National Council on Independent Living: Call for Workshops / Presentations 2008 Annual Conference on Independent Living: "Time for Change… Use Your Power!" July 21 - 24, 2008; Grand Hyatt, Washington, DC We’ve had enough! We’ve had enough of budget cuts to IL Programs; We’ve had enough of draconian interpretations of the ADA; We’ve had enough of a shameful institutional bias and nursing home cronyism! This year, NCIL’s Annual Conference on Independent Living is a call to action for IL advocates and people with disabilities everywhere: we must organize firmly to create the change we all know is needed. We will organize our communities; We will vote; We will demonstrate support for needed legislation; We will free our brothers and sisters; We will exercise our human and civil rights; We will use our power to effect change. To achieve this goal, the National Council on Independent Living is seeking proposals for workshops and presentations focused on innovative strategies and best practices in the following areas: - Advocacy & Grassroots Organizing o Best practices in grassroots, community organizing o Best practices for individual and systems advocacy (beginner and advanced) - Voting & Civil Rights o Get Out the (Disability) Vote and Voter Registration o Ensuring Fully Accessible, Private Voting Sites - Outreach, Collaboration, and Coalition Building o Effective Strategies for Coalition Building o Best practices for Outreach to the Media As NCIL strives to meet everyone’s expectations for our Annual Conference, a few workshops will address general issues facing CILs, SILCs, and other independent living advocates. Priorities will be to address best practices in IL services, effective management of centers, statewide councils, and IL associations, and the history and philosophy of the independent living movement. PLEASE NOTE: We are returning to the Grand Hyatt Hotel again this year. NCIL’s block of sleeping rooms will open in March 2008. Watch for your registration brochure with more details coming in March! Deadline for Submission is February 13, 2008. No proposals will be accepted after 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. Send all Proposal Materials to: NCIL, 1710 Rhode Island Ave. NW, 5th Floor Washington, DC 20036; OR, FAX – 202.207.0341; OR, Email – ncil@ncil.org AND andrea@ncil.org Submissions MUST be sent to BOTH Email addresses. A reply email will be sent to confirm receipt. This Call for Presenters is the only request for speakers, group facilitators, or poster presentations that will be issued. Note: NCIL IS UNABLE TO PAY TRAVEL EXPENSES OR HONORARIA TO ANY PRESENTER. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE. Please share your ideas and experiences with others in the independent living movement at the NCIL 2008 Annual Conference, "Time for Change… Use Your Power!” Proposals should address at least one of the following target audiences: Front Line Staff and Consumers - Focus on building capacity among staff working with consumers or among consumers themselves; Advocates and Project Directors - Address the needs of managers/ supervisors or those who work on issues of systems change; and, Executive Directors and Board Members - Meet the needs of those running a CIL or SILC, including development of board members. Audience Knowledge – Our attendees come to the conference with different amounts of background knowledge. For this reason, proposals must specify what type of audience member would be best suited to your session: Newcomer - Someone who is new to the independent living or disability rights movement, including: consumers, individual advocates, a new CIL staff or board member, a statewide independent living council (SILC) member, or a state agency representative unfamiliar with CILs, SILCs, or independent living concepts. Newcomers typically have less than two years of experience in the movement; or, Experienced - This person is someone who has worked in a center or who has a disability and has been active in promoting disability rights or someone who is directly involved in the administration of CILs or SILCs. Presentation Opportunities - In designing your presentation, please design it to be as interactive as possible. Some examples of presentation design are: Roundtable Discussion: A facilitated discussion group that centers on a series of CIL and SILC issues related to Advocacy, Best Practices, Enforcement/Implementation, or "The Missing Links." Training Workshop: An experiential learning opportunity with specific training objectives for workshop participants; focus on building new skills, changing attitudes, or increasing values. Best Practice Symposia: An intense examination of "best practice(s)" in independent living; presented by an individual or panel with the audience sharing and analyzing successes and failures, best practice symposia are expected to produce a summary of what was found in their examination. Lecture: A speech or presentation by an individual or a panel, allowing time for questions and answers. Uses a variety of media, such as flip charts, overhead transparencies, slides, film, videotape or handouts. Posters: Posters should