CSTI Programs and Activities

Morning Plenary Sessions

Each day begins with a 9am plenary before participants break off for individual workshops.

Friday Plenary, July 30

For decades Wall Street and corporations like BP have pillaged and plundered our economy and environment while politicians either wrote the rules for them or tore up the rules they didn’t like, and regulators turned the other way. To make the economy work for us, we’re going to need to take on these corporations more forcefully and directly. Hear how organizers in Nevada are striking gold by doing just that, taking on one of the state’s biggest and oldest sacred corporate cows.

Saturday Plenary, July 31
Hip hop can be an effective tool and strategy for mobilizing people and engaging youth. Rather than think of hip hop as a separate form or kind of organizing, we should see the intersections and the opportunities to engage with hip hop artists, organizers and cultural workers in all areas of our movement. Come listen to performance artist Rogue Pinay as she shares some of her work and speaks to examples of hip hop as a tool for organizing, especially around immigration issues. Born on the battlefields of Mindanao, Philippines, Rogue Pinay is not only an artist but also serves as the Vice Chair of Pinay Sa Seattle and is part of the Ladies First Collective and a member Communities against Rape and Abuse.

Sunday Plenary, August 1
For 50 years, the struggles and success in moving racial justice and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer equality have been on parallel but rarely intersecting paths. This allowed the Far Right to divide and conquer, splitting support and fostering divisions between communities of color and white LGBTQ communities. Now more than ever we need proactive measures to unite our communities and advance a shared progressive agenda. This plenary explores a groundbreaking project from Western States Center to support organizations of color in having meaningful conversations about LGBTQ issues and begin to work on taking a stand on queer equality. Come join us to learn more about the project, the English Uniting Communities and Spanish Enlazando Comunidades Toolkits, and to be a part of charting new movement building territory!

Lunchtime Programs

Re:Imagining Change: How to Use Story-based Strategies to Win Campaigns, Build Movements and Change the World 
Saturday, July 31, during lunch 
Join Doyle Canning, co-author of RE:Imagining Change and co-director ofsmartMeme, for an inspiring discussion. Re:Imagining Change provides resources, theory, hands-on tools and illuminating case studies for the next generation of innovative change makers, and is an inspirational inside look at the trailblazing methodology developed by smartMeme. This unique book outlines how to apply narrative power analysis to effectively frame issues and offers plenty of juicy case studies and analysis, including a call for our movements to innovate our storytelling techniques in the face of the looming ecological crisis. 

Breakdance Lesson
Sunday, August 1, during lunch
Ever wanted to learn some breakdancing moves? Do you love watching folks defy gravity with nothing but their bodies? Then come join local acclaimed breakdancing crew Portland City Rockers Sunday Aug. 1 during lunch for a performance/practice session and lessons. The lessons will be informal and low pressure – the point is for everyone to have fun. Open to all ages from 1 – 100!

Evening Programs

Gerrymandering
Thursday, July 29, 7:30pm
Gerrymandering is a new film that takes a hard look at the framework of our democracy and how it provides our politicians a perfectly legal way to control electoral outcomes. Gerrymandering is the process by which geographic areas are divided into voting districts so as to give unfair advantages to one political party in elections.  The film asks the question:  "Why bother stuffing ballots when they can just draw districts? For the first time, Gerrymandering exposes the most effective form of manipulating elections short of outright fraud. After the 2010 Census is finished, will you know where your district went?"

Fight the Right: Looking Forward, Looking Back
Friday, July 30, 6:30pm
In celebration of 20 Years of CSTI we are gathering some of our country’s leading progressive thinkers and doers for a special discussion, Fight the Right: Looking Forward, Looking Back. Speakers include:

• Suzanne Pharr, author, organizer and co-founder of Southerners on New Ground 
• Tarso Ramos, Executive Director, Political Research Associates 
• Eric Ward, National Field Director, Center for New Community  
• Marcy Westerling, founder, Rural Organizing Project
• Rachel Carroll, Researcher, Montana Human Rights Network

Celebration and Party
Saturday, July 31, 6pm
Join us to celebrate this significant milestone. Kick back and have fun with other participants over dinner and drinks. Participants who have RSVPed for this event will receive a ticket when you check-in for CSTI and ticket is required for the dinner. 

Warm up your vocal chords because after dinner we'll karaoke the night away. Not sure what song you want to sing?   

Ongoing

EMERJ Story Booth
What makes a strong family? Is your family, biological or logical, strong? We were told our families should look or feel a certain way - but we have the right to determine for ourselves how our families form and function. Come and tell your family story at EMERJ's story booth! EMERJ is Expanding the Movement for Empowerment and Reproductive Justice. We are collecting your stories for our 1,000 stories collecting project to help launch our Strong Families Initiative. The Initiative will help create national cultural shifts and win policy changes to uplift and empower our families.