling.
Our preliminary goal is to explore who we are, how we’ve lived,
and what we’ve contributed to the world.
Day
Two: The Past – What’s in a Name?
Before we can give our stories, values, and wisdom to the future, we must
first gather our legacies from the past. We will explore connections to
family, ancestors, and history beginning with the legacies given to us
at birth and by our feminine ancestors.
Day
Three: The Present – Who Am I, Really?
Reflecting on our personal journey, seeking connection to all women while
honoring what is unique and extraordinary within us, we explore our childhood
& adolescence, feelings about our body, work and play, friendships
and secrets. We will examine our identity in relation to long-held notions
of women as both mothers and sexual beings.
Day
Four: The Future – How Do I Want to be Remembered?
Documenting a legacy – creating a spiritual-ethical will –
is the last leg of this sacred journey. In this session, we will begin
to transform the legacies of the present and the past into gifts for future
generations. We will articulate our values, wisdom and sincerest hopes
for loved ones and how we hope to be remembered.
Day
Five: The Legacy – When and Where Do I Present my Legacy?
We will review and organize all of our work and determine which writings
to include in our spiritual-ethical will. We will discuss techniques for
improving our writing, editing, preserving, and how this work ultimately
links us to family, community and the generations to come. Finally, we
will put our legacy writing together in a beautiful, handmade cover.
Women
in Politics for Community Change
What
we will accomplish:
We will increase awareness of the impact of politics on our community
and the importance the role women can play. We will discuss how issues
relating to women and children are addressed through political mechanisms
and why we must be at the table to frame the discussion and make decisions.
Who
should attend:
Women interested in getting involved to improve their communities and
women interested in running for political office.
Coordinator:
Gladys Muhammad is the Associate Director of the South Bend Heritage Foundation,
Director of the Charles Martin Youth Center and a long time activist and
community organizer.
Day
One: Struggles for the Right to Vote
We will take a historical perspective of women’s struggle for the
right to vote. We’ll take a look at the Women’s Suffrage Movement
and the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution giving women
the right to vote. Workshop will discuss the courage, foresight and leadership
qualities of the women involved and we will view the film Iron Jawed Angels.
Day
Two: Social Change Advocacy and Grassroots Organizing
We will focus on strategies and techniques for empowering women for as
social change agents. We look at the grassroots leadership women have
provided in many times and places, particularly the Civil Rights Movement.
We view the film Standing On My Sisters' Shoulders which documents women’s
leadership in the Mississippi Freedom Movement.
Day
Three: Responsibilities and Challenges
We will look at how we can shape agendas and influence decisions. Elected
officials will share their experiences, responsibilities, and challenges
in the political arena and discuss ways in which we can be involved with
impacting the political process at the local level.
Day
Four: So You Want To Be A Politician?
This is a hands-on workshop where we will investigate what it takes to
run for public office, including campaigning for office, establishing
a platform, selecting a slogan, connecting with voters, building a campaign
committee, fund raising, marketing resources, working with the media.
Day
Five: Women's Organizations Impacting Public Policy
Women’s organizations are impacting public policy everyday. Learn
about the strategies, approaches and impact of organizations such as the
American Association of University Women, the League of Women Voters ,
and the National Organization of Women.
Women
Navigating Different Cultures in the U.S.A.
What
we will accomplish:
We will explore the meaning and richness of the different cultures that
surrounds us. We will discuss the different components of cultural diversity,
develop some competence in dealing with multicultural issues and appreciate
the richness of cultural diversity.
Who
should attend:
This workshop is for professionals, i.e, social workers, teachers, and
others who work with diverse populations.
Coordinator:
Lilia Periquet is a trilingual and bicultural 23 year veteran social worker
and adjunct professor.
Day
One: Being White in America: A Misunderstood Culture
Dr. Burke will discuss how is it like to be white in America at the present
time, including belief systems, norms, stereotypes, and language. This
workshop will include the use of the genogram to study cultural identity.
Day
Two: A Framework for Understanding Poverty, Part 1
In this workshop, the presenter will discuss how individuals in poverty
act differently than those people in the middle and upper economic classes.
The social cues or "hidden rules" that govern how we think and
interact in society will be studied.
Day
Three: A Framework for Understanding Poverty, Part 2
In this workshop, the presenter will discuss how individuals in poverty
act differently than those people in the middle and upper economic classes.
The social cues or "hidden rules" that govern how we think and
interact in society will be studied.
Day
Four: Unlearning "isms"
This workshop will study various ways of unlearning some of the prejudicial
behavior that we have.
Day
Five: Wrap Up Session
This is a fun time. It will be a "putting together" of the knowledge
gained during the week about cultural competence.
