We’re pleased to announce our Netroots Nation 2012 agenda! Below you’ll find panels, training sessions and more. You can view the program electronically here.
From Defeat to Triumph: Erasing the Death Penalty in America
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 09:00am, Ballroom A
Led by: Marc Lamont Hill
Panelists: Abraham J. Bonowitz, DeJaun Correia, Laura Moye, Robert Rooks
The Heart of the Beast: How the Grassroots is Taking on Big Banking
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 09:00am, Ballroom D
Wall Street crashed our economy, perpetrated widespread fraud on millions of homeowners, bankrupted our communities and continues to inject unfettered corporate money into our democracy. That’s the bad news. The good news: In an extraordinary example of progressive power, a group of organizations and individuals built a dynamic movement to challenge big bank power and rebuild our economy. People have occupied their homes, moved millions of dollars out of big banks, taken over big bank offices and annual shareholders meetings, won a federal investigation into big bank fraud and made big bank power the pariah in media coverage. In this session, participants will dive into specific strategies—from grassroots organizing to online mobilization to popular education—that led to this groundswell. We’ll also have a lively discussion on taking lessons back into your own community to and how to make this a central issue this election cycle.
Led by: Tracy Van Slyke
Panelists: Max Berger, Matt Browner-Hamlin, Peggy Mears, Lenore Palladino
Inside the Activists' Studio: What to Do When the Right Comes After You
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 09:00am, Ballroom C
When the right-wing noise machine gets started, any progressive group or individual can find themselves the target of a coordinated wave of attacks (remember ACORN?). Fighting back isn’t easy—it takes courageous leadership, a strong voice, savvy staff and the ability to rally committed supporters online. Join leaders and organizers from three of the right’s favorite targets—Planned Parenthood, AFSCME and Jewish Voice for Peace—as they talk about their experiences fighting back in the face of relentless, vicious opposition. They’ll share tactics and strategies for organizing and mobilizing activists to stand strong when the right wing comes after you.
Led by: Will Valverde
Panelists: Tracey Conaty, Heather Holdridge, Cecilie Surasky
Agitation and Inspiration: The Power of Art and Cultural Organizing
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 09:00am, 552
Culture is the realm of ideas, images and stories; it is where people make sense of the world and where they find meaning and forge community. History shows that when the culture changes, politics follows. Culture can reach audiences beyond the bounds of what community organizing and policy-based organizing can do. While the media is laced with myths, stereotypes and misrepresentation of grassroots movements, cultural interventions can play a key role in pushing forward stories that help shift the public debate. A growing movement of artists around the country are using cultural tools to fight economic inequality, corporations, banks and anti-migrant hate. In this session, artist-activists, writers, cultural leaders and creative institutions will discuss models for connecting artists to movements for social change.
Led by: Favianna Rodriguez
Panelists: Cloee Cooper, Gan Golan, Betsy Richards, Julio Salgado
Women Rule: Keys for Social Media and Electoral Success
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 09:00am, 551
Studies show women voters are the key to election success and that women rule social media platforms. But few candidates or causes use those tools to effectively engage those crucial women voters. What’s working—and what isn’t—when it comes to social media outreach to women? This panel will focus on successful case studies and tips for effective engagement, as well as what backfires when trying to persuade these influencers to support your efforts.
Panelists: Veronica Arreola, Joanne Bamberger, Anita Jackson, Carol Jenkins
Taking the Offense in State Elections
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 09:00am, Ballroom B
In state after state, working people and the progressive community have met unprecedented attacks on their salaries, pensions and social services with blow-out success. But it’s not enough to play defense. Labor-progressive coalitions must work in 2012 to elect state lawmakers who support working people to prevent further assaults on our jobs, our families and progressive democracy. This panel will examine how we can take back control at the state level by sharing hands-on strategies and equip activists with tools to successfully energize the public and get out the vote.