visually present a program, success, or problem. Posters may not exceed 4 feet in width or length; personnel need not be available. Posters should "speak for themselves," needing no explanation. Poster sessions are encouraged. Proposal Form NCIL 2008 Annual Conference on Independent Living July 21 - 24, 2008 Grand Hyatt, Washington, D.C. Please type or print clearly Contact Person's Name: ______________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________________ City: ____________________________State: ________ Zip+4: ____________ Organization: __________________________________________________________ Telephone numbers_______________________________________________ Voice: _____________________________________________________ TTY: ______________________________________________________ Fax: ________________________________________________________ E-mail: ____________________________________________________ Possible Co-Presenters/Facilitators: NOTE: The contact person on this proposal is the only individual to be contacted regarding the Conference. The contact person is responsible for notifying all other co-presenters or facilitators listed above. Please be sure that all co-presenters and facilitators agree to present and to the conditions set forth in this document. Presentation/Session Title (to be used in brochure): Target Audience: (Circle one) 1. Front Line Staff/Consumers 2. Advocates/Project Directors 3. Executive Directors/Board Knowledge Level: (Circle one) Newcomer Experienced Type of Presentation: (Circle one) 1. Roundtable Discussion 2. Training Workshop 3. Best Practices Symposia 4. Lecture 5. Poster Please Type Or Print Clearly What will participants gain as a result of attending your proposed session? I.E., what are the "learning objectives" of your proposed session? Describe the purpose and nature of your proposed session. Be specific about how you will lead the session, including what topics will be covered: Why are you the best person to conduct this proposed session? Describe your history, involvement and/or experience in the independent living movement and why you think you would be a good presenter or facilitator: Describe how your session will be interactive. How will you engage your participants so that they will be active participants in the session? Please provide a brief summary of your workshop. If accepted, this summary will be printed in the conference program to advertise your workshop to our attendees. (100 words or less) Due to the growing number of participants at the NCIL conference, we can no longer offer a maximum attendee cut-off. Nor can we offer to have rooms set any other way than theatre style. We regret any inconvenience that this may cause to your presentation should it be accepted and ask that you keep this information in mind when submitting your proposal. Audio-Visual Aids: NCIL will provide two microphones for each workshop; screens and flip charts will be provided only upon request. Other audio visual equipment is available at the presenter’s expense. Requests must be made at least three weeks before the conference date. A price list of audio visual equipment will be sent to presenters whose submissions are accepted. Time: Workshop sessions run for one hour and fifteen minutes. If your presentation will take longer, you must apply for a series of workshops. The Conference Committee will review all proposals received by the deadline. The decisions of the committee are final. Proposal presenters and facilitators will be notified by Friday, March 14, 2008 about whether or not they have been selected to make a presentation or facilitate a group at the Conference in July 2008. Important Information for Presenters: 1. PRESENTERS AND FACILITATORS ARE NOT EXEMPT FROM REGISTRATION FEES. PRESENTERS MUST REGISTER AND PAY FOR ALL DAYS THEY PLAN TO ATTEND; PRESENTERS THAT ONLY ATTEND THEIR PRESENTATION AND NO OTHER EVENTS DO NOT NEED TO PAY. 2. NCIL IS UNABLE TO PAY TRAVEL EXPENSES OR HONORARIA TO ANY PRESENTER. 3. IN PREVIOUS YEARS, MANY OF OUR ATTENDEES HAVE NOTED THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE LACK OF HANDOUTS IN MANY OF THE WORKSHOP SESSIONS. TO INCREASE EDUCATION AND APPLICATION OF CONCEPTS, WE NOW REQUIRE THAT PRESENTER(S) PROVIDE AT LEAST ONE HANDOUT. ALL HANDOUTS MUST BE AVAILABLE IN ACCESSIBLE FORMATS; A LIST OF RESOURCES FOR PREPARING ACCESSIBLE FORMATS IS AVAILABLE FROM NCIL OR THE CONFERENCE COORDINATORS. ACCESSIBLE FORMATS INCLUDE: BRAILLE, LARGE PRINT (18 pt. bold), AUDIO TAPE, AND ELECTRONIC (CD or Disk). Your signature below indicates your understanding of all that has been presented above and certifies that you are the contact person for the session title you have proposed. ________________________________ ________________ Typed or Printed Name Date _________________________________________________ Signature If you have any questions about this form or the work of the Committee, please contact Tim Fuchs: 202.207.0334 (Voice) or 202.207.0340 (TTY) or tim@ncil.org (Email). Deadline for Submission is February 13, 2008. No proposals will be accepted after 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.