Events & Opportunities
May 29, 2019
Conversation Project: The Hate We Live In
We live and work among systems that were built on racism. Even people who believe in and work for racial equity are immersed in a culture that silently supports structural oppression, especially anti-Black racism. What does it mean for us as individuals to live and breathe these values from the time we are born? How do we start to see and address our own personal biases? Join facilitator Tyler White for a conversation that will help participants recognize oppression of all kinds and provide tools to combat hate by calling out the injustices present in everyday life.
3:30 p.m., Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, Portland
May 30, 2019
Conversation Project: What Does it Mean to Be Good?
Most of us believe we are good people. But if we are all good people, with little room for fallibility, who are the people responsible for supporting structural oppression like racism, sexism, and heterosexism? If we hope to be “good,” what are our moral responsibilities in a society of privilege, power, and oppression? Join facilitator Brittany Wake in a discussion that explores the values associated with how we come to establish ourselves as good people and what that means for our potential complicity in perpetuating marginalization.
7:00 pm, Southwest Neighborhoods Inc, Portland
June 3, 2019
Conversation Project: Why DIY? Self-sufficiency and American Life
Are we as self-sufficient as we can be? As we should be? What are the pleasures and pitfalls of doing it yourself? This conversation investigates why we strive to be makers and doers in a world that provides more conveniences than ever before. How might the “new industrial revolution” of tinkerers and crafters affect American schools and workplaces? How do maker spaces or skills courses foster greater engagement and involvement? What could be left behind when we increase self-sufficiency in a community? All kinds of DIY interests are welcome: we can focus on foraging, permaculture, prepping, woodworking, or hovercraft making—or perhaps all of these at once! Through our shared stories, we will seek to understand more deeply how DIY functions in American life.
1 p.m., Siuslaw Public Library, Florence
June 4, 2019
Conversation Project: Fish Tales
Oregonians love the wild beauty of our 363 miles of coastline, but finding truly local seafood can be hard, even on the coast. The US imports approximately 90 percent of its seafood and ships out nearly as much to the global market. Why aren’t we eating more local seafood, now that preserving and distribution technologies are the most sophisticated they have ever been? Why do we consider seafood more a delicacy now than it has been in the past? In this conversation, food writer Jennifer Burns Bright helps participants explore our relationship with the products of the sea and cultural traditions involving fishing, eating seafood, and understanding the ocean’s bounty and challenges.
7:00pm, Coos Bay Public Library, Coos Bay
June 8, 2019
Conversation Project: What We Risk
What do we risk when we lay ourselves open through music, painting, or any other art form? What might we give up and what might we gain when we set out to craft something beautiful or provocative or simply expressive that the world did not previously hold? Given today's artistic economy, to what extent is exposure—to other people and of the creative self—desirable? Join artist and educator Jason Graham, a slam poetry champion and speaker who performs hip hop as Mosley WOtta, for a conversation exploring the relationship between self-expression and vulnerability.
1:00 p.m., Tillamook County Pioneer Museum, Tillamook
June 13, 2019
Conversation Project: Beyond Invitation
Organizations and communities are working to invite broader groups of people to engage in their work as employees, patrons, board members, and donors. Having a statement at the end of a job announcement to encourage communities of color, queer people, and women to apply can be a start, but how do policies, environment, and culture support this invitation? How do they fail to support it? How do you know if a space is inclusive and accessible for all, and is such a goal even possible? What do you do about the tension between people who have different needs to feel included? Join Rachel Bernstein to explore what it takes to make the shift from invitation to inclusion.
6:30 p.m., Marys River Grange #685, Philomath
June 14, 2019
Conversation Project: How Do We Create Equitable Spaces Within Our Public Lands?
The land and waterways of Oregon have always provided for its people and inhabitants, since time immemorial. In the last 200 years, the landscape has changed drastically. What does the past and present mean for the future of our natural lands? And for those who have been removed from these areas? Educator Gabe Sheoships leads a discussion about what a relationship with nature means, how we can provide inclusive and equitable spaces within our public lands and natural areas, and how we can begin to work toward healing relationships with our land.
5:30 p.m., Port Orford Public Library, Port Orford
June 28, 2019
Conversation Project: Seeing the Forest and the Trees
We live in a state with abundant forests, and yet we don’t all see the same thing when we look into the woods. Oregon is known for both its timber industry and its deep environmental values. For many decades now management of our public forests has made headlines and driven apart neighbors. Facilitator Mariah Acton will lead this conversation to explore the values, identities, and beliefs we each have about our forests and what we, as a state, do to steward, manage, and protect this special resource.
7:00 p.m., Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, The Dalles
July 12, 2019
Conversation Project: The Meaning of Climate Change
We live in a time of tremendous transformation as the reality of climate change and its effects on our communities become more apparent with every passing year. While there is still much that can and must be done to mitigate the range of impacts climate change might have, we are confronting the certainty of a crisis that will continue to unfold no matter what we do. What is the meaning of this extraordinary moment in human history? The meanings we construct about climate change affect how we think about it, our feelings about it and our willingness to take action. Portland State University instructor David Osborn leads a discussion exploring different meanings of climate change and how our understanding of meaning relates to action. Admission Fee: $5
7:00 p.m., Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, The Dalles