The International Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers (IFS) and University Settlement Society of New York are honored to partner with United Neighborhood Centers of America (UNCA), United Neighborhood Houses of New York (UNH), New York University (NYU), and several other New York City settlement houses to produce an historic international conference for settlement house practitioners and leaders, and like-minded NGOs, that work daily to create strong communities in local settings throughout the world. The Settlement Summit: Inclusion, Innovation, Impact will be held October 4th to 9th, 2010, with a goal to bring together over 400 people worldwide, focusing our activities physically within New York City’s Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side to celebrate the birthplace of the settlement movement in the United States nearly 125 years ago.
During our Opening Plenary Session we will discuss and debate the trends, pros and cons of International Philanthropy, as articulated and practiced by leaders of several well-known foundations. CEOs and other leaders from these foundations will be invited to participate in a lively discussion of what they do, why and how, and to articulate their understanding of how their global perspective and reach intersects with local communities, especially those communities that have (or need) local institutions such as settlements, neighborhood houses and community centers.
The conference will include many opportunities for small workshop and exchange sessions with colleagues from all over the world, led by skilled facilitators, academics and practitioners. There will also be several opportunities to visit New York City settlement houses for tours, meals, program discussions and further exchange. In a Special Session for conferees at the United Nations, the Chair of the NGO Committee on Human Rights will host a discussion focusing on human rights and the role of settlements and neighborhood centers. Finally, we will enjoy several opportunities to celebrate our shared visions for a just, safe and vibrantly interconnected world.
Details for Potential Workshop Presenters:
- The planning committee intends to offer sixteen (16) workshops during the morning of Thursday, October 7th, with each workshop scheduled for 90 minutes. Ample time should be planned for questions and discussion. If there are common themes, speakers may be asked to serve on a small panel where each speaker presents and a group discussion follows.
- We are not limiting the workshops to any particular focus area; however we are interested in receiving proposals that showcase innovative and high performance approaches to settlement house and community-based work.
- We encourage collaborative efforts, especially those that highlight international approaches to settlement house work.
We welcome and encourage academic and research-based proposals that keep with the focus of the areas mentioned above, have tangible implications for the future, and support the conference theme of “inclusion, innovation and impact”.
- If you are interested in providing a workshop, please include the following details in English by March 19th, 2010 to Yvonne Olsen at olseny@mcwmn.org
o Your name and contact information including an email address
o A one page summary (400 words or less) of the workshop including title
o Your resume (one to two pages) and current organizational affiliation
o Specific accommodations or equipment required
If you have additional questions, please contact Yvonne Olsen. A planning committee will review proposals, and let you know by April 23rd if your presentation was selected. Limited scholarships may be available but those details are not available at this time. We thank you in advance for your interest, and are looking forward to this exciting event and our time together in New York City.