Women
in the Arts: Developing Your Creative Talents
What
we will accomplish:
Your artistic journey will be a very personalized approach where you discover
what artistic vehicles you see as your most fully actualized creative
persona. We will explore your creative talents through hands on activities
where you may write a song, sketch a drawing, or start the first chapter
of the great novel that’s inside your head. You will gain working
knowledge of the process or the “business” of getting your
work to a larger audience through, publishers, agents, writing circles,
and other artistic entities that support individual artist.
Finally, as we wrap-up on Friday we will have a Talent Showcase featuring
the work developed in your week long activities and devise personal road
maps for your next steps in your artistic journey.
Who
Should Attend:
Whether you want to become a writer, poet, filmmaker, visual artist, musician,
songwriter or any other artistic discipline. Or, if you want to, for the
first time, tap into that creative energy you’ve always known you’ve
had just did not know how to go about accessing it on a tangible level.
Coordinator:
Kareemah El-Amin is a local filmmaker, writer, poet and community activist.
Day
One: Discovering the Creative Genius in You
Discover how to determine your best artistic strengths by assessing the
things you love to do the most and the things you’re best at. Evaluate
your talents and learn how they can be tapped to their fullest potential.
Day
Two: The Art of Mind, Body and Soul
Once you discover your strongest artistic discipline, you will learn through
hands-on activities how you can utilize different levels of your being;
physically, emotionally, and spiritually to access and develop the unique
layers of your creative persona.
Day
Three: Arts for Social Change
Learn how your work and your artistic abilities can be used for social
change in your community. Learn about pioneers and people of today who
are taking the arts into every area in mainstream society to affect change
in our world.
Day
Four: Honing your Craft: It Really Is Work
Learn how to create a personal road map, find your best teacher, locate
available resources, and continually educate yourself about your talents,
and develop contacts and networks that will help you hone your craft and
market your abilities.
Day
Five: Where Do We Go Next?
As we wrap-up the week, everyone will plan where do we go next, and showcase
an example of the creative work produced during the week. Special guests
will attend from local theatres, and artists associations.
Women
Exploring Spirituality In Our Lives
What
we will accomplish:
We will gain a more conscious understanding of where we have come from
and where we stand as spiritual women, clarify for ourselves how choices
we make impact our spiritual selves and reconsider and re/commit to our
goals, dreams and gifts.
Who
should attend:
This workshop is designed for any woman wishing to better understand or
clarify her spiritual life. Attendance is open to all women from the professional
clergywoman to the merely curious.
Coordinator:
Rev. Dr. Carolyne Call is an instructor in psychology and ordained minister
in the United Church of Christ.
Day
One: Roots
This workshop will delve into the roots of who we are as spiritual women.
How have we come to be who and where we are in our spiritual lives? We
will create a spiritual/religious family tree to clarify for ourselves
who has mentored, guided, pushed or encouraged us in our journey. We will
also create spiritual landscapes to illustrate our journeys thus far.
This is a time for reflection on where we have been and who has guided
us thus far.
Day
Two: Trunk
Now is the time to discern for ourselves what constitutes our core values,
beliefs and commitments. We will use various creative methods to determine
what values are closest to our hearts and we will create visual means
for sharing them with others.
Day
Three: Soil
What nurtures us in our spiritual journeys and in our private lives? In
this time we will explore the role of spiritual practices, focusing on
the ancient discipline of the labyrinth.
Day
Four: Branches
This is a time to explore the experiences of breakage, pruning, and grafting
on our spiritual lives. Have there been breaks in our lives (such as divorce,
deaths, or suffering) that have impacted who we are as spiritual persons?
Can we also discern what might need to be pruned from our lives to become
healthier, more whole people? Finally, for some, our spiritual lives have
been impacted through the bringing in of new life (birth, adoption, remarriage).
How do these various changes, both voluntary and involuntary, shape us
spiritually?
Day
Five: Fruit
Finally, as a culmination to our week of exploration, we will explore
our own hopes, dreams and gifts and what it would mean to bring these
to the world at large. We will close with a creative project that will
allow you to reflect on your own gifts and what goals or dreams you wish
to re/commit to in the weeks, months and years to come.
Study
Circles on Race
What
we will accomplish:
We will have honest, respectful and open discussion on race and racism
its impact on our lives. Study Circles are done throughout the US and
South Bend to bring people from throughout our community together to better
understand each other and build constructive solutions for improving our
community. The process is supported by a trained facilitator using video
and discussion questions.
Who
should attend:
This workshop is women from all backgrounds who are interested in having
a respectful, productive discussion on this critical issue.
Coordinator:
Glenda Rae Hernandez, a member of the South Bend Human Rights Commission
who coordinates the study circles and an activist committed to justice
and equality.
Questions?
Contact us:
CWIL:
Wellsprings Conference
# 7 Havican Hall
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Phone: (574) 284-4180
Fax: (574) 284-4141 |
