Requests for Session Proposals November 30 Deadline for NW PA LGBTQA Summit

The E3 (Empowerment through Education and Engagement) Summit To Be Held April 12 & 13, 2019

On April 12 & 13, 2019, Erie, PA will host the region's first summit focused solely on engaging and empowering LGBTQA youth. The summit is organized by the local advocates and is open to all young LGBTQA youth, their families, and those who work with LGBTQA youth. The target age range of the youth will be 12 to 21 years old. This summit is designed to connect and engage LGBTQA youth, and those in their world, so that we can create a more supportive, safe, and empowered community. The subnission deadling for requests for session proposals - workshop sessions is November 30, 2018, and notifications will begin January 4, 2019. For questions, please contact Tyler Titus at TylerTitusLPC@gmail.com or (814) 431-4553. Submission details are below.

The opening event will be Friday, April 12th at 6:00pm. We will gather to honor the National Day of Silence and for an evening of connection through games, snacks, and art. Saturday April 13th will begin with a keynote speaker, breakout sessions, lunch, followed by afternoon breakout sessions. The summit will come to a close with a social gathering filled with music, food, and community.

All session facilitators must arrive at least 15 minutes before their start time to be directed to their room. The E3 Planning Committee will work to make any possible noted accommodations in advance. Session facilitators are all invited to attend the full conference and social events.

More information on conference registration will be sent to those presenting.

The E3 Planning Committee would be glad to answer any questions about the event and accommodations.

How to Submit a Session Proposal

Please read this document thoroughly before submitting your proposal

Workshop Criteria

The E3 Planning Committee thanks you for your interest in submitting a session proposal. Upon submission, each proposal shall be reviewed by the E3 Planning Committee. During the review process, selections will be based upon the proposal's incorporation of the following criteria:

Keep the focus on Applicable skill development: At the end of your training workshop, participants should be provided the opportunity to discuss and share how they will use the skills or tools in their own lives and/or communities; and
We ask that your workshop promote Participation and Dialogue: The session that you will be facilitating should strongly engage participants, and encourage them to converse and brainstorm amongst themselves. The E3 promotes the use of personal experiences when appropriate and possible. This helps the youth connect to the material and keeps the workshop from feeling like a lecture.

Your workshop should be an opportunity for substantial attendee participation. Dialogue should be encouraged among participants during these sessions.

Session Format

Sessions are scheduled as 60-minute workshops. In these sessions, attendees should be given practical information to help promote real-life utilization. The E3 Planning Committee requests that your workshop actively stimulate and engage attendees to promote as much participation and dialogue as possible. Presentation should be balanced to save time for meaningful group dialogue or activities.

Topic Areas

The E3 Planning Committee seeks session proposals that include and reflect the perspectives, needs and priorities of our LGBTQA youth, specifically to holistic self-care and overall well- being.

The goal of the E3 Summit is to offer sessions which will provide training and dialogue to further LGBTQA youth in leading healthy, safe, and connected lives. We encourage you to consider a topic related to an item/s from the following list, or another topic that reflects the goal and mission of Empowerment through Education and Engagement.

Possible Topic Areas:

Addressing Barriers in Health Care

Providing Targeted Career Development for LGBTQA Youth

Bridging Gaps within the LGBTQA community – Orientation vs Identity and Expression Strengthening Supports: Helping Family members and Friends understand

Addressing Suicidality within LGBTQA youth

Addressing Housing Instability and Homelessness of LGBTQA Youth Health and Social Disparities for LGBTQA Youth

Self-Care: Body and Mind

Health Care: The Body in transition (focusing on the Trans youth experience) Panel of LGBTQA Youth Who Have Experienced Homelessness

Panel of Service Providers Working with LGBTQA Youth

Access to Physical and Mental Healthcare for Low-Income LGBTQA Youth LGBTQA Issues in Faith Communities

Community Organizing: Empowering Youth Leadership and Advocacy Addressing Cisgender Privilege

Breaking Barriers for Young Trans People of Color Introduction to Gender Identity and Expression Preventing Gender-based Violence

Advocacy at School Protecting LGBTQA Students in School Building a Fierce LGBTQA youth led group

Making our Schools Trans-Accessible

Presenter Demographics

Please provide full contact information in your proposal. Unless otherwise specified, the lead presenter will be the main session contact. The session contact will facilitate communication between the E3 Planning Committee and the workshop presenter. It is important to have a session contact in the case of any changes or updates to the schedule.

It is expected that presentations will follow the outline and description provided in the proposal. Please alert us if your presentation will require a projector or other specific accommodations.

Given ample notice, the E3 Planning Committee will work to provide the accommodations needed for presentations.

All session are currently scheduled to take place on Saturday April 13th, 2018. Upon acceptance of proposals, the presenter will be notified of the specific time and location of their session workshop.

Proposal Review

The E3 Planning Committee will review proposals in the order in which they are received. Upon review, proposals will be considered on the basis of the following:

-Relevance to the aforementioned topics;

-Proposals that incorporate the vision of Empowerment through Education and Engagement;

-Prerequisites, qualifications, expertise, and experience of the session facilitator/s, and;

-General strength of the proposal.

In order to have your session proposal considered for the E3, please send the following information:

Session title
A 200-word maximum session description for the conference agenda (will be published)
Learning objectives (will not be published)
Session walkthrough/timeline (will not be published)
Contact information with lead presenter identified (will not be published)

Prospective presenters should expect to be notified of their proposal's status starting the first week of January 2019.