Led by: Jordan Kupersmith
Panelists: Bailey Childers, Carolyn Fiddler, Zandra Rice-Hawkins, Michael Sargeant
Victory in Ohio: How Senate Bill 5 was Defeated
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 09:00am, Ballroom E
Understand the success of the “We are Ohio” campaign’s road to victory in beating back the right’s attacks on working families. Get insight on how the tactics used in Ohio can translate to other campaigns around the country.
Led by: Jane Blume
Panelists: Kate Kennedy, Doug Stern
Beyond Occupy: What Does a New Economic System Look Like?
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 10:30am, 552
The Occupy movement created a major opportunity and an imperative for progressives: Figure out what a new system, one that isn’t based solely on individual greed and a race to the bottom, might look like. In this session, we will explore how Occupy has changed the game in the fight for economic justice and how progressives might start to invest in earnest in building a real alternative economic and political system that works for us—one that is designed as a tool to help us achieve a set of societal goals including human rights and fulfillment.
Led by: Jenifer Fernandez Ancona
Panelists: Sarita Gupta, Simon Johnson, Colin Mutchler, Erica Payne
Handcuffs, Conventional Wisdom and Dirty Oil: Activism’s Big Win Against the Keystone XL Pipeline
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 10:30am, Ballroom A
This January, against long odds, the environmental movement dealt a blow to Big Oil, forcing President Obama’s rejection of a presidential permit for the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline—the industry’s marquee project and a conduit to the continent’s biggest “carbon bomb.” The hard-fought campaign united indigenous communities, Nebraska ranchers and Texas landowners, union representatives, youth climate activists, interfaith leaders and grassroots citizen activists and breathed new life into a movement fractured and demoralized after having failed to advance meaningful climate legislation following the election of a Democratic Congress and a new president who promised to lead on clean energy and climate solutions. Panelists will discuss the lessons the environmental, climate and progressive movements can take from the KXL fight and how these movements might build on this success to continue fighting the southern leg of the pipeline expedited by the president and to reclaim our democracy from corporate polluters and gain lasting wins for a safe climate and justice-fueled future.
Led by: Kim Huynh, Brad Johnson
Panelists: Becky Bond, Jane Fleming Kleeb, Bill McKibben, Ben Powless
Collaboration, Not Co-option: Labor, Community Organizations and Occupy Wall Street Working Together
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 10:30am, Ballroom B
Occupy Wall Street has not only been a successful movement in and of itself, but it was pivotal in reinvigorating the work of labor unions and community organizations throughout the country. This panel will examine how labor and community organizations have collaborated with OWS over the past year—on endeavors including Occupy the Boardroom, Occupy Our Homes and bank actions throughout the country—and what the future holds for progressive partnerships.
Led by: Greg Basta
Panelists: Nathan Henderson-James, Camille Rivera, Nelini Stamp
Paying the Price, Leading the Fight: Youth and the Politics of Reproductive Rights
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 10:30am, Ballroom E
With reproductive rights under constant attack, young women and men face some of the most extreme consequences of social conservatives’ anti-sex policies and are too often sold out in compromises from the left. Whether it’s parental notification laws, the Obama administration caving to political pressure to deny young women access to Plan B emergency contraception or the manufactured “controversy” over birth control, the rights of youth are too often traded away in larger political fights. In a culture that demonizes young people’s sexuality while denying them everything from sex education to basic health care, this panel will explore how youth activists and their allies are fighting back.
Led by: Rachel E. Cooke
Panelists: Ernesto Dominguez, April Flores, Debra Hauser, Amanda Marcotte
Organizing Lessons from SOPA and PIPA
Panel; Thu, 06/07/2012 - 10:30am, Ballroom D
The SOPA and PIPA bills were defeated by a fascinating combination of forces. There was an inside game in Washington and an outside one online. It included liberals and conservatives, and it brought together the public, non-profits and the business community in common cause. The panel will look at the cross-cutting effects of the effort and determine what lessons to take away for other campaigns at the federal, state or local level.
Led by: Art Brodsky
Panelists: Stephen DeMaura, Andrew McLaughlin, David Moon, Steven Renderos
