Join Us at the Climate Conference!
Join us February 24-25, 2023 to discuss, learn, and take action toward centering racial equity and social justice in the climate change resistance and resilience movements.
Be Part of the Change: February 24-25, 2023
The goal of the conference is to accelerate the pace with which a racial equity lens is integrated into regional climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience efforts. Centering of BIPOC experiences and adopting a racial equity lens for planning and decision making is urgently needed. By convening individuals and organizations from racial justice and social equity arenas with those working toward climate change resilience, this conference hopes to build a more equitable future where BIPOC and historically marginalized communities are less disproportionately impacted by a changing climate.
This two-day conference will feature case study presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and keynote speakers from Southern Oregon and beyond, around these three themes:
- Climate justice activism, action, and learning
- Adopting a racial equity lens – for individuals, for groups, and for action
- Learning lessons about equity and resilience from the 2020 fires
This conference is open to anyone interested in learning about climate and social justice! Attendees are expected to be a mixture of interested community members, high school and college students, teachers, and faculty from the region, and employees and volunteers with government agencies, businesses, and community organizations.
Registration
Las presentaciones en la Conferencia de Justicia Climática están en inglés. Si el idioma español es su idioma principal y le gustaría asistir, pero necesita ayuda con registrarse u otras formas de hacer que la conferencia sea accesible para usted, comuníquese con Frida Cruz con el Equipo de Justicia Racial de SOU para obtener ayuda ( racialjustice@sou.edu ).
Registration details:
- College and high school students: $20
- General full-conference registration: $45 before January 27th
- Late general registration: $55 starting January 27th
- Virtual-only registration (keynote and plenary panels only): $20
- Presenters: free
- Financial assistance is available!
- If the the conference registration fee poses a significant barrier to your ability to attend, please complete the Application for Financial Assistance form by January 27th (do not register for conference if applying for financial assistance).
- Group registration: If a school or organization wishes to register a group (three or more with one payment), please contact Jill Smedstad at smedstadj@sou.edu to arrange group registration.
Lunch on Saturday is included in registration fees.
Land Acknowledgement
Southern Oregon University is located within the ancestral homelands of the Shasta, Takelma, and Latgawa peoples who lived here since time immemorial. These Tribes were displaced during rapid Euro-American colonization, the Gold Rush, and armed conflict between 1851 and 1856. In the 1850s, discovery of gold and settlement brought thousands of Euro-Americans to their lands, leading to warfare, epidemics, starvation, and villages being burned. In 1853 the first of several treaties were signed, confederating these Tribes and others together – who would then be referred to as the Rogue River Tribe. These treaties ceded most of their homelands to the United States, and in return they were guaranteed a permanent homeland reserved for them. At the end of the Rogue River Wars in 1856, these Tribes and many other Tribes from western Oregon were removed to the Siletz Reservation and the Grand Ronde Reservation. Today, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians are living descendants of the Takelma, Shasta, and Latgawa peoples of this area. We encourage YOU to learn about the land you reside on, and to join us in advocating for the inherent sovereignty of Indigenous people.
Campus Partners
The Climate Justice Conference at SOU is supported in part by financial contributions from Second Nature, Sustainability at SOU, and the Social Justice and Equity Center.
Contact the Student Sustainability Team
Southern Oregon University
Stevenson Union Rm 310
1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
541.552.6454
ecos@sou.edu