Psychologists for Social Responsibility and Counselors for Social Justice invite you to submit a proposal to make a presentation at their 2005 conference:
"Beyond Talk: Tools and Training for Advocacy and Social Action
For Psychologists, Counselors, Social Scientists,
Educators, and Activists"
7 pm, Thursday, May 19 -­ Noon, Sunday May 22, 2005
Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon
Deadline for proposal submissions: February 15, 2005

Submissions are invited from students, new and seasoned professionals, and activists from related fields. All presentations, regardless of format, should have clear relevance to psychologists, counselors, social scientists, and mental health professionals, educators, and students, and include at least two of the following elements:

-- Transfer of skills for advocacy and activism
-- Opportunity for dialogue and sharing of experience
-- Participation of clients / “survivors” and/or inclusion of grassroots community voices and experiences
-- Description of specific roles for psychologists and counselors in connection with a change process
-- Demonstration of how the inclusion of a psychological analysis of a social problem or issue would lead to different change strategies
-- A case study providing opportunity for critical reflection on a project
-- Potential to be included in written form in a manual on advocacy and activism (presentations may be submitted for possible inclusion in a manual on roles for psychologists and counselors in peace and social justice activism)

The following themes and topics are mentioned as examples to illustrate the scope of the conference:

BASIC UNDERSTANDINGS AND SKILLS
Theory, history, and practice of social movements
Facilitating effective political meetings
Participatory action research
Leadership development
Avoiding burnout, maintaining hope
Nuts and bolts of fundraising
Addressing political polarization
Conflict transformation techniques
Strategies for deep democracy
Influencing public policy
Debates about effective protest strategies
Organizing for international solidarity
The psychology of activism
Strategies for inter-organizational collaboration on campaigns
Strategies for collaborating with community members in advocacy
Direct and indirect client advocacy in schools and communities
Influencing Congress and legislative bodies
Work with the media: Psychological angles
Integrating advocacy and activism into curricula
Effective use of the internet and related technologies
Philosophy and practice of nonviolent resistance
Organizing students: e.g., the Graduation Pledge
The role of critical social theory in relation to praxis; critical psychology
Interfaith and cross-cultural dialogues

MAJOR ISSUES
Halting nuclear proliferation and militarism
Human rights work (of all sorts)
Psychosocial work with post-conflict communities
Strategies for transforming human services into advocacy institutions
Peace education
GLBT activism
Racism
Consumerism, voluntary simplicity
Confronting enemy images
Reconfiguring training for socially-transformative human services
Prevention of youth violence
Transforming the prison-industrial complex
Resisting oppression in the mental health system
Ecological psychology practices and other environmental work
Corporate social responsibility, e.g., the TIAA-CREF campaign
Globalization, poverty, structural violence

Possible formats include:
-- Structured Workshop (1 or 2 hours) for Continuing Education units
-- Workshop (1 hour)
-- Brief presentation (20 minutes total)
-- Conversation hour or facilitated dialogue (1 hour)
-- Innovative format (poetry, art, music, film, drama, etc.)

Questions about appropriate formats and presentations may be addressed to psysr2005@psysr.org.

Send proposal by February 15, 2005 as Microsoft Word attachment to psysr2005@psysr.org containing the following information:

Presenter's name, affiliation, address, phone numbers, email address (if more than one presenter, send all names and addresses and indicate primary contact person)
-- Format (from above list)
-- Title
-- 100-word abstract for conference program
-- 30-word self-description of each presenter for conference program
-- Other information as necessary to provide rationale or background
-- Audiovisual needs

Note: If you plan to offer a one- or two-hour workshop for CEUs for psychologists, counselors, educators, and social workers, include three or more concrete learning objectives.
Notification of acceptance will be sent by email by February 28, 2005. All presenters will be required to register for the conference.

Tod Sloan, Ph.D., Co-Coordinator
Psychologists for Social Responsibility
E-mail: sloan@psysr.org
Website: http://www.psysr.org